Darrin Williams

Darrin is a past chair of CDBA and is the chief executive officer of Southern Bancorp Inc., one of America’s oldest and largest community development financial institutions. Southern works to expand economic opportunity in rural and minority communities throughout the mid-South that traditional financial institutions do not serve. The bank has more than $2.8 billion in assets and 56 locations around and throughout the Delta region, and focuses on homeownership, entrepreneurship, and saving to help its customers build net worth. 

Darrin is a former legislator, a former securities and consumer protection attorney, and a passionate advocate for financial inclusion who is recognized nationally for his work to increase financial access. He was among Business Insider’s 100 People Transforming Business and a past member of the Bloomberg 50, an annual list of individuals who define global business. He is the North American board representative to the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis-Little Rock branch, and a presidential appointee to the CDFI Fund Community Development Advisory Board. 

Williams earned a bachelor's degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in Nashville. He also has a master of laws degree in securities and financial regulation from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.