Billie Williamson

Billie served as a Senior Assurance Partner and the Americas Inclusiveness Officer of Ernst & Young LLP until her retirement at the end of 2011. She began her career at Ernst & Young LLP in 1974 and spent the first 19 years in the assurance practice, becoming a partner is 1984. She then left to become CFO of AMX Corp. in Dallas where she led the Company’s successful IPO and subsequently became Senior Vice President, Finance of Marriott International, Inc. in Washington, D.C. She rejoined Ernst & Young in 1998 in EY’s Center for Strategic Transactions. She became a senior client-serving partner at EY and served some of the firm’s largest global accounts in aerospace and defense, technology and other industries. She served as a member of EY’s Americas Executive Board which functions as the Board of Directors for EY. She also served on the U. S. Executive Board, responsible for partnership matters for the firm.

Billie now serves on the Board of Directors of Pentair Ltd – a focused diversified industrial manufacturing company, on the Board of Directors of Janus Capital Group – a multi-national money management firm and on the Board of Directors of Energy Future Holdings Corporation – the largest Texas utility. She formerly served on the Board of Directors of Annie’s, Inc. – a natural and organic food company, and led the successful sale of the company to General Mills in October 2014 and also served on the Board of Directors of Exelis, Inc. – a Fortune 500 aerospace company which was sold to Harris Corporation in May 2015. Additionally, she is involved in her family’s business ventures including serving on the Board of Directors of Extrusions, Inc. and as a partner in the Ida Family Limited Partnership. Billie is the named financial expert on all of her boards and serves on or chairs the Audit Committee on all of her boards.

Billie graduated with highest honors from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting and is a licensed CPA in the State of Texas. Billie is also active in the Dallas community serving as the Treasurer of the Dallas Holocaust Museum, the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Dallas Symphony Foundation, on the Board of Directors of the North Texas Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors and as Co-Chairman of Women Corporate Directors Dallas Chapter. Billie is also a member of International Women’s Forum and the Committee of 200. Billie also carries the designation as a NACD Leadership Fellow.