William T. Dillard II

William T. Dillard was born in 1945. His father was William T. Dillard (1914 – 2002), founder of Dillard's.[1][2][3] He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Business Administration and later received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.[1][4][5]

Dillard joined the board of directors of Dillard's in 1967.[1][2] In 1977, he became president and chief operating officer.[2] In 1988, he joined the Board of Acxiom, a marketing technology and services company, and he has served as its vice chairman since 6 May 2006.[1][4][5] He also serves as chief executive officer of Dillard's since May 1998 and chairman of the board since May 2002.[1][5][3][6]

Dillard has been on the board of directors of Acxiom China since 1988; Barnes & Noble, since November 1993; the National Advisory Board and Dallas Region Advisory Board of JPMorgan Chase; Western Digital, one of the world's largest hard disk drive manufacturers; Dillards Capital Trust I; Dillard's Properties.[1][4][5][6]

One of his brothers, Alex Dillard, is President of Dillard's, while his other brother, Mike, is its Executive Vice President.[2] His son, William T. Dillard III, is Vice President of Dillard's.[2][7]