Background & Bio
Editor/Ghostwriter | Historian
John T. Landry is a business writer and historian with experience in a variety of media, from blogs and conferences to articles and books. He is adept at taking a mass of detail and distilling the story or key insights that readers will find useful. He has worked with executives, consultants, and academics, and he has experience in a variety of countries and cultures. His work with syndication has given him experience in the commercial side of publishing, including deal-making and managing partners.
Education
Landry earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in economic history from Brown University. His dissertation focused on executive compensation at American manufacturing companies as they transitioned from owners to hired management, from 1900 to 1940.
Landry went on to teach a few college courses, but his experience writing a commissioned history of a large electric utility convinced him to move into publishing. He was also a research associate at Harvard Business School.
The Harvard Business Review
From 1996 to 2009, Landry worked in a variety of roles at Harvard Business Review.
He started as an associate editor, learning the intensive work of developmental editing that is the magazine’s hallmark. HBR editors work closely with authors to bring out their ideas with clarity and impact, often ghostwriting much of the article.
He also ran the magazine’s book section, where he reviewed hundreds of books over the years, and he contributed regularly to the HBR Editors’ blog. Drawing on his earlier expertise, he carried out several projects on the history of HBR and the ideas it championed.
Along the way he became business development editor, a senior position that had him overseeing the magazine’s syndication business. In that role, Landry greatly developed and expanded the magazine’s licensed translated editions, adding magazines from Brazil to China. Over nine years the magazine went from two editions to ten, with a corresponding increase in annual royalty payments.
Independent Writer & Consultant
Landry left HBR in 2009, and while continuing as a contributing editor, he works primarily as an independent editor/writer of blogs, articles and books. Besides editing and ghostwriting, Landry has written histories of several companies and other institutions. These include a large pharmaceutical company, a major insurer, a hedge fund, a global consulting firm, and two universities. He has also helped executives with personal memoirs.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
“Many thanks to my magnificent editor John Landry (formerly of Harvard Business Review), who dived into my early drafts and initiated numerous inspiring conversations with me about both content and direction.”
“John Landry has been a superb editorial partner over the course of this project, brimming with amazing suggestions and thoughtful criticism.”
“John Landry, the absolute best book editor, managed to put himself in my skin and my sometimes messy words.”
“Speaking of being privileged to work with great minds, John Landry’s concept development and collaboration in the Harvard Business Review and MIT/Sloan Management Review were nothing short of inspirational. His constant questions and quiet, careful ruminations sharpened my vision and predictions, and he helped create ideas that became the basis of large portions of this book.”
“Our collaborator, John Landry, was professional and steady, and helped guide a project that was sprawling and ambitious.”
“John Landry helped to make the book much more readable through his expert editorial advice.”