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Deals and People January 5, 2009
Williams Running FL Investments – Again
January 5, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Florida
State Board of Administration (SBA), which oversees the
Sunshine State's investments for its pension programs and
other purposes, has a new boss with a familiar
face.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
That’s because Ash Williams is back for his second stint running the Florida investment program, albeit at a time of significant market and general economic turmoil, according to a Tallahassee Democrat news report.
“2008 is unprecedented in modern financial
history,” Williams told the newspaper. “You would have to
go back to the window of the late 1920s and early ’30s to
see anything like this in the United States.”
Williams’ previous stint at the SBA was from 1991 to
1996. Afterward, he was a managing director at the New
York investment firm Fir Tree Partners, responsible for
business development and investor relations.
The news account said Williams expects to continue
exchanging ideas with his old investment firm colleagues
and to benefit from their viewpoints.
“That is a set of opinions that I did not have
access to when I was here before,” Williams told the
newspaper.”I think, basically, I’m a whole lot more
qualified for this job today than I was the first time I
had it”
“I have the utmost confidence in Ash Williams’ experienced financial leadership as the new executive director of the SBA. He brings a wealth of financial knowledge and sound business principles,” said Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who, with Governor Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum, serves as trustee of the SBA. “I am confident he will help the state of Florida weather the current global financial storm.”