David S. Williams

David Williams, a principal in the global professional services firm Deloitte LLP, has more than 30 years of experience as a practicing management consultant providing consulting services in various industries on business and financial issues. His experience includes strategic planning and business transformation, new business development and pricing, manufacturing and service delivery, cost measurement and control, performance measurement and financial accounting and reporting. He has testified as an expert in litigation, arbitration, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution matters; served as an arbitrator/mediator; and consulted with management, executives and boards of directors. He has experience in the calculation of damages in commercial disputes involving breach of contract, financial and securities fraud, wrongful termination, adjustment of purchase price, regulatory non-compliance and other causes of action.

In addition to his consulting experience, during his tenure with Deloitte, David has served in various leadership positions. He served as the chief executive office of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, and the chairman and chief executive officer of Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics, both U.S. operating subsidiaries of Deloitte US. Deloitte FAS and DTBA are specialty-consulting businesses, providing advice and counsel to companies faced with opportunities for growth such as a merger or acquisition, or critical challenges such as fraud, litigation or restructuring. As CEO, David was responsible for positioning and enabling the business to deliver sustainable revenue and earnings growth and return to Deloitte’s partners. His leadership responsibilities extended to more than 2,000 professionals. During his six-year tenure as CEO, David led a strategic repositioning of the business in order to take advantage of unprecedented changes in the professional services marketplace and the business expanded its scope of services through both organic service development and four acquisitions, almost doubled in size, and substantially increased its profit margins.

David also served on the Deloitte FAS and DTBA boards of directors and led both one of FAS’ major service lines and one of its major geographical practices. David has also served in leadership roles within Deloitte LLP, including serving on its board of directors (and chairing its executive evaluation committee), serving on its executive committee, and acting as global business leader for one of its major service lines.

Additionally, following his term as CEO, David served as Deloitte’s leader of policy, government relation and corporate citizenship. In this role, he was responsible for Deloitte’s policy, government and community activities, with a focus on using these key tools to augment and accelerate Deloitte’s business strategies and stakeholder engagement. He worked collaboratively with clients to inform federal, state and local governments on issues, identifies new and developing policy topics and legislative issues, and united internal stakeholders around a common agenda of collective impact that advanced both the firm and society at large.

Prior to Deloitte, David was a principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and its legacy firm Price Waterhouse LLP.

David speaks regularly with top-tier media as well as at prominent industry conferences and universities. He frequently discusses global trends in mergers and acquisitions, the impact of regulatory changes and legislation on business, and how innovation and technology are changing today’s marketplace.

David earned his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an associate member of the American Bar Association. In addition, he serves on the regional advisory board of Teach For America – New York, the My Brother’s Keeper board and the Pro Bono Institute board.