May 9, 2022
Contact: Marcus Wilkins, wilkinsm@missouri.edu
Growing up, Adam Hollmann was the neighborhood kid everyone knew — seated streetside behind a card table, lemonade pitcher and hand-scrawled cardboard sign promising refreshment in the sweltering summer heat. Those youthful business ventures kept the pocket change jingling as he rode his bike through the St. Louis streets.
Now, as he graduates from the University of Missouri with a Trulaske College of Business degree and a job lined up at Procter and Gamble in Boston, where he interned in the summer of 2021, you could say his fiscal influence has grown exponentially.
“During my internship, I was tasked with going through data and finding points that differentiate our products from those of our competitors, then giving it to our salespeople and saying, ‘This sells really well,’ or ‘this not so much,’” Hollmann said. “In the short time I was there as an intern, I was able to provide something like $84 million worth of recommendations.”
Hollmann’s degree is in finance, economics and real estate, and he credits the business school for leading him to the program.
“When I first got to Mizzou, I knew I wanted to major in business, but I didn’t know exactly which field,” Hollmann said. “The Trulaske College of Business does a great job of giving you a sampler platter of all the different emphasis areas early, so you get a feel for everything.”
But the decision to come to Mizzou in the first place? That was already in his black-and-gold blood. His alumni mom and dad met on campus in the 1990s, and although he momentarily considered other universities in high school, Hollmann said Columbia always felt like home.
“I got involved right away in the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity — where I’ve formed lifelong friendships,” Hollmann said. “And my adviser, Mary Beth Marrs, has been a great guide and an example of what leadership really looks like.”
For Marrs, director of the Cornell Leadership Program, the admiration is mutual.
“I am so proud of the way Adam navigated challenging situations with a sense of purpose, courage and integrity while ensuring those he leads feel respected and heard,” Marrs said. “I am confident he will have enormous success in the future making us all proud to call him a fellow Mizzou alum.”
Like that kid peddling potables, Hollmann also credits his commitment to “putting himself out there” and trying new things during his time at Mizzou.
“The advice I would give to freshmen is to push yourself outside of your comfort zone,” Hollmann said. “When you’re going to college, it can be scary. But everyone’s in the same boat. Get out there and make the most of those experiences.”
