Erica Y. Williams

Erica Y. Williams was appointed as Chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board by the Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2021 and sworn in on January 10, 2022. She was reappointed in June 2024 and sworn in on October 24, 2024. Her current term expires on October 24, 2029. 

Chair Williams joined the PCAOB from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where she was a litigation partner. Previously, she was a Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to President Barack Obama, advising the president and his senior advisors on legal and constitutional issues involving economic policy, financial regulation and reform, financial technology, trade, intellectual property, and data protection and privacy.

Before that, Chair Williams spent 11 years at the SEC serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for three chairs. In this role, she oversaw all aspects of the SEC’s operations and served as a senior legal advisor to the SEC chair on regulatory policy and rulemakings, enforcement, compliance examinations, agency management and strategy.

Earlier in her career, Chair Williams served as Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement Trial Unit, where she investigated and litigated numerous complex, high-profile matters. Chair Williams earned both a J.D. and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.