---
title: James Arthur Pope
description: Art Pope is Chairman and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, Inc., Chairman and co-founder of the John William Pope Foundation, and serves on the Board of Directors for The Bradley Foundation.
---

[Our People ](https://www.bradleyfdn.org/our-people)

# [James Arthur Pope](https://www.bradleyfdn.org/our-people/james-arthur-pope)

 Written by [Benjamin Hannemann](https://www.bradleyfdn.org/our-people/author/benjamin-hannemann) | May 31, 2023 3:04:16 PM

Art Pope is [Chairman and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, Inc.](http://artpope.com/), which owns and operates a general merchandise retail chain with over 400 store locations in the eastern United States and employs over 10,000 people. Art is also Chairman and co-founder of the [John William Pope Foundation](https://jwpf.org/), a private foundation that makes grants to support public policy, education, arts, and humanitarian efforts. Art’s public service includes serving as a member of the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina from 2020 to present, being State Budget Director of North Carolina for 2013-2014, being elected to four terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives (1999-2002, 1989-1992), and serving as special counsel to Governor Jim Martin of North Carolina in 1985.

 

Art lives in Raleigh, NC, and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. with honors (1978), and received his J.D. from Duke University (1981). He and his wife Kathy have a blended family of three adult children.

[View full post](https://www.bradleyfdn.org/our-people/james-arthur-pope)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Benjamin Hannemann"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2023-09-20T11:27:18.728Z",
  "datePublished" : "2023-05-31T15:04:16Z",
  "headline" : "James Arthur Pope",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 540,
    "url" : "https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/4152914/Bradley%20Foundation%20Staff/Art%20Pope.jpg",
    "width" : 546
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.bradleyfdn.org/our-people/james-arthur-pope",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Our People"
  }
}
```