William Burrns

President of The Grocery Basket

William Burns is a fourth-generation grocer and the President of The Grocery Basket, a 50-year-old independent grocery store serving rural Mississippi. He leads vision, strategy, and growth initiatives while safeguarding a family legacy in food retail. As a Co-Founder & COO of MFO USA, William focuses lower middle market M&A—helping owners professionalize operations, structure acquisitions, and compound value across family-owned enterprises.

He cut his teeth at the University of Mississippi by launching and exiting several service businesses, and has since partnered in multiple small-business acquisitions and advised dozens of Main Street companies and startups on strategy, finance, and execution. A supporter of the Woody Williams Foundation’s Gold Star Families Memorial Monuments, William is originally from San Antonio, Texas, and is bilingual in Spanish.