William M. Batten

William Batten was born in Reedy, Roane County, West Virginia on 4 June 1909.[1] He received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Ohio State University in 1932 and did graduate work at the University of Chicago.[1][2]

In 1926, he started his career at J. C. Penney as a part-time salesman in his hometown.[2] In 1935, he worked as a full-time salesman in Lansing, Michigan.[2] He introduced the Penney credit card.[1] After serving in the Second World War, he worked in the New York City office of J. C. Penney in 1945. He became vice president in 1953 and a member of the board of directors in 1955.[2] In 1958, he became president and chief executive.[2] He served as chairman from 1964 to 1974.[2]

From 1976 to 1984, he served as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, taking over from James J. Needham.[3] In this capacity, he oversaw a $70 million renovation of the exchange floor and the installation of electronic equipment that tripled the daily trading capacity to 150 million shares.[2]

He served on the boards of directors of AT&T, Boeing and Texas Instruments.[2] He served as chairman of The Business Council from 1971 to 1972.[4] From 1984 to 1986, he was a visiting fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.[2]

He was married, with two children.[2] He died in Hilton Head, South Carolina on January 22, 1999.[2]