Bill G. Lance Jr.

Bill G. Lance Jr. serves as Secretary of State for the Chickasaw Nation, a federally recognized sovereign nation. In this capacity, he represents the Nation on the executive committees of the American Gaming Association, National Indian Gaming Association, Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, and the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes. He also sits on the board of directors for several Chickasaw Nation enterprises, including Sovereign Native Holdco, LLC, and Chickasaw Nation Industries, Inc., and serves as a non-executive director of Aristocrat Leisure Limited.

Previously, Lance served as the Secretary of Commerce (CEO of the Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce) from April 2009 to 2022, overseeing more than 60 enterprises with over 7,000 employees across gaming, hospitality, retail, media, manufacturing, and tourism. Earlier in his career, he was Administrator of the Chickasaw Nation Health System, managing over 500 employees and an operating budget of more than $77 million, and oversaw the construction of the 370,000‑square‑foot Chickasaw Nation Medical Center in Ada, Oklahoma.

Lance holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Oklahoma College of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from East Central University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves on the boards of BancFirst, the Chickasaw Foundation, and OU Medicine. In 2026, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oklahoma.