David Farr

David Nelson Farr (born 1955) is an American business executive. He is the chairman and CEO of Emerson Electric Company, a Fortune 500 company. Farr has worked at the company since 1981. He is married with two children and is a resident of Ladue, Missouri.On October 25, 2011, IBM announced Farr was elected to its board of directors, and he joined the board on January 1, 2012. 2Early life and education Farr was born in the United States in 1955. He went to Wake Forest University and graduated with a degree in chemistry in 1977. He went on to earn an MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University in 1981. 2Career Farr began his career at Emerson more than 35 years ago. He held various positions upon his initial employment including manager of investor relations, vice president of corporate planning and development, president of the Ridge Tool division and group vice president for the industrial components and equipment business. He ascended the corporate ladder serving as president of Emerson Electric Asia-Pacific and then chief executive officer of Emerson's Astec joint venture Astec(BSR) PLC. He eventually became a senior executive vice president and chief operating officer in 199