Early in his career he worked in advertising and book retailing, then joining
McGraw-Hill in 1947 as a sale representative. He became president of its book division in 1968, with the division becoming the largest US textbook publisher during his tenure. He was CEO of McGraw-Hill from 1975 to 1983. In 1979, he fended off a hostile takeover of the company by
American Express. The following year, McGraw-Hill passed $1 billion annual revenues, according to
Bloomberg. During his eight years as CEO of McGraw-Hill, the company's revenue doubled. In 1983, he created the Business Council for Effective Literacy. In 1984, he founded the Business Press Educational Foundation. He personally funded both organizations in their early years, and built their staffing organizations. When he retired at age 70 in 1988, he was elected chairman emeritus of McGraw-Hill. The McGraw-Hill Companies created the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education in 1988. He was a president of
Princeton University Press, and chairman of the Council for Aid to Education, a vice chairman of the
New York Public Library, a trustee of the
Guggenheim Museum. He was also a trustee of the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation and the
New York City Partnership. ==Awards and honors==