William T. Ratliff, III
Biography
Will Ratliff recently stepped down after serving 34 years as CEO of Collateral
Holdings, a company founded by his grandfather. He passed the CEO role to his nephew,
Jonathan Ratliff. Collateral’s businesses are in employee benefits, insurance services, and
commercial real estate.
Will attended Amherst College, earned a doctorate in Applied Behavioral Science at
UMass Amherst, and worked as a teacher, counselor, and school director before joining
Collateral. He has been active in many community organizations, including YouthServe,
which he helped found; Rotary Club of Birmingham; the National Conference for Community
and Justice; St. Mary’s Sewanee; Good News Children Education Mission in Kolkata, India;
the Society of International Business Fellows; and A+ Education Partnership. Civic activities
take up an ever-increasing share of his time. He is chair of an International Peace
Conference taking place in Birmingham in 2023 initiated by Rotary.
Will and his wife, Carolyn, are members of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and have
three grown children. His son Tom is married to the former Melody Gillezeau of Trinidad,
whom he met while they were both working in Costa Rica. Tom also works at Collateral. His
daughter Cassie lives and works in Atlanta. His daughter Lillie lives and works in New York
and recently married Sam Breslow.