Skip to main content
Bill Crutchfield

Bill Crutchfield

Crutchfield CEO

  • achievement 6 articles written
The Crutchfield story: the 2020s

The Crutchfield story: the 2020s

The early 2020s have been a time of adaptations and improvements for Crutchfield. We also celebrated our 50th anniversary and received prestigious recognition from the Virginia state legislature.

by Crutchfield's Bill Crutchfield

A little about me

In 1974, with only $1,000 in capital, Bill Crutchfield founded Crutchfield Corporation in his mother's basement. Since then, Crutchfield Corporation has grown into one of the nation's largest and most respected specialty direct retailers.

In October 2007, Bill Crutchfield was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Association's Hall of Fame. At the invitation of Samsung, he carried the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch in Hangzhou, China, in 2008. In 2011, Virginia Business magazine listed him as one of Virginia's 25 most notable entrepreneurs over the past 25 years. Virginia Business magazine picked him as one of the 500 most influential Virginians for 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Bill Crutchfield has served five Virginia governors of both parties on various commissions, councils and boards including the University of Virginia's senior board. He has been an executive lecturer at UVA's Darden School of Business for the past 45 years.

During the Vietnam War, Bill Crutchfield served in the United States Air Force as a commander of a Titan II missile crew and as a Strategic Air Command senior instructor. For his distinguished service, he was twice awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal. Bill Crutchfield separated from the service in 1970 holding the rank of Captain.