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Dennis Carothers Stanfill (born April 1, 1927) is an American business executive, Rhodes Scholar and philanthropist. He is best known for his stewardship of the 20th Century Fox Film Corporation from 1971 to 1981 as chairman and chief executive officer. He joined Fox in 1969 in the newly created post of executive vice president-finance, and at the same time became a member of Fox’s board of directors and executive committee. Prior to joining Fox, he served as vice president at the Times Mirror Company, and at Lehman Brothers in New York as a corporate finance specialist.
During his tenure at Fox the studio was turned around from near bankruptcy, partly as a result of the extravagant prior managements. Under Stanfill’s guidance, Fox became a diversified, prosperous company largely through internal development and acquisition activities. The market value of Fox’s common stock in the early 1970s was approximately $40 million; its 1980 sales were $865 million with after-tax profits of $55 million. Stockholders received over $800 million in cash and stock when Fox was sold in mid-1981.