“Former Mayor Williams’ leadership and experience in banking, governance, finance, community relations, and business relations will be tremendous assets for our bank, as ODNB continues to grow the number of small- and mid-sized businesses, entrepreneurs, consumers and other customers we serve throughout Washington, Northern Virginia and Maryland,” Chairman and CEO Mark S. Merrill said. “As a locally owned and managed financial institution, we have an opportunity and an obligation to help our communities, businesses and institutions to succeed in these challenging times, doing so with the guidance of a board of highly experienced directors, including Former Mayor Williams.”
Williams is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Federal City Council, a non-partisan organization focusing the creative and administrative talents of Washington’s business and professional leaders on major problems and opportunities facing the District. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to King and Spalding, LLP.
Williams is an experienced bank director, serving on the board of the Bank of Georgetown from 2012 until its sale in 2016. He also previously served as a director of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and has served on the boards of several other companies, the Urban Institute and the National Geographic Society.
Prior to serving two terms as Washington’s mayor, Williams served as the district’s chief financial officer. Previously, he served as the first CFO of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, appointed by President Bill Clinton.
Williams has taught public finance and urban leadership as the William H. Bloomberg Lecturer in Public Management at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government while coordinating programs for the Municipal Innovation Program at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Mayor Williams received his B.A. from Yale University, M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and J.D. from Harvard Law School.