Charles Knight
Chairman & CEO
Emerson
Laureate 2006
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Chuck loved playing sports. On a given day, he could be found on the baseball or football field,
tennis or basketball court, sharpening the athletic talent that enabled him to play varsity football and tennis at Cornell University. As a boy, he also learned to sail in Michigan. He credits his father, who founded and managed a Chicago-based consulting firm, for setting high expectations for hard work and commitment. Chuck’s first fulltime summer job came at age 15, when he worked at a foundry in rural Canada, and equally challenging jobs followed in later summers. After high school, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from Cornell. Chuck lived and worked in Europe for four years after college, and eventually became president of the family consulting business in Chicago. In 1973 when he was 37 years old, he moved to St. Louis to become chief executive officer of Emerson. At that time, he was the youngest CEO of any U.S. company with a billion dollars or more in sales. During his 27 years as CEO, Chuck led Emerson’s evolution from a relatively small company selling its products mostly within the United States to a leading, technology based global manufacturer. In the process, he earned a reputation for excellence in
management. He stepped down as CEO in 2000 and retired as Emerson’s chairman in 2004. Chuck has a history of St. Louis community service spanning more than 30 years, focused primarily on support for youth activities, education, healthcare and the economically underprivileged. He was inducted into the Junior Achievement Global Business Hall of Fame in 2000.
Select a button below to see how you or your organization can get involved with Junior Achievement of Greater St. Louis, Inc..
Donate Volunteer Request A Program