Edgar Smith Woolard Jr. (April 15, 1934 – December 4, 2023) was an American businessman.[1] He was chairman and chief executive officer of DuPont from 1989 to 1995.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Edgar Woolard was born on April 15, 1934, in Washington, North Carolina.[3] He received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University in 1956.[1] [2] He was a lieutenant in the United States Armed Forces.[5]
In 1957, he joined DuPont as an industrial engineer in the Kinston, North Carolina, plant, moving on to manufacturing and management positions in Wilmington, Delaware, Old Hickory, Tennessee and Camden, South Carolina.[1] [2] [5] He was CEO and chairman from 1989 to 1995.[1] [4] During that time, DuPont stock increased by 160 percent.[4]
Woolard joined the board of directors of Telex Communications in 1998, and was its chairman from March 2000 to November 2003.[1] He has been on the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange, Citigroup, Apple Inc., IBM and Bell Atlantic.[1] [3] [4] [5] He has also been an advisor to Acorn Energy since January 2010.[1] [3] He was a member of the North Carolina Textile Foundation.[2] He was chairman of The Business Council from 1995 to 1996.[6] [3] He was a member of the Bretton Woods Committee.[5]
Woolard was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Philosophical Society.[3] In 1988, he received the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award Recipient from his alma mater, NCSU.[2] [7] He donated more than US$1 million to the John T. Caldwell Alumni Scholarships at NCSU.[2] The Edgar S. Woolard Chair at the University of Delaware is named after him.[4]
Woolard was married to Peggy Harrell. They had two daughters.[5] He lived in Wilmington, Delaware, Jupiter, Florida, and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.[2] [5] Woolard died on December 4, 2023, at the age of 89.[8]