PRESIDENT AND CEO, GRAHAM HOLDINGS CO., ARLINGTON COUNTY
PRESIDENT AND CEO, GRAHAM HOLDINGS CO., ARLINGTON COUNTY
Virginia Business// August 29, 2022//
Under O’Shaughnessy’s leadership, Graham Holdings has made the Fortune 1000 list for the last three years.
O’Shaughnessy replaced his father-in-law, Donald Graham, as the company’s president and CEO in 2015. O’Shaughnessy was at the company for a year before taking the top spot, working to seek “a new direction” for Graham Holdings after it sold The Washington Post and other publishing businesses to Amazon.com Inc. founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos in 2013.
Formerly The Washington Post Co., Graham Holdings was formed in 1947 by Phil Graham, who led it until his death in 1963. Graham’s widow, Katharine Graham, then took over as president and publisher of the Post and CEO of the company. Their son, Donald, took charge in 1991.
The company owns a variety of media, education, manufacturing and health care businesses, including online magazine Slate and educational services company Kaplan Inc.
Before joining his family’s business, O’Shaughnessy was CEO of the startup LivingSocial, which he co-founded in 2007. The company was based on an app he and three others created for Facebook.
O’Shaughnessy has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgetown University. He serves on the executive committee of the Federal City Council, a nonprofit promoting economic development in Washington, D.C.