Geisha Williams

Meet the first Latina CEO of a Fortune 200 company.

Geisha Williams was born in Cuba.

At 5 years old, she fled with her family after her father (who’d been imprisoned for political reasons) was finally released.

They settled in the U.S., where he worked multiple jobs and eventually opened a grocery store.

Geisha studied industrial engineering at the University of Miami.

Her career started with a college internship at Florida Power & Light.

And turned into 24 years at the company.

She held roles in customer service, marketing, external affairs, electric operations, and crisis response.

When seven hurricanes hit Florida over 15 months in 2004-2005, she led the restoration and recovery efforts.

In 2007, she joined PG&E.

By 2011, she was EVP of Electric Operations.

By 2015, she was President of the electric business.

And in 2017, she became CEO.

At the time, PG&E was one of the largest utility companies in the U.S.

$17B in annual revenue, 23,000 employees, and 16M customers.

Williams focused on performance, safety, and sustainability.

Under her leadership:
- PG&E delivered nearly 80% greenhouse gas–free electricity
- Reached the best electric reliability in company history
- Delivered the best industrial safety performance ever recorded
- Was rated best overall electric provider by national customers

She invested in grid modernization, smart technologies, and energy efficiency.

She made sustainability core to operations, driving a 5-year roadmap tied to performance and climate impact.

Before the 2017 wildfires, PG&E hit its highest stock price and market cap in company history.

She resigned in early 2019.

Since then, she’s served on boards across energy, utilities, and public policy.

Siemens Energy, Osmose Utility Services, Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing, and Salesforce.