Chair: Bill Simmons

CEO, American Leprosy Missions

Prior to joining American Leprosy Missions in 2010, Bill Simmons served as president and CEO of two nationwide retail chains. His two decades of business experience serve him well as he leads American Leprosy Missions to bring care and a cure to those affected by leprosy.

Having spent his teenage years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Zaire) with his missionary parents, Simmons developed a heart for those suffering from curable illnesses like leprosy and the societal persecution that often accompanies these types of diseases.

Simmons is vice president of the ILEP board of directors, an advisory board member for the Nippon Foundation’s funding of the WHO Global Leprosy Program, and a founding and executive member of the Leprosy Research Initiative. Also active in his local community, Simmons is part of Leadership Greenville Class 44 and chair of a local non-profit, All Good Things.

He holds a degree in political science from the University of Tennessee.