J. Douglas Holladay

1. Douglas Holladay is a professional whose career spans government, Wall Street, private equity, and academia. Holladay serves as the Heinz Christian Prechter Executive-in-Residence at Georgetown University, teaching MBA students at the McDonough School of Business. He holds degrees from the University of North Carolina, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Oxford University.

Before entering finance, Holladay worked in public service, holding senior positions in the White House and the Department of State. After working under White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III, he was appointed by the president to the personal rank of special ambassador, coordinating aspects of the U.S. public response to challenges in South Africa prior to the release of Nelson Mandela. Holladay has advised several presidents and corporate leaders and has discussed public policy issues on national television.

Holladay later joined Goldman Sachs as a senior officer in the Investment Banking Division, working on strategic, administrative, and international transactions with governmental components. While at Goldman Sachs, he served as founding president of One to One Mentoring Partnership, an initiative addressing urban youth challenges. He subsequently co-founded and served as general partner of Park Avenue Equity Partners LP and Elgin Capital Partners LP, both private equity firms focused on the middle market.

Holladay directs his experience toward thought leadership and nonprofit work, primarily through PathNorth, a nonprofit organization supporting business owners and CEOs in broadening their definitions of success and fostering conversations about meaning and significance in work and life. This mission is reflected in his book, "Rethinking Success," published by HarperCollins, which explores purpose and meaning in business. His pro bono work includes serving as executive producer of the PBS documentary "The Question of God," which contrasts the worldviews of Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis.

Holladay's civic engagement includes service on boards, councils, and presidential commissions, such as the Presidential Commission on Drug Prevention, the Presidential Commission on Small Business, Morehouse College, United Way International, Oxford Analytica Ltd., and the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. He has delivered speeches to leadership gatherings in more than 40 states and 10 nations. Holladay has contributed to books on foreign policy, culture, theology, and 19th-century history, and has published articles in New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. Author Gail Sheehy, in her book "Pathfinders," described Holladay as an influential layman.