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Ernest Woodruff | |
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 | |
| Born | (1863-05-23)May 23, 1863 |
| Died | June 5, 1944(1944-06-05) (aged 81) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Children | Robert, Ernest,George and Henry |
| Family | Joel Hunt (brother-in-law) |
Ernest Woodruff (May 23, 1863 – June 5, 1944), sometimes erroneouslyEarnest,[1] was an American businessman fromAtlanta,Georgia.
Woodruff was born inColumbus, Georgia. After relocating to Atlanta, he made his home in theInman Park suburb, developed by his brother-in-lawJoel Hurt.
On April 22, 1885, Woodruff married Emily Caroline Winship, child of foundry magnateRobert Winship.[2]
With his brother-in-law Joel Hurt, Woodruff founded theAtlanta and Edgewood Street Railroad, which ran its first electric trolleys on April 22, 1889. Woodruff followed Hurt as president of theTrust Company in 1904; he held this post for 18 years before becomingchairman of the board.
Woodruff's greatest skill was in re-organizing existing companies to improve value by increased scale:
In 1903, he combined three small ice and coal companies into theAtlanta Ice and Coal Company, which went on to becomeAmericold.
In 1910, with the help of the Trust Company, he organized ice and coal companies from Virginia and throughout the Carolinas intoAtlantic Ice and Coal. With high costs of home and office deliveries, none of these companies were able to make much money on their own, but combined they made handsome returns toshareholders.
Woodruff then restructured theAtlantic Steel factory (current site ofAtlantic Station) and installed Thomas Glenn to get it out of debt. The restructuring of Atlantic Steel would set the table for the biggest move of Woodruff's career: the takeover ofThe Coca-Cola Company in 1919, which he negotiated withAsa Griggs Candler. Ernest Woodruff's sons,Robert W. Woodruff andGeorge W. Woodruff, would run Coca-Cola for many years, leaving Asa Candler's sonHoward Candler out of the picture.[3]
| Preceded by | President of Trust Company of Georgia 1904 – 1922 | Succeeded by |
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