Edgar Smith Woolard Jr. (April 15, 1934 – December 4, 2023) was an American businessman.BusinessWeek /ref> He was chairman and chief executive officer of
DuPont
Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to:
People
* Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...
from 1989 to 1995.North Carolina State University biography /ref>
Early life
Edgar Woolard was born on April 15, 1934, in
Washington, North Carolina
Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States, located on the northern bank of the Pamlico River. The population was 9,875 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. It is c ...
. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...
in 1956. He was a lieutenant in the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
.
Career
In 1957, he joined DuPont as an industrial engineer in the
Kinston, North Carolina
Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 19,900 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the ...
, plant, moving on to manufacturing and management positions in
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
, Old Hickory, Tennessee and Camden, South Carolina. He was CEO and chairman from 1989 to 1995. During that time, DuPont stock increased by 160 percent.
Woolard joined the board of directors of Telex Communications in 1998, and was its chairman from March 2000 to November 2003. He has been on the board of directors of the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
,
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...
,
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...
,
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
and
Bell Atlantic
A bell Help:IPA/English, /ˈbɛl/ () is a struck idiophone, directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficien ...
. He has also been an advisor to Acorn Energy since January 2010. He was a member of the North Carolina Textile Foundation. He was chairman of
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...
and the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
. In 1988, he received the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award Recipient from his alma mater, NCSU. He donated more than US$1 million to the John T. Caldwell Alumni Scholarships at NCSU. The Edgar S. Woolard Chair at the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...
is named after him.
Personal life
Woolard was married to Peggy Harrell. They had two daughters. He lived in Wilmington, Delaware,
Jupiter, Florida
Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 US Census, the town had a population of 61,047. It is 84 miles north of Miami and 15 miles north of West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach. ...
, and
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, approximately 80 miles north of Miami. Palm Beach Gardens is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 59,182 at the ...
. Woolard died on December 4, 2023, at the age of 89.