Drawing on his background in finance, management and diplomacy, William leads the Simon Institute’s staff and operations as the director of operations and planning. Prior to joining the Simons Institute, William served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State at the U.S. embassies in Nepal, Ukraine, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka. As a diplomat, he provided economic, environmental, human rights, and political analysis that was essential to policymaking, built alliances that served as a multiplier to achieve strategic goals, and advised C-suite management, ambassadors, Members of Congress and the secretary of state on global strategic issues.

Before pivoting into diplomacy, William advised institutional investors as a high-yield and corporate bond research analyst at sell-side and buy-side financial institutions. Immediately after earning his MBA, William served as a MBA Enterprise Corps volunteer in Russia where he assisted Russian businesspeople transition to a market economy. William earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He obtained both a masters of business administration in finance and marketing and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Rochester. An avid trail runner and cyclist, William resides in Berkeley with his family.