Paul Gray Hoffman*
Class of 1953
- Chairman Studebaker-Packard Corporation
It doesn't matter how low on the ladder you start in your career. Through great effort and self-reliance you can reach the top.
Paul Gray Hoffman was born in Western Springs, Illinois, in 1891. When Hoffman landed his first job in the automobile industry, he worked as a porter and then as a used car salesman. He later became a salesman for Studebaker Corp., where he rose to the positions of sales manager and district branch manager of the Los Angeles branch.
On a leave of absence from being president of Studebaker, he was administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration (the Marshall Plan) for nearly three years, after which he became president and director of the Ford Foundation from 1950 to 1953. He resigned from this position to serve as chairman of the board of Studebaker-Packard Corp. In 1974, Hoffman was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard M. Nixon.