Ron Williams

Ronald Allen Williams
Ronald Allen Williams
Born	1949
Occupation(s)	Business executive, board member, author
Known for	Former chairman, president, and CEO of Aetna Inc.; founder, chairman, and CEO of RW2 Enterprises, LLC
Notable work	Learning to Lead: The Journey to Leading Yourself, Leading Others, and Leading an Organization

Ronald Allen Williams (born 1949) is an accomplished American executive and board member with extensive involvement in corporate, governmental, and non-profit organizations. He formerly held the roles of chairman, president, and chief executive officer (CEO) at Aetna Inc. Currently, he is the founder, chairman, and CEO of RW2 Enterprises, LLC. Williams is also the author of Learning to Lead: The Journey to Leading Yourself, Leading Others, and Leading an Organization.

Business leadership

Williams currently serves on the board of Warby Parker and has previously contributed as a director for Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and American Express. He acts as an operating advisor for the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). Additionally, he co-founded agilon health and chairs its board while also leading apree health as chairman—an organization formed through the combination of VERA Whole Health and Castlight.

In his capacity as chairman of The Conference Board, Williams participates actively with the Committee for Economic Development (CED). Until 2024, he was a member of the McKinsey & Company External Advisory Group.

His previous leadership roles include vice chairman of The Business Council from 2008 to 2010 and chairmanship of the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH). He has also provided counsel to The Wall Street Journal CEO Council and contributed to the GE Healthymagination Advisory Committee.

Aetna leadership

Williams led Aetna as chairman and CEO until November 2010 and continued as chairman through April 2011. He chaired the Aetna Foundation between 2006 and April 2011. By 2011, Aetna’s revenues had grown to $34 billion, placing it 77th on the Fortune 100 rankings.

Williams joined Aetna in 2001, becoming president and a board member in 2002. He was appointed CEO in February 2006 and elevated to chairman in October of that year. At his arrival, Aetna was facing a net loss of $292 million with earnings per share (EPS) at a negative $0.46. By 2011, the company achieved $2.0 billion in full-year operating earnings with an operating EPS of $5.17, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in operating EPS of 12.3% over five years.

Public service

Williams contributes to MIT’s North America Executive Board. In March 2011, President Barack Obama appointed him to the President's Management Advisory Board, where he served until 2017. He is also involved with advisory boards for both the Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

In 2013, Williams was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a prestigious independent policy research institution.

Early business career

Prior to his tenure at Aetna, Williams held positions as group president and president at WellPoint (now Anthem), beginning his career there when it was Blue Cross of California in 1987. He also co-founded Visa Health Corp. and served as group marketing executive at Control Data Corporation.

Education

Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Roosevelt University and earned an Master of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Awards and honors

Named among Modern Healthcare magazine’s "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare" in 2009
Included in Black Enterprise magazine’s "100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America" for 2009
Recognized by Institutional Investor magazine in 2009 as one of "America's Best CEOs" in the Health Care – Managed Care category

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