When you become the first ever Latina CEO of a Fortune 500 Company it’s safe to say you’ve had a pretty good year. That is precisely what Geisha Williams accomplished when she was named Chief Executive Officer and President of Pacific Gas and Electric Company in March of 2017.
Like any person who has achieved a level of unprecedented success it did not come without perseverance, passion and good old fashion ganas. Nor did it happen overnight. The newly minted jefa brings three decades of experience in the energy industry to her current role and a lifetime of facing and overcoming obstacles.
So how did Williams make business history? She attributes accomplishment, in part, to an ability to embrace change. As she told Fortune Magazine “I’ve got revolutionary blood in my blood.” To know her backstory is to believe her. Born in Cuba in the 1960’s, her family immigrated to the United States when they became disillusioned with Castro’s suppression of free speech. After an ever so brief stint in Illinois, they laid down roots in New Jersey, opening a grocery store and building upon those efforts.