Member at Large
Chris Holman
Founder and CEO, Michigan Business Network
Chris Holman, a former high school teacher, coach, university instructor, and college Dean, has become one of Lansing’s most prominent businessmen. He is a successful entrepreneur with more than 40 years of experience, and has affected practices and policies in the state of Michigan throughout his career.
Chris has been promoting the Michigan business community since the 1980's. He is one of the original founding members of “Michigan Celebrates Small Business”, an annual celebration of Small Business successes that draws over 1,000 business Owners/Managers each year. He previously hosted a Sunday morning TV show called “Business Today” on WILX TV 10 and prior to that he was business editor and on-air personality at WLNS TV 6. In 2011 Chris ended a 14-year run as a daily morning radio show host on WILS 1320 and WJIM 1240.
In 1984, Chris founded H&H, Inc., a Lansing marketing /consulting firm. Soon after, he started The Greater Lansing Business Monthly magazine in 1987, selling it in 2013. On July 4, 2011, Chris launched a statewide 24/7 business news Internet website and broadcast company called “Michigan Business Network.” He is currently the CEO of the company and the primary host of the network’s anchor program, “Michigan Business Beat,” which airs each weekday on the stream but is available 24/7 as a podcast. He has also been involved in international business for over 30 years and owns a factory near Beijing, China.
In early 2006, Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed Chris as Michigan's Small Business Advocate. He served as a liaison between the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and small business owners across the state of Michigan while working closely with the Michigan Business Ombudsman’s office.
Chris is involved with several other business ventures and serves on numerous community boards. He has 25 years of experience as a bank board member of three different banks. He has also served as Board Chairman of the Capital Area United Way and as Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau. Chris served on the Board Chairman of The Capital Region International Airport in Lansing, for 20 years with many of those years as the Board Chair. He is a Past-President of the Rotary Club of Lansing, Past Chairman of the SBAM (Small Business Association of Michigan), and also Past-Chairman of the NSBA (National Small Business Association) in Washington DC, during which he met with the president during his tour on Business Matters and in the Rose Garden for the signing of the J.O.B.S ( Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act. Due to his passion for education, he served for several years as chairman of the tri-county Keep Learning committee which has been renamed T3, an organization dedicated to bringing educators to the development of the workforce. Most recently, Chris assumed the role of State President of AARP of Michigan. He has also been serving for the past several years on the advisory board of the Detroit office of the Chicago Federal Reserve.
Chris holds two degrees from Eastern Michigan University and has been a Lansing-area resident for more than 40 years. He has been married to his wife Louse for 45 years, and they have three children and an ever increasing number of grandchildren.