William Yates II was an Eagle Scout and valedictorian of his high school class, going on to graduate summa cum laude from the University of Mississippi in 1994 and earning a master’s degree from Arizona State in 1995. A certified public accountant, he is president and CEO of W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company and vice chairman for Yates Companies, the 23rd largest contractor in the United States and 73rd largest in the world. His companies employ 7,500 workers and produced revenues last year of almost $2 billion. He’s a Leadership Gulf Coast and Leadership Mississippi graduate, a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and chairman of the Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors, the largest chapter in the nation.
