Aubrey Patterson

Mr. Patterson is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BancorpSouth, Inc., a $13 billion-asset bank holding company with 290 locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. Mr. Patterson served as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1983 to 1991, and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1991 to the present. He also serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the bank. Mr. Patterson is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and holds a Masters degree from Michigan State University. He has completed the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin and is a member of several professional organizations, including Beta Gamma Sigma and Beta Alpha Psi honoraries. Mr. Patterson is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, having received a Regular Commission upon his graduation from Ole Miss as a Distinguished Military Graduate. During his service he received the National Defense Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Department of Defense Meritorious Service Medal. Mr. Patterson has served as President of the Mississippi Bankers Association and as Chairman of the American Bankers Association. He also chaired the Business Advisory Council of the University of Mississippi and has served as Chairman of the Bankers Advisory Council and a member of the Board of Directors of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the national organization overseeing state-chartered banking.

He has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Community Development Foundation, Chairman of the Board of North Mississippi Health Services, and as Chairman of the Mississippi Economic Council, Mississippi's largest business organization. He served for six years as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Columbia Theological Seminary. He is a member of the Executive Board of Mississippi's Public Education Forum, and currently serves as Chairman of Mississippi's Partnership for Economic Development. Mr. Patterson is a past Chairman of the University of Mississippi Foundation. He has served as Chairman of the Board of CREATE, Inc., Northeast Mississippi's Community Foundation, and is a member of the Board of Directors of its subsidiary, the Journal Publishing Company. He was also a charter member of the Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi. Mr. Patterson is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of Furniture Brands International, Inc., one of the largest manufacturers and retailers of residential furniture in America. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Mississippi Power Company. Mr. Patterson has worked for many years as a statewide leader in education. He led the effort to create Tupelo's Advanced Education Center, a joint program of the University of Mississippi, Mississippi University for Women and Itawamba Community College. In 2001, he co-chaired the State Leadership Summit on Higher Education with then Governor Ronnie Musgrove. Mr. Patterson chaired the Education Committee of Blueprint Mississippi, a private sector initiative to develop a strategic plan for the State. He continues in the same capacity on the Executive Steering Committee of Momentum Mississippi, working in concert with the Mississippi Development Authority. In 2004, Mr. Patterson was appointed to an eleven- year term on the Mississippi Board of Trustees of the Institution for Higher Learning, the governing board for Mississippi's eight state universities.

Mr. Patterson is active in local and civic affairs. He has been President of the Tupelo Kiwanis Club and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army. For many years he has been active in the Yocona Area Council of the Boy Scouts, serving as a member of the Executive Board in various leadership roles, and currently serving as Council President. In 1997, Mr. Patterson was honored by election to the Mississippi Business Hall of Fame. In 2001, he was also elected to the Alumni Hall of Fame of The University of Mississippi. He and his wife, Ruby Kathryn, are active members of the First Presbyterian Church in Tupelo, where Mr. Patterson is a Ruling Elder. In the past he has served as Moderator of the Presbytery of St. Andrew and a member of the Presbytery Council. He also has served two terms as a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees of the National Foundation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).