Nashville Business Breakfast


Founded in 2007, the Nashville Business Breakfast is a quarterly networking event, presented by Lipscomb University and the Nashville Business Journal, with a news-conference-style format, featuring business leaders with local economic impact. With an average attendance of more than 600 metro area professionals, the event provides an opportunity to connect with peers and hear a pertinent discussion with a business leader in the community.

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October 28, 2026

Bill Lee

Governor of Tennessee

Governor Bill Lee

Bill Lee | Governor of Tennessee

Bill Lee is a seventh-generation Tennessean and the 50th Governor of Tennessee. He was raised in Franklin, where he still resides today with his wife, Maria, on his family’s farm. He’s the proud father of four adult children (Jessica, twin sons Jacob and Caleb, and Sarah Kate) and eleven grandchildren.

After attending Williamson County Schools, Governor Lee attended Auburn University, where he studied Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, he returned home to Franklin to join the family business his grandfather started in 1944, a comprehensive mechanical construction service company. He became president of Lee Company in 1992.

Since becoming Governor in 2019, Governor Lee has focused on several priorities including a strong workforce, quality education, economic development, public safety, and supporting families, all with a particular focus on the accelerated transformation of rural Tennessee.

Under his leadership, Tennessee now has the fastest-growing economy of all 50 states, with the lowest tax burden in the nation, top business climate and a strong workforce strategy that have created more than 170,000 jobs for Tennesseans and generated $32 billion in capital investment since 2019. Tennessee’s unmatched business climate and skilled workforce continue to attract record investment from companies such as Ford Motor Company and SK On, In-N-Out, LG Chem, Oracle, General Motors and more.

Additionally, under Governor Lee’s leadership, Tennessee has passed the largest tax cut in state history, strengthened career and technical training, expanded school choice, prioritized a record $1 billion investment in public education and passed the largest teacher pay raise in Tennessee history.

The governor and first lady are people of strong faith. They are active in numerous faith-based ministries, which have taken them all over the world to serve people in need, including to Africa, Haiti, Central America, and the Middle East.