KENT, Ohio – The Kent State Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship recently launched “ASPIRE: The Life of an American Entrepreneur,” a podcast featuring Ambassador Edward F. Crawford.
Throughout the 14-episode podcast series, ASPIRE presents a vivid picture of an American entrepreneur, providing insights on business, strategy, success and failure, as well as Crawford’s life experiences. Episodes span topics such as Crawford’s family’s journey from rural Ireland to the United States; dealing with rejection as an entrepreneur; Crawford’s journey to becoming an entrepreneur; strategies in the boardroom that served Crawford well and Crawford’s sports interests. The podcast is hosted by bestselling author and award-winning journalist Tom Kelly.
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 it 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, expected to open in 2024, 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.
Listen to podcast episodes here.
About Kent State University’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship
Kent State University’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship is among the fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide to obtain dual accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in both business and accounting. The college offers 11 undergraduate majors, 14 minors, and an undergraduate Professional Sales Certificate; MBA; master’s degrees in accounting, business analytics and economics; four graduate certificates and a Ph.D. program. For more information about Kent State’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship, visit www.kent.edu/crawford.