William Dillard II

William T. Dillard II

Key facts
* Born March 4, 1945, in Nashville, Arkansas.
* Education: B.S. in accounting, Sam M. Walton College of Business (University of Arkansas), 1966; MBA, Harvard University.
* Joined Dillard’s in 1967; became CEO in 1998.
* Owns roughly 10% of Dillard’s.
* Known for early adoption of computerized inventory systems, private-label strategy, and a heavy real-estate ownership model.

Early life and education
William T. Dillard II is the eldest son of William T. Dillard Sr., who founded Dillard’s in 1938. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1966 and earned an MBA from Harvard. He began working at the family company in 1967 and rose through the organization to lead it as CEO.

Leadership at Dillard’s
Dillard II became CEO in 1998 and has maintained the company’s focus on fashionable merchandise paired with strong customer service—an approach set by his father. Dillard’s remains a family-controlled business: the company went public in 1969 with a dual-class share structure designed to preserve family voting control, and several family members hold executive roles.

Business strategy and initiatives
Under Dillard II’s leadership, the company pursued several distinguishing strategies:
* Inventory and operations: Early investment in computerized inventory management helped streamline replenishment and merchandising decisions.
* Private-label offerings: Introduced lower-cost private brands to give customers alternatives to national labels.
* Real estate ownership: Dillard’s owns about 90% of the real estate for its stores, a core component of the company’s balance-sheet strength.
* Omnichannel growth: Continued expansion of e-commerce alongside brick-and-mortar stores, while emphasizing in-store sales and customer experience.

Performance and competitive position
Dillard’s has positioned itself as a profitable, largely debt-free retailer with substantial real-estate holdings. Its customer base skews slightly older and more in-store oriented, which historically has made the company less exposed to online-only competition. Post-pandemic performance (notably in 2022) highlighted resilience: a high proportion of sales still come from physical stores (reported around 90%), compared with lower in-store shares at many competitors.

Management style and reputation
Dillard II is regarded as a hands-on manager who reviews product assortments closely and visits stores regularly to meet customers and staff. Critics have described the company’s management as insular and cautious about change, but supporters point to the firm’s long-term financial stability and conservative capital structure.

Notable roles and honors
* Board service: Acxiom (since 1988) and Barnes & Noble (since 1993).
* Awards: University of Arkansas Chancellor’s Medal for service (2015); Arkansas Business Hall of Fame inductee (2016).

Legacy
William T. Dillard II has steered a multi-generation, family-owned retailer through major industry shifts by combining operational systems, real-estate strategy, and conservative financial management. While opinions differ on how quickly the company adapts to disruptive retail trends, Dillard II’s tenure has preserved the core business model and kept the company financially strong.