George Clemon Freeman, III, was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1963.  He attended St. Christopher’s School (Class of 1981), University of Virginia (class of 1985) and Yale Law School (Class of 1989).  After graduating from law school, he clerked for the Honorable Richard S. Arnold, on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the Honorable Lewis F. Powell, Jr., who was retired but maintained chambers at the U. S. Supreme Court.

He then went to work for Hunton & Williams in the fall of 1991 where he worked for the Corporate and Securities team.  In 1997, he went to work for Universal Corporation’s legal department.  George became General Counsel of Universal Corporation in 2001, and then in 2005 left the legal department of Universal to go into general management and served as Executive Vice President of Universal Leaf Tobacco Company.  In December 2006, he was elected President of Universal Corporation, and he was elected President & Chief Executive Officer of Universal Corporation in April 2008.  In August 2008, he was elected Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer of Universal Corporation.

George is currently a director of American Civil War Center, Children’s Hospital Foundation, Delta Waterfowl Foundation, Tredegar Corporation, Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia, and TowneBank.  He is also a trustee of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, Virginia Historical Society, and of the Virginia Chapter of the Nature Conservancy.

George is married to Louise Gilbert Freeman from Statesville, North Carolina, and has three children: Sara Presley Freeman, Katherine Colston Freeman, and George C. Freeman, IV. George is an avid duck and goose hunter, and he enjoys fishing, shooting and American History.