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Alumni Success Stories

J.D. “Dave” Power III ’53

J.D. “Dave” Power III ’53 became a household name as the voice of the customer. J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information firm that surveys customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior. It is a highly trusted resource for consumers shopping for big-ticket items like cars and boats and for services including hospital care and insurance. Power established the firm in 1968 after earning an M.B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and working for corporations including the Ford Motor Company. In 2005, J.D. Power and Associates became a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, and Dave Power assumed the title of “founder.”

Power’s business philosophy centers on the concepts of integrity, independence, and impact. “We try to maintain our integrity by telling it like it is,” he says. “We remain independent by doing our own research. And we can have greater impact by remaining independent.”

A Worcester native from a Holy Cross family, Power jokes that he had no choice about where he would go to college. “My training at Holy Cross influenced my personal philosophy,” he explains. “I respect the inquisitiveness that the Jesuit education gave me to dig down for basic truths and learn how to ask the right questions. That has served me well in the business world.”