John W. Allison: Arkansas Business Hall of Fame

John W. Allison grew up in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and earned a business administration degree from Arkansas State University in 1969. In the following years, he purchased multiple mobile home factories.

In 1998, he established Home BancShares, an investment group headquartered in Conway. Led by Allison and Robert H. Adcock Jr., the company began acquiring banks in Arkansas. In 1999, they established First State Bank in Conway and then purchased Community Bank, Bank of Mountain View and Centennial Bank. They aligned their holdings under the Centennial Bank name in 2009.

Extending their reach in 2010, they acquired six banks in Florida, and in 2022, the company added Happy Bancshares and Happy State Bank in Texas. Today, Home BancShares has Centennial Bank branches in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Alabama and New York City.

A public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Home BancShares held $22 billion in assets in September 2024. One of seven publicly traded banks with an A-plus ranking, it is consistently ranked by Forbes as a Best Bank in America and earned a #1 ranking in 2018, 2019 and 2022.

Allison was a trustee on the Arkansas State University Board from 1979 to 1984, serving as chairman in 1983. He and his wife family have donated millions to the Arkansas State Red Wolves Foundation, and he helped establish an entrepreneurial speaker series in the University of Central Arkansas College of Business. He is also an Arkansas State Police commissioner and serves on its retirement and insurance committee.

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