10 Things You Didn’t Know about Emerson Electric CEO David Farr
David Farr is the current head of Emerson Electric Co. He is both the CEO and the Chairman, which are positions that combine to provide him with more control over the corporation than otherwise possible. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about David Farr:
1. David Means “Beloved”
David is a name that can be interpreted to mean “beloved.” It is believed to have come from a root that meant “to boil,” but by the time of Biblical Hebrew, it had been reduced to the figurative use for “to boil.”
2. Farr Means “Bull”
Farr is an Anglo-Saxon name that means “bull.” In some cases, this means that the first person to bear the name was compared to a bull, whether because of their build, their strength, or some other characteristic. In other cases, this means that said individual was an oxherd.
3. Lives in Ladue, MO
Currently, Farr lives in Ladue, MO, which is one of the inner-ring suburbs of St. Louis. This make sense, seeing as how Emerson Electric Co. is situated in Ferguson, MO in Greater St. Louis as well.
4. Went to Wake Forest University
Farr studied at Wake Forest University, which is a private research university in the state of North Carolina. It is interesting to note that the school is named thus because its original campus was based in the town of Wake Forest, though its main campus is now situated in the city of Winston-Salem. When he was a student at Wake Forest University, Farr studied chemistry.
5. Went to Vanderbilt University
Later, Farr went to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. To be exact, he went to its Owen Graduate School of Management, so it should come as no surprise to learn that he proceeded to complete a MBA at said institution. Suffice to say that MBAs are a natural choice for people seeking to enter the senior-most ranks of management.
6. Climbed Up the Ranks at Emerson Electric
It is interesting to note that Farr can claim more than three decades’ experience at Emerson Electric. As a result, he started out in a corporate staff position but soon proceeded to climb up the ranks, with the result that he has held numerous positions on Emerson Electric’s corporate hierarchy.
7. President of Emerson Electric Asia-Pacific
One of the positions that Farr has held over the course of his career with Emerson Electric is the position of President of Emerson Electric Asia-Pacific, which involved overseeing the corporation’s operations in that part of the world. As such, Farr spent a total of four years in Hong Kong, which has been a popular place for people to do business for decades and decades.
8. Became COO Before Becoming CEO
In 1999, Farr was made the Chief Operating Officer (COO), which was no more than a short time before he became the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2000. In a lot of corporations, the COO is a kind of second-in-command for the CEO because they are the one who oversees the operations. As such, the COO is sometimes seen as a natural choice for the successor to an outgoing CEO.
9. Involved in Both Civic and Charitable Organizations in St. Louis
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Farr has involved in a number of civic and charitable organizations in St. Louis. For example, he is a current member of the executive board of the Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis. Likewise, he was the campaign chair for the United Way of Greater St. Louis in 2007, which resulted in a record-breaking fundraising amount of $68.8 million.
10. Supports Trump But Believes in Globalism
Farr is a curious example of a CEO who supports President Donald Trump but is nonetheless a believer in globalism. His support for Trump seems to be based on his perception that public policies have resulted in both excessive taxes and excessive regulation for manufacturing, meaning that he sees the Trump administration as a convenient method for addressing these issues. Meanwhile, his belief in globalism is less surprising because he runs a global corporation that encompasses more than 200 locations situated in countries all around the world.
