Upon his graduation, Olds took a position as a law clerk for Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

In this capacity, he advised the bank's export deportment which oversaw purchases made on behalf of the British and French war effort.

In 1936, Olds was elected to the corporation's Board of Directors, and in 1940, upon the departure of Edward Stettinius Jr., he was made chairman and chief executive officer.

[9] Olds led the Council for Financial Aid to Education, an organization that directed corporation donations to universities.

In February 1957, Harry Shaw Newman organized an exhibition of her work at the Old Print Shop in New York.

[12] On April 13, 1945, an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship, the USS Montague (AKA-98) was commissioned, sponsored by Mrs. Irving S. Olds which served for 10 years and 7 months.