Paul E. Holden (1896-1973)
Paul Holden joined the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1926 as one of the School's pioneers. Just prior to his appointment as Professor of Industrial Management, he was selected by President Herbert Hoover to serve on a committee on United States Patent Office reorganization. In 1926 he was selected by the American Engineering Council as a member of a group to conduct a national study of safety and production.
In 1952 under the leadership of Professor Holden, the Graduate School of Business established the School's executive education program. He served as Director of this highly successful program from 1952 through 1961. He also served as the first Director of the Stanford Sloan Program from 1958-1962. From the late 1940's until he retired in 1959, Professor Holden was a Senior Consultant with Booz, Allen and Hamilton in the field of Top Management: Organization and Control.
He also served as a Senior Management Consultant with the Stanford Research Institute from 1962 through 1968. He was a member of the Board of Directors or Board of Trustees of: Schick, Incorporated from 1942-44; Ferris Miles, Inc. from 1939-1969; the California Water Service Company from 1962-1975; Castilleja School from 1942 to 1971; the Stanford's Children's Convalescent hospital from 1937-1965; and the Palo Alto Chapter of the American Red Cross from 1953 through 1959.In recognition of his contributions to the profession of management, the Paul E. Holden Endowed Professorship in Management was established in 1975 through contributions from his former students and friends in the business community.
In 1941 Professor Holden co-authored Top Management Organization and Control, a research study of the policies, organization and control practices of 31 of the largest industrial corporations in the country.
He was the recipient of the Gantt Gold Medal Award in 1941 for his outstanding achievement as executive administrator, consultant, educator and researcher in the art and science of management. Throughout his entire professional career he made a major contribution to Stanford, to the Graduate School of Business, and to professional management education by his rare capability of melding the theory and practice of management in a realistic and meaningful way.
Holden was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on September 17, 1893. He attended elementary and high school in Indianapolis and graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1916. After graduation, he served as a special assistant with E. C. Atkins and Company from 1915-1917. During the period of 1919-20, he was production manager for E. C. Atkins and Company.
He was an associate of Wallace Clark and Company in 1930-31, during which time he conducted consulting studies in major companies in France, Germany, and Denmark. From 1926-1940 he served as a management consultant to many Pacific Coast companies. During World War II, he was an industrial advisor to the Office of Production Management. He was elected to the Fellows Group of the Academy of Management and was one of the founders of the San Francisco Management Chapter, which later became the San Francisco Chapter of the Society for Advancement of Management. In 1920-21 he was assistant production manager, Remington Type writer Company in New York, and during 1921-22, was an industrial engineer with the library bureau in Ilion, New York. He was assistant manager, Department of Manufacture, United States Chamber of Commerce from 1922-1926.
Holden, one of the most distinguished, scholars and teachers in the Graduate School of Business, died in his home from a heart attack on Friday, April 9, 1976 at the age of 82.