"I have a great deal of respect for the ownership group, as well as Lou Lamoriello and his hockey operations staff. I am truly excited to join the Islanders organization and look forward to working with all of them," Williams said.
Williams joins the Islanders after working for the Pittsburgh Penguins as the Chief Operating Officer for the past eight seasons. In that role, he oversaw all aspects of the day-to-day business and arena operations for the club. The Indianapolis, IN native also was managing the planned mixed-use development project on the former Civic Arena site.
Williams joined the Penguins in 2008 and was responsible for the development of PPG Paint Arena, the Penguins current home, and the construction of UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, the Penguins official practice facility, bringing both projects to completion on time and under budget. During his tenure, the Penguins sold out over 550 home games and were consistently ranked among the top NHL teams in gate receipts, sponsorship revenues, television ratings and social media statistics.
Prior to his time with the Penguins, Williams had been a partner at Reed Smith LLP, where he represented several sports franchises, regional sports networks and other sports-related businesses. Williams graduated from Penn State University and received a Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University, summa cum laude.
