Bill Samuels, Jr. is the chairman emeritus of Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc. Previously, Samuels, Jr. was president and CEO of Maker’s Mark for 35 years. He assumed leadership of Maker’s Mark in the mid-1970s. Samuels has chaired the board of more than 25 different non-profit organizations over the course of his career. He has been recognized as Kentucky’s Entrepreneur of the Year on three occasions and was named Louisville’s 2004 Citizen of the Year. Samuels was honored by Ernst & Young as Kentucky’s 2011 Lifetime Achievement Entrepreneur, was inducted into the Kentucky Business Hall of Fame in 2006, and was part of the inaugural class of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2001. He earned a degree in engineering physics, and also helped design both the Gemini and Polaris missiles. Then, it was on to law school.