Regularly during the school year, the Dean hosts roundtable discussions with prominent guests who have utilized their law degrees in a variety of nontraditional ways. Over lunch with a small group of students, guests speak autobiographically about their work experiences, sharing valuable insight about how they found their chosen path. Please note that the roundtables are informal and off-the-record.
Kelly Williams ’89, who will be the Dean’s guest on Thursday, September 19, is managing director and head of the Customized Fund Investment Group (CFIG) at Credit Suisse. CFIG manages over $30 billion of client commitments to private equity and real estate funds, and specializes in designing tailored portfolios for investors. Williams was an executive director with Prudential’s private equity group where she founded CFIG in 1999. She was previously an associate with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy, where she specialized in global project finance.
Williams was recently honored as a “Woman of Power and Influence,” by the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women, and was recognized in 2011 and 2012 by American Banker magazine as one of the “25 Most Powerful Women in Finance.”
She is the founding board chair of the Private Equity Women Investor Network. She serves on the board of directors of the Council of Urban Professionals and the advisory board of the Association of Asian American Investment Managers. She is also the chair of the LP Advisory Council to Sponsors for Educational Opportunity.
Williams was elected to the YWCA Academy of Women Leaders in 2007, is a member of the Metro Chapter of the Young Presidents Association, and serves on the board of trustees of both Union College and the Robert Toigo Foundation. She has served as a mentor to fellows of the Robert Toigo Foundation since 2006, and was the 2010 recipient of its “Leading by Example” award.
She graduated magna cum laude from Union College in 1986 and received her JD from NYU School of Law in 1989.
The Dean’s roundtables are open to 18 interested NYU School of Law JD and graduate students. In order to achieve a representational mix of students, we will designate a proportionate number of seats to JD students and graduate students, respectively, to be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. The roundtables will begin at 12:30 P.M. in Snow Dining Room. If you would like to attend a roundtable, please sign up in advance by emailing Penelope Fernandes at penelope.fernandes@nyu.edu. Please indicate whether you are a J.D. or graduate student, and whether you have any dietary restrictions.