CATHY T. WILLIAMS

Business diversity and government administration manager, Ferguson Enterprises Inc., Newport News

Published January 30, 2023 by Virginia Business

In her two decades at the U.S. subsidiary of British heating and cooling supply distributor Ferguson plc, Williams has made the economic inclusion of women and minorities her mission. “I’m most proud of knowing I had a hand in their success,” she says of those that she has brought into the Ferguson fold of about 2,500 workers in Virginia.

A Temple University alum, Williams also forged a relationship between Ferguson and Norfolk State University that includes education, internships and mentorships. Williams sees her role as twofold: advocate and mentor.

As an advocate, she has to have thick skin. “When people say, ‘no,’ I have perseverance,” she explains. “Eventually they’re going to tell me ‘yes.’” As a mentor, she says, she has to “tell people like it is. That garners a lot of respect. I am not a different Cathy Williams on Tuesday than I am on Wednesday.”

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