Dunavant CFO Weathersby named lifetime award winner

By Michelle Corbet, Memphis Business Journal

HJ Weathersby has managed the finances for every business venture Dunavant Enterprises Inc. has invested its time and resources in over the past 40 years.

While the Dunavant name is synonymous with cotton, the company's longtime, semi-retired CFO has also balanced the books for a myriad of other business types: coal, luggage, waterslides, poultry, beach resorts, golf courses and even the United States Football League.

Weathersby, this year's CFO Lifetime Achievement Award winner, will be honored at MBJ's annual CFO of the Year Awards breakfast Friday, Oct. 21, where the nominees of four categories will be honored and the winners announced.

A native of Southern Mississippi, Weathersby came to Memphis in 1964 to attend Rhodes College, then called Southwestern, earning his English degree in 1968.

During the Vietnam era, Weathersby served with the United States Air Force in San Antonio. While there, he took business courses and later returned to the Bluff City to attend Memphis State College, graduating with the equivalent of a degree in accounting.

By 1972, Weathersby was working as a public accountant at Rhea & Ivy PLC when he was introduced to Dunavant Enterprises. Four years later, William B. Dunavant Jr., chairman of the board, hired Weathersby as a staff accountant, and he worked his way to senior executive officer and CFO before retiring in May of 2016.

The 7th annual CFO awards breakfast will take place Friday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn University of Memphis.

Presenting Sponsor of the CFO of the Year Awards is Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Gold Sponsors are CBIZ MHM and Vaco. Automotive Sponsor is Chuck Hutton Chevrolet. Gift Bag Sponsor is C Spire Business Solutions.