William M. Street

William M. Street - Leader and Industry Great

The year was 1870 when George Garvin Brown, an auspicious young pharmaceutical representative from Louisville recognized an opportunity within the “medicinal” whiskey market. With some family financial assistance, luck, and the help of his accountant friend George Forman, the beverage giant Brown-Forman was soon founded. Over the years, the company went through some industry highs, such as the 1960 acquisition of Jack Daniel’s, and some lows, such as occurred for all alcohol producers during the Prohibition movement. However, Brown-Forman was always guided by innovative, dedicated, industrious (and usually related) management. Some of this leadership included industry pioneers such as Owsley Brown, Clarence Doisseau, Garvin Brown, Owsley Brown II, Dan Street and William Lee Lyons Brown. That list of Brown-Forman legends also includes industry vanguard William M. “Bill” Street.

Bill Street was born in Louisville in 1938 to Francis Woodruff Street and Daniel (Dan) Street, who was at that time president of Brown-Forman. Showing an aptitude for business from an uncommonly early age, Bill quickly graduated from Princeton University, then Harvard, before beginning as a sales trainee at his father’s company in 1956. His hard work and dedication ensured that he steadily made his way up the corporate ladder at Brown-Forman, and in November of 2000, Bill was named president of the company. 

During his career, Bill was known as a visionary who helped usher in Brown-Forman’s globalization strategy. This marked the start of an era of unprecedented growth for the company. As president, the conservative Street continued to focus less on acquisitions and more on product globalization, ultimately helping to expand Brown-Forman’s beverage business to more than 170 countries. This lead to unparalleled stability at the company, delighting shareholders and frustrating industry rivals.

In addition to being president of Brown-Forman, Street also served on the boards of Papa Johns, Inc and the Filson Historical Society. He was also chairman of Greater Louisville, Inc., the Governor’s Scholar Program and the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority. In 2015, Bill was inducted into the Kentucky Distiller’s Hall of Fame on the same day as Wild Turkey legend Jimmy Russell. He was also honored with several Kentucky business Hall of Fame and leadership awards; following his retirement from Brown-Forman in 2003, Street won Greater Louisville’s coveted Gold Cup Award for Outstanding Business and Civic Leadership.

Sadly, on July 26, 2018 William M. “Bill” Street died following a long battle with cancer, just two months shy of his 80th birthday. Street had spent his entire working career at Brown-Forman. He was survived by his wife Lindy, seven children and eleven grandchildren. Then-chairman of Brown-Forman Paul Varga said of Street’s death, “He will be remembered as a gracious and good man who enriched the lives of so many people at our company and in our community”. Kentucky native and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell added, “Bill’s love for his family, his community and his profession helped pave a path to success, and he earned the admiration of many along the way”.

Contributed by: Tracy McLemore Dickson, Tennessee