Keith Williams (businessman)

Keith Williams is a British businessman, and the executive chairman of Royal Mail.

Keith Williams
Born
Teesside, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Liverpool
OccupationBusinessman
EmployerBritish Airways (formerly)
Halfords
Royal Mail

Early life

Williams was born on Teesside, England,[1] and received an undergraduate degree from the University of Liverpool.[2]

Career

Williams spent his early career with Boots, Apple Inc., and Reckitt and Colman.[3]

In 1998, Williams left Reckitt and Colman, and joined British Airways, rising to CEO in 2011, and then chairman.[1][4][5] In April 2016, he was succeeded by Álex Cruz as chairman.[5]

Williams has been a non-executive director and deputy chairman of John Lewis, and a non-executive director of Aviva until May 2019.[3][6]

Williams has been the chairman of Halfords since July 2018.[3]

In May 2019, Williams, then deputy chairman, and a board member since January 2018, succeeded Les Owen as chairman of Royal Mail.[6]

In May 2020, Rico Back resigned as CEO of Royal Mail with immediate effect, and Williams, the chairman, replaced him as executive chairman.[4][7]

Williams is the independent chair of the Government-supported Rail Review.[3]

Honours

In 2019, Williams was awarded an honorary doctorate by Teesside University.[1]

References
  1. "Honorary Graduates | About us | Teesside University".
  2. "Keith Williams - Biography". marketscreener.com. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  3. "Keith Williams - Halfords Group PLC".
  4. Bow, Michael (15 May 2020). "Royal Mail chief executive Rico Back in shock exit from postal giant". Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  5. Davies, Rob (6 November 2015). "British Airways: Alex Cruz to replace Keith Williams as chairman". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  6. "Keith Williams to succeed les Owen as Chairman of Royal Mail in May 2019".
  7. Gill, Oliver (15 May 2020). "Royal Mail boss Rico Back ousted with £450,000 payoff". The Telegraph.
Business positions
Preceded by
Willie Walsh		 CEO of British Airways
2011–2016		 Succeeded by
Álex Cruz
Preceded by
Dennis Millard		 Chairman of Halfords
2018–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Les Owen		 Chairman of Royal Mail
2018–present
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