David S. Haffner
2018 W. Morgan Heights Road

Carthage, Missouri  64836

Home:  417-358-1696    Cell:  417-388-0278

E-mail:  david.haffner@leggett.com

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Notably accomplished engineering and operations executive with international experience.

A proven cross-functional leader with a career that escalated and broadened significantly from early applied physics and process systems design engineering, to technical staff management, technology licensing, international facility design, plant management, and ultimately corporate staff leadership.

BS Engineering and MBA with concentration in Operations Research.  Skilled in optimization techniques, applied statistics, project management, intellectual property, rapid continuous improvement, analysis of variance, capital justification, working capital management, safety and risk management, and capital and operating budget development.

Ten years of technical design and staff management for one of the largest privately held food-processing companies in North America (Schreiber Foods, Inc.).  Twenty five years of increasing operations responsibility for Leggett & Platt, Inc., one of “America’s Most Admired Companies” in the Fortune 500.  Currently serving as President and CEO, and as a Director since 1995.

Also serves as a director and chairs the compensation committee of publicly traded Bemis Company, Inc., a $3.6 billion international manufacturer of flexible packaging and pressure sensitive materials used by leading food, consumer products, and other industries worldwide.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Current employer:  Leggett & Platt Inc.

1995-Present   Director
2006-Present   President and Chief Executive Officer
2002-2006   President and Chief Operating Officer

1984-1985   Executive Vice President, Furniture Components Group

Previous employer:  Schreiber Foods, Inc.

EDUCATION

MBA (With Honors) University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

               1974  BS Engineering (Honors Graduate) University of Missouri, Columbia

OTHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

1979 Stanford University, Engineering Executive Management Certification

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Missouri 100 (President’s Advisory Council), University of  Missouri - Columbia
Mizzou Flagship Council Member, University of  Missouri – Columbia
Dean of Engineering Advisory Council (DEAC), University of  Mo. – Columbia
Endowment of the David S. Haffner Engineering Scholarship, University of Missouri - Columbia
For All We Call Mizzou Campaign Committee Member, University of  Mo. - Columbia

Business Advisory Board, Missouri Southern State College

Athletic Department Advisory Committee, Missouri Southern State University
Finance Advisory Board, School of Business, University or Missouri - Columbia
YMCA Board of Directors, Carthage, Missouri
Junior Achievement Advisory, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Industry Advisor, University of Wisconsin School of Engineering, Madison

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering Hall of Fame,
University of Missouri- Columbia
Missouri Honor Award, College of Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia
Lion Hearted Service Award, Missouri Southern State University
Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, University of Wisconsin
Selected Outstanding Senior Engineering Student at Mizzou by St. Louis Chapter of AIIE
Salutatorian, Carthage Missouri High School

David S. Haffner

Biological Information

David Haffner, a Carthage, Missouri native, was born on August 29, 1952 and attended public schools in his hometown prior to attending Missouri Southern State College in Joplin, Missouri for two years as a Pre-Engineering student, concentrating on Mathematics and Physics.  While at MSSC he was also a member of the varsity football team.

Subsequently, Dave earned his engineering degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1974 where he graduated near the top of his engineering class and was chosen as the Outstanding Senior Engineering Student by the St. Louis Chapter of AIIE.  Upon receiving his undergraduate degree, he married his high school sweetheart, Connie, and joined Schreiber Foods, Inc., a large privately held firm located in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

While working for Schreiber, Dave earned his MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, with honors, concentrating on Operations Management.  After nearly ten years of service, he and Connie chose to go back to Missouri as a result of Connie’s father’s untimely death and Dave’s father’s failing health.

He joined Leggett & Platt Inc. in 1983 as Staff Vice President of Operations.  When Dave joined Leggett the company had reported sales of approximately $275 million for the prior year.  Today, annual sales exceed $4.0 billion and Leggett is a leading manufacturer of engineered products serving several major markets worldwide.  With over 33,000 employees and more than 300 facilities, Leggett is recognized as a leader in the research and development and manufacture of a wide range of products servicing residential furnishings, commercial furnishings, automotive, store fixtures, aluminum die casting, and specialty machinery industries.

Leggett & Platt Inc. joined the ranks of the Fortune 500  in 1998, and Standard & Poor’s added Leggett to the S&P Index in 1999.  Today, the company is listed as one of “America’s Most Admired Companies” in the Fortune Magazine survey of the United States’ largest public corporations.

Dave and his wife, Connie, have three children.  Their son, Jonathan, is a Medical School graduate of University of Missouri-Columbia, and their identical twin daughters are graduates of Missouri Southern State College.  His hobbies include hunting, fishing, making custom knives, and arrowhead collecting.