William Dillard II

William Dillard II is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Dillard's Inc., a chain of department stores based in Little Rock, Arkansas. He's the oldest son of William T. Dillard, the founder of Dillard Department Stores. He began his career at Dillard's in 1967 and became executive vice president in 1973. From 1977 to 1998, he served as President and COO. In 1998, he was named CEO of Dillard's and became Chairman in 2002.

William Dillard II was born in Nashville, Arkansas in 1945. He received a bachelor's degree in business administration as an accounting major from the University of Arkansas and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. He also holds an honorary Doctor of Business degree from the University of Arkansas. He has served on the board of directors of Acxiom Corporation since 1988 and Barnes & Noble, Inc. since 1993. In 2015, he received the University of Arkansas Chancellor's Medal for service to higher education and society. He was inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2016.