He previously served as president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 2011 to 2018.

[6] Williams began his career in 1994 as an economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

[7] Williams' public speaking often focuses on the natural rate of interest (also called "R-star"), sustainable growth, and the "new normal" of economics.

[8] Additionally, from 1999 through 2000 he served as senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers,[6] and in 2008 he was a lecturer at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

[6][9] Williams is married to Audrey Lyndon,[1] professor of health equity and associate dean of faculty affairs at the Rory Meyers College of Nursing at New York University.