He was the chairman of the National Life and Accident Insurance Company and the author of four poetry collections.

Jesse Wills began working there at age 23 when he was a student at Vanderbilt University and remained with the company his entire career.

[1] In 1925, the company created radio station WSM to help promote their business and built a studio on the fifth floor of their building.

[2][3] In 1922, while a student at Vanderbilt, Wills was a member of the "Fugitives," an influential literary movement.

[4] The Fugitives wrote and published poetry, and included notable writers Robert Penn Warren, Allen Tate, John Crowe Ransom and Donald Davidson.