Arkansas Business

George Gleason II

George Gleason led Bank of the Ozarks on four successful bids on FDIC-assisted transactions in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida with more than $1 billion in assets. In 2010, Gleason also was honored as a Community Banker of the Year by American Banker. He bought his first bank at 24 and took Bank of the Ozarks public in 1997. Gleason is known as a rare CEO/leading shareholder, willing to cut his own annual bonus if operations don’t meet his standards. With the bank's strong track record of profitability, he doesn't punish himself often.