James Arthur Pope

Chairman and CEO, Variety Wholesalers

Art Pope is Chairman and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, Inc., which owns and operates a general merchandise retail chain with over 400 store locations in the eastern United States and employs over 10,000 people. Art is also Chairman and cofounder of the John William Pope Foundation, a private foundation that makes grants to support public policy, education, arts, and humanitarian efforts. Art’s public service includes serving as a member of the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina from 2020 to present, being State Budget Director of North Carolina for 2013-2014, being elected to four terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives (1999-2002, 1989-1992), and serving as special counsel to Governor Jim Martin of North Carolina in 1985.

Art lives in Raleigh, NC, and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, BA with honors (1978), and received his JD from Duke University (1981). He and his wife Kathy have a blended family of three adult children.