Paul J. Holloway got more than he bargained for when he studied business in Philadelphia — he met his future wife, Anna Grace, while they were both students at Temple University. After graduation is 1961, Mr. Holloway became a district manager with Buick Motor Division of General Motors. As a young manager, his job demanded extensive travel, and he obliged for several years. But when GM asked him to relocate to New York, he and Anna Grace decided to put their Temple education to practical use by opening a car dealership in Exeter, N.H. The young couple emptied their life savings, $6,000, to see if they could make it on their own.
The Holloway’s seven-days-a-week effort built a single point Buick-Pontiac business, selling 90 cars a year, into a group of 13 dealerships representing Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar, FIAT, Mazda, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, and GMC Truck. As one of the largest automotive companies in N.H., Holloway always stressed customer service and client satisfaction. Mr. Holloway has held leadership positions on numerous automotive councils, and was elected by his follow dealers to serve as chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association in 1998. Over the years, he has won numerous industry awards, including the prestigious 2004 Time Magazine “Quality Dealer of the Year.” Mr. Holloway has been recognized by all of the manufacturers he represents for the outstanding quality and performance of his dealerships. Although keeping up with the changes in the automotive industry — like trends in design and the cost of gas — has been one of the many challenges of running a business, Mr. Holloway thinks that the internet has been the most significant change since he started more than 50 years ago. “We’ve sold cars to people who live in Atlanta and the Pacific Northwest,” he said in a 2012 interview with seacoastonline.com. “We’ve had former customers who have moved to California continue to buy from us, mostly because we have what they want in stock.” Mr. Holloway has bought and sold dealerships over the years and continues to own and operate a Buick, Cadillac, GMC Truck dealership. Like may other Fox School entrepreneurs, Mr. Holloway hasn’t limited himself to just one business venture. He was a partner in a chain of nursing and retirement Homes that sold in 1997. Mr. Holloway is currently a partner in an air cargo business and owns a luxury marina in N.H. Business N.H. Magazine named him one of New Hampshire’s 10 most powerful people. “He’s a strong, effective leader and a good businessman with a strong set of values — work, family, and giving back,” said Richard Gustafson, chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire, in a 2010 interview with seacoastonline.com. Philanthropy has come in the form of education for Mr. Holloway. He has served on the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees for 18 years, including six years as chairman, and has served on the board of the New Hampshire Community College System for 16 years—13 of those years as chairman. Mr. Holloway has led successful fundraising efforts at Temple, Governor’s Academy and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. In 1988, the Holloway family established and continues to fund the Paul J. Holloway Prize in Business Innovation-To-Market-Competition at the Peter Paul School of Business at UNH to encourage business innovation; it has helped launch more than 35 successful businesses world-wide. In 1991, Mr. Holloway received an honorary doctorate degree from UNH and was given the Chancellor’s Award and the Alumni Association Profile Service Award. The Holloway Commons dining hall was named after him in recognition of his significant contributions to the University. Mr. Holloway was a recipient of Plymouth University’s Robert Frost Contemporary American Award for outstanding citizenship and was awarded the David C. Knapp Award for Trusteeship by the New England Board of Higher Education. In 2018, the Community College System of NH honored him by naming the Paul J. Holloway Student Success Center at Great Bay Community College. In 1998, Paul and Anna Grace established the Little Harbour Charitable Foundation, which has raised more than $3 million in the last 20 years for children’s programs in the NH Seacoast. Mr. Holloway shares the following philosophy with the young people he has mentored over the years, “I developed ethics and values from my family. My education at Temple gave me a firm foundation. Persistence became my path to success and giving back has been my reward.”
Temple University Degree
Bachelor of Science ’61 Fox School of Business
Temple University Awards & Affiliatons
- Certificate of Honor Award, General Alumni Association, 2005
- Dean’s Council, Fox School of Business
- Gallery of Success Award, 2003
- Former Leadership Council
- Former Wachman Society 30