Bill Gipson

William L. “Bill” Gipson is the former president/CEO of Empire District Electric Company in Joplin, Mo. From May 2002 until May 2011, he held the positions of president, chief executive officer and director. Prior to that he served in a number of positions at Empire, including executive vice president, vice president of commercial operations, director of commercial operations and manager of economic development. He retired from Empire’s board of directors in 2015 after more than 30 years with the company.

He earned a bachelor of science in management technology and an associate’s degree in computer science from Missouri Southern. He is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.

Gipson previously served as chair of the Board of Governors.