Les Williams, a Certified Risk Manager (CRM), is the leadership team’s head of business development and sales initiatives. He works with clients to help develop risk mitigation strategies and provide insurance portfolio management, specializing in crafting solutions for emerging risks such as cyber liability insurance, political risk insurance, and other complex domestic and global challenges. Mr. Williams is a featured “Risk Insider”, and his monthly columns appear in the publication Risk & Insurance. In 2020 Mr. Williams was recognized in this publication as a 2020 Power Broker for Specialty Lines , and he has appeared as a professional contributor in The Institutes’ CPCU online risk management curriculum. Mr. Williams is a member of the Cybersecurity Strategic Council for the Private Directors Association (PDA).
Les Williams, a Certified Risk Manager (CRM), works with clients to help develop risk mitigation strategies and provide insurance portfolio management, specializing in crafting solutions for emerging risks such as cyber liability insurance, political risk insurance, and other complex domestic and global challenges. Mr. Williams is a featured “Risk Insider” with many articles published in Risk & Insurance. In 2020 Mr. Williams was recognized in this publication as a 2020 Power Broker for Specialty Lines, and he has appeared as a professional contributor in The Institutes’ CPCU online risk management curriculum. Mr. Williams is a member of the Cybersecurity Strategic Council for the Private Directors Association (PDA).
Mr. Williams was raised in Alexandria, VA and attended the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. After high school, he attended The University of Virginia’s Rodman Scholars Engineering Program and graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He is a member of the Raven Society, I.M.P. Society, and served as a Peer Advisor to younger engineering students. At Graduation, Mr. Williams was one of two students given the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for outstanding contributions to Student Life during his tenure at UVA. After graduation from UVA, Mr. Williams was an engineer with Ford Motor Company in Detroit working on the engine programs for the Lincoln LS. In 2003, Mr. Williams left Michigan to attend Harvard Business School (HBS) where he served as Class Co-President. He continues his involvement with HBS to this day, serving as an avid admissions volunteer and he also served on the HBS Global Alumni Board from 2010-2013. In 2020 Mr. Williams received the Bert King Award for Service for his work supporting HBS Admissions.
Before joining Risk Cooperative, Mr. Williams held various positions in sales and marketing with firms in Atlanta (IBM, JLL) and Washington, DC (Landon Butler, LiveSafe, SoHookd). He enjoys traveling, biking, weightlifting, and reading. Mr. Williams is proud to serve as a trustee of the UVA Engineering Foundation, a member of the UVA Alumni Association Board of Managers, an associate adjunct professor at the UVA Engineering School, and an advisory board member of Monoc Securities, a security consulting firm providing resources to companies operating within the National Industrial Security Program (NISP). He is married to B.J. Wiley Williams (also a graduate of UVA/HBS and CEO and Founder of SoHookd), and they provide annual gifts to UVA and HBS supporting fellowships for current students. They reside in Arlington, VA.
