UL leadership

Keith E. Williams - President & Chief Executive Officer and Trustee

On May 1, 2005, Keith Williams became the 10th President of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.  UL is an independent Standards Development Organization, Testing Lab and Certification Body with a Mission to enhance life safety and facilitate global commerce.  Founded in 1894, UL is a Chicago-based company with worldwide operations.

Subsequent to earning a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Case Western Reserve University Keith joined General Electric Company.  During a 23-year career at GE he held assignments in global business management, global logistics, marketing and sales.  From 1993 to 1996, he resided in Beijing, China and was President, GE Medical Systems China.  In late 1996, he became the first global champion for using 6 Sigma to address Commercial transactions within GE Medical.

In 1997, Keith was named President, Asia-Pacific Operations for Medtronic Inc. based in Tokyo, Japan.  During an 8-year career with Medtronic, he also served as Chief Quality & Regulatory Officer and as President, Spinal & Neurological Business Unit.

During his 11 years working in Asia, Keith served on various Joint-Venture boards including businesses with Samsung, Yokogawa Electric, Wipro and the Chinese Ministry of Health.

In addition to his work at UL, Keith serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the US-China Business Council, a Director of the National Fire Protection Association, and a Trustee of Opera Memphis.