Dr Peter Williams
Company: ARISE-US
Dr Peter Williams has over 35 years’ experience in helping businesses and governments adapt to, and make the most of, new technology. By background a strategy and process consultant, he was formerly the CTO of IBM's "Big Green Innovations" unit, where he played a major role in the development of IBM's "smarter planet" businesses in the areas of environmental management, water management, smart cities and disaster resilience: these focused on on the applications of technology to public infrastructure and public services. In focusing on disaster resilience, he was the lead author of the UN City Disaster Resilience Scorecard, now used by over 350 cities globally.
Having retired from IBM in 2018, Peter now leads the US Network of ARISE, the UN DRR's vehicle for enabling public-private collaboration in disaster risk reduction. In this role he has expanded membership significantly and led or participated in numerous projects such as creating a community toolkit for wildfire risk reduction; a critical asset management tool; and action guides for cities trying to become disaster resilient. He also led the creation of a further UN Scorecard for the resilience of industrial and commercial real estate.
Peter was accorded the honor of being named an IBM Distinguished Engineer in 2009, and he also lectured at Stanford University for several years on Smart Cities and Communities. In addition to leading ARISE, he is also an independent consultant working on the application of information and data technologies to water, smart cities and disaster resilience with governments, vendors and NGOs; he is a regular judge on VC competitions; and he advises several start-ups. A native of the UK, he has lived in the US since 1999, and is married with three adult children. His PhD was awarded from the University of Bath, England.
