Cotton Board Hires Gillon As President

The Memphis-based Cotton Board has announced William A. “Bill” Gillon as its new president and chief executive officer. Cotton Board chairman Craig Shook, a producer from Corpus Christi, Texas, says, “Bill brings an outstanding record of achievement and service within the cotton ind-ustry to the Cotton Board. He is respected throughout agriculture as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“He shares our goal of ensuring that the Cotton Research and Promotion Program is utilized to increase consumption and enhance demand of cotton for the benefit of brands, retailers and cotton producers.”

Gillon is currently the principal of Gillon & Associates, PLLC, a law firm specializing in agriculture and business law. He has been active in agriculture law and policy for more than 25 years, having served as General Counsel to the National Cotton Council and Senior Counsel for the Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry of the U.S. Senate.

Extensive Experience

Gillon has worked on the cutting edge of legal and business developments in agriculture and has experience with new innovations, such as electronic warehouse receipts, precision agriculture, genetically enhanced commodities and organic agriculture.

His legal work includes defending the Cotton Research and Promotion program from constitutional challenges and representing the industry in the World Trade Organization case brought against the U.S. cotton program by Brazil.

The Cotton Board’s communications staff contributed information for this article. For more updates about Cotton Board activities, call (901) 683-2500 or go to www.cottonboard.org.