Meet Kelly Williams

Kelly Williams is a distinguished art collector, philanthropist, and CEO of The Williams Legacy Foundation, recognized for her transformative impact in the alternative investment industry and her dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion in the arts. She founded the Customized Fund Investment Group (CFIG) at The Prudential Insurance Company of America in 1999. Under her leadership, CFIG grew into a market-leading platform managing more than $30 billion in private equity, real estate, and infrastructure assets. CFIG later became part of Credit Suisse Asset Management, where Ms. Williams served on the division’s Management Committee, before she led the sale of the business to GCM Grosvenor in 2014.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Williams was an associate with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, specializing in project finance, prior to joining Prudential.

Ms. Williams serves as a Board Director of The Greenbrier Companies (GBX), where she chairs the Compensation Committee and serves on the Nominating and Governance and Audit Committees. She also serves on the board of KKR Private Equity Conglomerate, where she is a member of the Audit Committee.

Ms. Williams is deeply engaged in nonprofit leadership and philanthropy. She is Chair of the Board of the Norton Museum of Art and previously served as Chair of the Board of Commissioners of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She also serves on the boards of The Kellogg Foundation, The Brooklyn Museum, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and is Trustee Emerita of Union College. She is the founding Chair of the Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN) and serves as Chair of the Limited Partners Advisory Council of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO).

Ms. Williams graduated magna cum laude from Union College and received her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law.