Nance began his career at the
National Cash Register (NCR) in 1924, staying until 1927 when he joined
General Motors'
Frigidaire division. In 1940 he left Frigidaire when he was named vice president of
Zenith Radio Corporation of Chicago. Nance was named CEO of
General Electric's Hotpoint brand in 1945 and CEO of the
Packard Motor Car Company in 1952. While at Studebaker Packard, Nance moved to separate the
Packard Clipper range of vehicles into a stand-alone brand,
Clipper. He also expedited the development of Packard's first
V8 engine and automatic transmission,
Ultramatic. Nance helped to orchestrate the 1954 Packard acquisition of the
Studebaker Corporation, creating the Studebaker Packard Corporation in 1954. While the Studebaker merger appeared to be in the best interests of both automakers, Studebaker failed to provide Packard with a full disclosure of its tenuous cash position, jeopardizing both marques. While Nance had held informal talks with
George W. Mason of
Nash Kelvinator about a potential merger that would bring all the U.S. independent automakers under one corporate entity, formal discussions were never established. Any hope of those discussions moving forward ended with Mr.Mason's sudden death in October 1954. Nance left Studebaker Packard in 1956 when the company was on the verge of insolvency, but not until he found the organization a safe-harbor relationship with airplane manufacturer
Curtiss-Wright. Following his tenure at Studebaker Packard, Nance was named vice president of
Ford's Mercury Edsel Lincoln Division, but resigned under pressure from top Ford executives in 1959 when
Edsel's sales were poor. He left the automobile business following his tenure with Ford and became president and CEO of Central National Bank of
Cleveland, Ohio in 1960, being elevated to the position of chairman and CEO in 1962. According to Nance he left the automobile industry because while there he had learned that everything depended on money and who controlled it. Following his retirement from Central National, Nance established his own consulting firm in
Cleveland, Ohio. ==Community leadership roles==