Geisha J. Williams (born Jimenez, c. 1961/1962) is a

Cuban American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...

businesswoman. She was the president and CEO of the

Pacific Gas and Electric Company The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...

(PG&E) from March 2017 to January 13, 2019.

Early life

Williams was born Geisha J. Jimenez in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. At the age of five, Geisha migrated to the US with her parents, after her father, a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

in Cuba, was released from prison. Her father worked various jobs to provide for his family and went on to own their own grocery store. She has a bachelor's degree in

industrial engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex process (engineering), processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, kno ...

from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Nova Southeastern University Nova Southeastern University (NSU or, informally, Nova) is a private nonprofit research university with its main campus in Davie, Florida. The university consists of 14 total colleges, centers, and schools offering over 150 programs of study. ...

Career

After university, Williams worked for

Florida Power & Light Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the principal subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc. (formerly FPL Group, Inc.), is the largest power utility in Florida. It is a Juno Beach, Florida-based power utility company serving roughly 5 million customer ...

(FPL), starting as a residential energy auditor. Williams joined

(PG&E) in 2007. In March 2017, William became the first

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

chief executive officer of a

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

company. She is a director at the

Edison Electric Institute The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is an association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Its members provide electricity for 220 million Americans, operate in 50 states and the District of Columbia, and directly employ ...

, the

Institute of Nuclear Power Operations The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), headquartered in Atlanta, GA, is an organization established in 1979 by the U.S. nuclear power industry in response to recommendations by the Kemeny Commission Report, following the investigation ...

and the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies and is the board chairwoman for the Center for Energy Workforce Development.

Compensation criticism

In January 2019 Williams left

PG&E The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...

as the company struggled to deal with legal and financial repercussions associated with a series of devastating California wildfires, which occurred in 2017 and 2018. Despite losing more than $6 billion, Williams received a pay raise of 8.12% in 2018. PG&E filed for bankruptcy immediately after Williams' departure. Williams is criticized for a $10mm+ pay packaging including $2.6mm in severance pay when she left PG&E as the company prepared to enter bankruptcy. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' reported that, "Williams’ compensation encompassed numerous perks, including a car and driver, a $51,000 security system for her home, health club and “executive health” services worth $5,453 and financial services subsidized to the tune of $7,980." In April 2019, California Governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...

expressed concern that new PG&E board members would have little knowledge of California, and may lack the expertise to safely run a utility. Williams was succeeded by John Simon as interim CEO, then, in May 2019, Bill Johnson became CEO, garnering "more than twice the base salary" of Williams.

Personal life

Williams is married to Jay Williams, and they have two daughters. She is a board director of the

Bipartisan Policy Center The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that promotes bipartisanship. The organization aims to combine ideas from both the Republican and Democratic parties to address challenges in the U.S. BPC focuses on iss ...

and the a trustee of the

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Geisha J. 1960s births Women corporate directors American corporate directors American women business executives 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Living people American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies University of Miami College of Engineering alumni Nova Southeastern University alumni Cuban emigrants to the United States American women chief executives 20th-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesswomen Pacific Gas and Electric Company people