Holliday was born in 1948 and grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from John Overton High, where he met his future wife, Ann. Holliday earned his B.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1970. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity Zeta chapter. Holliday started at DuPontin the summer of 1970 at DuPont's Old Hickory site. He then turned a summer job at DuPont into a full-time position as an engineer. He advanced through manufacturing and supervisory positions around the world until he was named CEO in 1998.
Professional career
Holliday was the 18th CEO of DuPont in more than 200 years of DuPont history. Under Holliday's leadership, DuPont established a goal of achieving sustainable growth – increasing shareholder and societal value while simultaneously decreasing DuPont's environmental footprint. As a result, DuPont has shifted from being a chemical company to being a science-based products and services company. On September 23, 2008, DuPont announced that Holliday would retire as CEO on December 31, 2008, and that its board of directors had elected Ellen J. Kullman to succeed Holliday with effect from January 1, 2009. On 30 October 2009, DuPont announced that Holliday would retire as chairman with effect from December 31, 2009, and that Kullman had been appointed chairman effective from that date. Holliday currently serves as the chairman of Council on Competitiveness and the Business Roundtable's Task Force for Environment, Technology and Economy. Holliday has previously served as chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and chairman of the Society of Chemical Industry – American Section. He served as chairman of The Business Council in 2003 and 2004. He is also a founding member of the International Business Council and serves on the board of advisors of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. On September 21, 2009, Holliday was elected to the board of directors of Bank of America Corporation and he was elected chairman on April 28, 2010. Holliday holds an honorary doctorate from Polytechnic University, and is a licensed professional engineer.
Compensation
While CEO of DuPont in 2008, Holliday earned total compensation of $10,213,441, which included a base salary of $1,369,500, a cash bonus of $1,732,000, stocks granted of $4,796,309, and options granted of $2,166,672.
