Financier Jeffrey P. Williams to Receive Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cincinnati

Jeffrey P. Williams, President of Jeffrey Williams & Co. LLC and Trustee and Chairman of the University of Cincinnati Foundation, will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Commercial Science at the University of Cincinnati Commencement Ceremony at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 13 at the Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center. The honorary degree represents the highest award given by the University of Cincinnati.

Williams was born in Columbus, Ohio and spent all of his childhood in Cincinnati. In 1975 he received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Cincinnati and worked in the construction and commercial real estate industries for two years. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School (with distinction) in 1979.

With more than 25 years of investment banking, private equity and corporate management experience, Williams has advised some of the world’s largest corporations in the areas of finance and technological innovation and has orchestrated industry-changing corporate restructurings.

Based in New York City, Jeffrey Williams & Co. LLC is an independent advisory firm providing counsel on a wide range of strategic and financial matters. As president of the company, Williams has been involved in a vast array of transactions, focusing on providing robust advice to senior decision makers on their most pressing strategic and financial issues.  Notably, Williams led the restructuring of Pegaso PCS followed by its sale to Telefonica Moviles SA for $1.5 billion, and led the successful defense of Leap Wireless International against a hostile suitor.  In addition, he has worked closely with a number of fund management firms to develop and implement investment programs in the communications sector.

Prior to founding his own firm, Williams was a partner at Greenhill & Co., an independent global investment bank and he was a lead advisor in the media, technology and telecommunications industries. He served as principal financial advisor on transactions valued in access of $5.2 billion for technology and media-focused clients that included Compaq Computer Corporation, the Alta Vista Company, Opus360 Corporation and Chancellor Media Corporation.

Williams previously served as executive vice president, Strategic Development and Global Markets, for the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. – a global multimedia publishing and information company that operates in the finance, education, construction, medical and health, aerospace and defense markets. Williams led the successful development of the company’s first comprehensive framework for international expansion.

Prior to joining McGraw-Hill, Williams spent 17 years at Morgan Stanley & Co. in the Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Finance Departments.  Williams was a managing director at Morgan Stanley for nine years and served as head of the company’s Telecommunications and Media Group from 1984-1996. While at Morgan Stanley, he advised clients throughout North America, Europe and Southeast Asia, serving as principal financial advisor on transactions valued in excess of $200 billion. In 1995 and 1996, he was directly responsible for guiding the separation of AT&T into its five constituent parts, including the initial public offering of Lucent Technologies. Williams’ transaction experience spans a variety of deal structures that include mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, equity and debt financings.

Williams is ex-officio chair of the University of Cincinnati’s $1 billion Proudly Cincinnati capital campaign, the largest fund raising campaign in the university’s history. In addition to serving as trustee and chairman of the UC Foundation, he also serves as trustee, vice president and secretary of the New York-based International Center of Photography, co-chairperson of the Environmental Defense Action Fund and as trustee of the New Canaan Library Association.

UC Commencement Information