Mark Wilson was born and raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He has leveraged the lessons of his humble beginnings into a successful entrepreneurial career. He founded two companies, Ryla Teleservices and Chime Solutions, to bring jobs to underinvested-in communities. Both have been the subject if case studies at Harvard Business School, where he regularly serves as a guest lecturer. Mark's vision and leadership have earned him several prestigious honors, including Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award and induction into the Hall of Fame for the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. he has been featured by NBC News and in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Entrepreneur, Black Enterprise, and Kiplinger magazines. Mark is married to Shelly Wilson and they have two children, Ryan and Lauren, a daughter-in-law, Cassie, and two grandchildren, Camryn and Jayden. Mark earned his degree in Business Administration and Management at Wilberforce University, the nation's first private historically Black college in Ohio.

He is a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and was recognized with an honorary doctorate from Wilberforce University.