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The son of Irish immigrants, Ambassador Crawford began his career as an entrepreneur in 1962, starting his first manufacturing business while attending college classes at night. Beginning in 1992, he built Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. through a series of more than 100 transactions, growing from a small local manufacturer into a successful international corporation. Under his leadership as Chairman and CEO, Park-Ohio became a publicly traded $1.6 billion industrial supply chain logistics and diversified manufacturing business, employing more than 7,000 people in 125 locations worldwide. After serving the country as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland from 2019-2021, he returned to America in his current roles as Chairman of Crawford United Corporation, CEO of The Crawford Group and Director of Park-Ohio.

Ambassador Crawford provided the largest single gift in Kent State history to enable the construction of a new business building on the university’s Kent campus. In recognition of the generosity of Ambassador Crawford and his family, the college was named the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship and the new building will be named Crawford Hall.

The Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship is also home to the Ambassador’s ASPIRE Entrepreneurial Workshop Series, which he launched while posted in Ireland.