B.S. – CHEMICAL ENGINEERING ’84
William P. Gipson received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from The University of Alabama in 1984. William grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, was the first in his family to get a college degree, and he joined the military as part of that path. After four years of service in the U.S. Air Force he earned his engineering degree at The University of Alabama while working full-time, and received an offer upon graduation from The Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) in their R&D department.
His career began with P&G as a group leader and process development engineer. Gipson led P&G’s R&D/Innovation efforts for multiple business units and geographies over thirty-four years, including an $18 billion sector with more than 1,200 R&D professionals. In his last role as a President reporting to the CEO, he led enterprise packaging transformation for P&G, with an annual revenue above $65 billion.
He also served as chief diversity officer for eight years simultaneously with his other responsibilities. He was a critical member of the executive team that embedded citizenship strategies into P&G’s global operating model. Through this work Gipson became recognized not only for business development, but also his ability to promote diversity and community support as accelerators of business growth.
Gipson serves on several boards: Manpower Group, Rockwell Automation, CityLink, and UA’s STEM Pathway to MBA. He has previously served on the Executive Leadership Council, the United Negro College Fund, the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Cincinnati Business Committee Education Task Force, and the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation. He is also a member of the President’s Cabinet here at UA.
Gipson retired from P&G in 2019. He currently lives with his wife Jackie in Delray Beach, Florida, and they have three children: Joy, Justin, and Jonathan. His hobbies include cooking, racquetball, and sports cars.