John T. Houlihan (1944-) is an industrial designer who worked for General Motors, SCM Corporation, General Electric, South Bend Toy, and Timex. Houlihan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1966 with a degree in industrial design.

After graduating, he was hired by General Motors under Dave North in design and development and then later in the advanced studios and future concept vehicles department. In the five years, he was at General Motors, Houlihan was involved with the design of the Buick Riviera Boattail and the Chevy Vega.

In 1970, Houlihan left GM for SCM (Smith Corona Marchant) Corporation. While there, he learned a lot about packaging mechanisms, making models, and meeting with corporate marketing personnel. Despite surviving financially necessitated layoffs the next year, Houlihan did not have confidence in SCM's future and looked for another opportunity.

Houlihan next went to work for General Electric's audio electronic products department from 1971 to 1978. Several times he was part of a team consisting of marketing, engineering, and design, who would visit various vendors or GE facilities in Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, and the Philippines. It was an opportunity to see what was involved in a product's design, engineering, and manufacturing.

In 1978, Houlihan took what appeared to be a terrific position at Texas Instruments. Although the job itself was challenging with new and interesting products, he only lasted eight weeks. He described it as a "disastrous mistake" with Lubbock, Texas' drastically different geography and western Texas' culture not suiting him.

Next, Houlihan returned to South Bend, Indiana, to join South Bend Toy as a design manager in new toy development. Houlihan learned the design elements he was used to highlighting (aesthetics, form, sculptural nuance) were not emphasized in the toy-making business. Instead, the focus was on unique and clever features, play value, and child safety. Another aspect considered by the company was advertising and licensing – how much money could be made off a specific toy. After just a couple of years, Houlihan realized the toy business was not for him.

Houlihan was contacted by a design placement agent in mid-1979 about a design manager position at Timex. Although initially concerned about the world of watches in relation to his previous experience, it turned out to be the closest thing to automotive design in all his experience. Sculptural aspects of design, the importance of scale, and aesthetic presentation are all key to creating a successful design for automobiles and watches. In his more than twenty years at Timex, Houlihan became the director of design worldwide, with offices in Connecticut, the Philippines, Hong Kong, France, and England.

One of Houlihan's greatest successes at Timex was the Ironman Triathlon watch. It was developed using a new, top-mounted, push-button design that activated a lap memory system for runners to use in training. When it debuted, it was three times the price of the usual digital watch and had an unusual appearance with two large face-mounted push buttons. Over the next two years, the Ironman watches became the largest-selling single style in watch history.