president of Millsaps College (Jackson) Bernie Machen (born 1944), president of University of Florida (Greenwood) Walter E. Massey (born 1938), physicist, University of Chicago (Hattiesburg) William H. Miller (born 1941), theoretical chemist (Kosciusko) William Muse (born 1939), chancellor at East Carolina University Rod Paige (born 1933), U.S. secretary of education (Monticello) Milburn Price (born 1938), hymnologist, dean of School of Performing Arts, Samford University (Electric Mills) Dan Reneau (born 1940), president of Louisiana Tech University (Woodville) Argile Smith (born 1955), clergyman and educator (Poplarville) Louis Westerfield (1949–1996), law professor, first African-American Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law (De Kalb) Fannie C. Williams (1882–1980), normal school educator (Biloxi) Entrepreneurs and business leaders Jim Barksdale (born 1943), president and CEO of Netscape (Jackson) Joseph A. Biedenharn (1866–1952), confectioner, first Coca-Cola bottler (Vicksburg) George W. Bryan (born 1946), Sara Lee executive (West Point) John H. Bryan (1936–2018), Sara Lee executive (West Point) Bill Bynum, credit union founder and philanthropist Cynthia Cooper, WorldCom vice president, whistleblower (Clinton) Bernard "Bernie" Ebbers (1941–2020), founder and CEO of WorldCom, convicted of fraud and conspiracy (Brookhaven) Joshua Green (1869–1975), shipping magnate, banker (Jackson) Toxey Haas (born 1960), founder and CEO of Haas Outdoors, Inc. (West Point) Robert L. Johnson (born 1946), founder of Black Entertainment Television (Hickory) Ken Lewis (born 1947), Bank of America executive (Meridian) Matteo Martinolich (1860–1934), master shipbuilder (DeLisle) Walter E. Massey (born 1938), corporate executive (Hattiesburg) Glenn McCullough (born 1954), chairman and CEO of GLM Associates, LLC (Tupelo) Charles Moorman (born 1953), CEO of Norfolk Southern (Hattiesburg) Clarence Otis Jr. (born 1956), CEO of Darden Restaurants (Vicksburg) Hartley Peavey (born 1941), founder of Peavey Electronics (Meridian) Pig Foot Mary (1870–1929), culinary entrepreneur (Mississippi Delta) Robert Pittman (born 1953), founder of MTV, executive at AOL (Jackson) J. H. Rush (1868–1931), founder of Rush's Infirmary (De Kalb) Fred Smith (born 1944), founder of FedEx (Marks) James Breckenridge Speed (1844–1912), industrial pioneer Antonio Maceo Walker (1909–1994), president, Universal Life Insurance Company (Indianola) Zig Ziglar (1926–2012), motivational speaker, author, salesman (Yazoo City) Filmmakers Charles Burnett (born 1944), film director and producer (Vicksburg) Jamaa Fanaka (1942–2012), film director (Jackson) John Fortenberry, film and television director (Jackson) Lawrence Gordon (born 1936), film producer, Die Hard (Yazoo City) Jonathan Murray (born 1955), creator of the reality television genre (Gulfport) Patrik-Ian Polk (born 1973), film writer and director (Hattiesburg) Bryan Spears (born 1977), film and television producer (McComb) Tate