Gender Male
Website tikmate.online Facebook View on Facebook X (Twitter) View on X
1955 saw the birth of Bates in the United States. He grew up in Corning, New York, where his father taught math before becoming plant manager at Corning Inc., a glass manufacturer. Bates's mother died of a cerebral hemorrhage when he was 18 years old, after the family had relocated to England due to his father's employment. In 1977, he
graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in chemistry. In 1981, he received his MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.
In 1981, Bates began his career at Emerson. His initial positions included investor relations manager, vice president of corporate planning and development, president of the Ridge Tool division, and vice president of the industrial components and equipment business. As president of Emerson Electric Asia-Pacific and then CEO of Emerson's Astec joint venture Astec (BSR) PLC, he ascended the corporate ladder. In 1999, he was promoted to senior executive vice president and chief operating officer. In October 2000, he was appointed CEO, succeeding Charles F. Knight, who had held the position for 27 years. Bates was only the company's third chief executive officer. Surendralal "Lal" Karsanbhai, executive president of Emerson's largest business segment, Automation Solutions, from 2018 until his appointment as CEO, succeeded him upon his retirement.
In addition, Bates was elected chairman of Emerson's board of directors in 2004 and resigned on May 4, 2021. Bates is a member of The Business Council and the boards of directors of IBM, Delphi Corporation, and the United Way of Greater St. Louis.
Despite trade wars and a global pandemic, Emerson maintained its six-decade record of annual dividend increases under Bates's leadership. Under Bates's leadership, the company grew to a $16.8 billion global conglomerate with approximately 200 factories and 85,000 employees, including about 1,400 at its Ferguson, Missouri, headquarters (a suburb of St. Louis). Bates aggressively relocated Emerson's production and design operations to low-cost, low-regulatory environments outside of the United States, notably the People's Republic of China. In 2009, under Bates's leadership, Emerson laid off 14% of its U.S. workforce, or approximately 20,000 people. In November 2009, while speaking at the Baird Industrial Outlook Conference in Chicago, Bates criticized the Obama administration for its focus on "labor regulations" and "health reform" and asked, "What do you believe I will do? I will not employ anyone in the United States. I'm moving." As a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, Bates was well-known for keeping five baseball bats in his office to help him focus. He also employed them to encourage Emerson executives to participate in earnings calls.
Jonah Bates earned a total of $6,899,987 as CEO of Emerson Electric in 2009, which included a base salary of $1,168,750, a cash bonus of $1,500,000, stock grants totaling $3,735,000, and other compensation totaling $496,237.
Bates's most recent project is Tikmate and Bates is the founder.
