Barry Willingham
President & CEO, Shangri-La Golf Club, Resort & Marina
Barry Willingham was named President and CEO of Shangri-La Golf Club, Resort & Marina in 2019. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Barry graduated from the University of Memphis with Business Administration Degrees in both Finance and Marketing. After graduation, he worked for Hilti for twenty years before being hired at Tulsa-based Ameristar Fence Products in 2002 with the task of starting a Security Division of the company, owned by Shangri-La owner Eddy Gibbs.
In 2010, he left Ameristar to accept a position as President of Smith & Wesson Security Solutions. He also served as Vice-President of Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation in Franklin, Tennessee. In 2012, after completing his commitment to Smith & Wesson, he returned to Ameristar as Vice President & General Manager.
When Eddy Gibbs sold Ameristar to Assa Abloy in 2013, Barry was named President and CEO of Perimeter Security Group of Assa Abloy, which includes Ameristar. He was directly responsible for more than 800 employees, 650 of them at the Tulsa Ameristar facility.
An in-demand public speaker, Barry is an avid boater and golfer. He and his wife Laura have had a home at Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees since 2005. They now live on Grand Lake’s Monkey Island in the heart of Shangri-La Resort.