Alvan Macauley began his career as a patent attorney, holding various positions with National Cash Register and American Arithmometer, predecessor of Burroughs Corporation. Macauley joined Packard as general manager in 1910. Three years later he was made vice president, and in 1916 became president of Packard. Under Macauley’s guidance, Packard, as well as becoming a leading auto producer, specialized in the development of engines, contributing such things as the Liberty engine of World War I, the first engine specifically designed for a tank, and the first production diesel aircraft engine. Macauley, a director of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce from 1913, became its president in 1928, an office he held until 1946. He was made chairman of the board of Packard in 1939, serving in that capacity until retiring in 1948.