Darrin L. Williams

CEO Southern Bancorp, Inc.

Darrin Williams’ career is a unique combination of law, business, and politics. As CEO of Southern Bancorp, Inc., he oversees the strategic direction and operations of three Community Development Financial Institutions: Southern Bancorp, Inc., Southern Bancorp Bank, and Southern Bancorp Community Partners (a 501(c)(3) development finance and lending organization), collectively known as “Southern.” Southern is a $1.4 billion asset organization with over 50,000 customers and 46 locations throughout Arkansas and Mississippi.

Prior to leading Southern, Darrin served as managing partner at the law firm of Carney, Williams, Bates, Pulliam & Bowman, PLLC, representing institutional investors and consumers in class action litigation against some of the nation’s largest publicly traded companies. He served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives, serving as Speaker Pro Tempore of the 89th Arkansas General Assembly, and recognized nationally for his legislative accomplishments. Darrin received his B.A. from Hendrix College, his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law, and his Master of Laws degree in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.

Darrin married his law school classmate, Nicole Sippial, and they have two children, Darrin Jr, a junior at Wake Forest University and Payton, a sophomore at Spelman College. He is actively involved in his church, where he serves as a deacon and leads the service ministry, and with several community and civic organizations, including serving on the boards of Southern Bancorp Bank, the Little Rock Tech Park, Hendrix College, and KIPP Delta Public Schools.