Brian Williams
Brian Williams was born and raised in Boothbay Harbor and lives in Bangor with his wife Julie Dawson Williams and sons – Liam (10) and Mason (8). Brian and Julie have owned Dawson Co. in Bangor for the past 10+ years, where Julie is the primary operator. The entity is a family of companies including; ERA Dawson Bradford Co. REALTORS, Dawson Commercial Brokers, Dawson Development, Dawson Properties, and Dawson Insurance.
Williams’ primary career has been as a seasoned executive who specializes in public sector/government strategy, policy, program development, and performance-based execution. A proven, outcome-driven thought-leader focused on profitable, sustainable results; Williams began his career in Washington, DC with American Management Systems (AMS), building large data warehousing systems for financial and government clients.
After AMS, Williams spent 17 years with the Dun & Bradstreet corporation (NASDAQ: DNB) in Washington, DC, developing D&B’s government business. Among meaningful achievements, Williams was the longtime architect of the US Government’s multidecade adoption of the D&B DUNS Number and D&B business data to operate the world’s largest spending and logics enterprise. Subsequently, these capabilities were, and continue to be, deployed within corresponding international governments and across many US state and local governments. In his latter years at D&B, Williams relaunched the government affairs function for the corporation and was the primary lobbyist and spokesman for D&B Government, and related industries.
After D&B, Williams joined Sterling (NASDAQ: STER) in New York City to launch their Government and Education Division as well as support its eventual IPO in September 2021. Sterling is a leading global provider of background and identity services, helping over 50,000 clients create people-first cultures built on a foundation of trust and safety. As the General Manager of Sterling’s Government and Education Division, Williams reported to the COO and CEO and led the development of this newly consolidated line of business before departing in early 2022.
Outside of Dawson Co., Williams continues to maintain a consulting practice for past clients and partners; and pursues an active portfolio of local investments in Maine.
Williams graduated from Boothbay Region High School and received an artium baccalaureus (AB) degree in Economics and German from Bowdoin College, with concentration in computer science. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Sloan School of Management Executive Education curriculum and completed the Certificate Program in Supply Chain Strategy and Management.
Williams served on the President’s Visiting Committee, and as a Fund Director, for Bowdoin College; additionally, he served/s on local boards including the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, Friends of the Cross Insurance Center, and as a Corporator for Northern Light Health.