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Last week, Emerson, which has called St. Louis home for over 130 years, announced their plans to keep their global headquarters here in the metro.
“We believe in St. Louis, and we are here for the long haul, ready to do our part to help the region thrive,” wrote Emerson CEO Lal Karsanbhai in an op-ed column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch earlier this week. “I love St. Louis. It is where I choose to raise my family and why I support keeping business here,” Karsanbhai continued, adding: “It is also why I am issuing a challenge to the region’s business community … Business leaders must come together to build a stronger community that leaves no question of its viability as a great place to grow a company."
Karsanbhai cited the need to improve schools, reduce crime, and create jobs as challenges the region must address to move forward.
Emerson’s decision to stay — along with the recent relocations to St. Louis by companies like Bunge and expansions into the metro by major companies like American Foods Group, Accenture Federal Services, and James Hardie — all speak to St. Louis’ resurgence and the fact that “we can compete with any other metro, and win,” said Greater St. Louis, Inc. CEO Jason Hall. “But when a company that’s been here for 133 years launches a headquarters review, that means there were some questions. … We need to be sober eyed to that. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and it’s going to take all of us going in the same direction to get it done.”