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William Blair CEO and Executives

Executive Summary. Based on our data team's research, John Ettelson is the William Blair's CEO. William Blair has 1,401 employees, of which 20 are in a leadership position.
Here are further demographic highlights of the leadership team:
  • The William Blair executive team is 25% female and 75% male.
  • 69% of the management team is White.
  • 10% of William Blair management is Hispanic or Latino.
  • 11% of the management team is Black or African American.
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Name & TitleBio
John Ettelson

CEO / President

John Ettelson's LinkedIn

John R. Ettelson became president of William Blair in 2003 and has been CEO since 2004. Under his leadership, the investment banking and asset management business has grown to more than 20 offices globally and annual revenues have tripled to over $1 billion. During his three decades at William Blair, Mr. Ettelson has held various leadership positions within the firm, including; head of mergers and acquisitions, chief financial officer, and chief operating officer. Mr. Ettelson has a deep commitment to his community and is a respected civic leader. He is the past chairman of the board of trustees for Lincoln Park Zoo and of the Economic Club of Chicago. He currently sits on the boards of the Northwestern Medical Group, Francis Parker School, the Executives’ Club of Chicago, and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He is a member of Commercial Club of Chicago, and is a member of its Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. Additionally, he is also involved in industry trade organizations where he is on the board and executive committee of SIFMA and on the board of the American Securities Association. Mr. Ettelson received his Sc.B. from Brown University and his JD/M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

William Blair Key Executives

Board Member

James Vaughan

Founder

Jon Zindel

CFO

Jon Zindel's LinkedIn

Jon W. Zindel is Chief Financial Officer and executive committee member of William Blair & Company. Prior to joining William Blair during 2012, Mr. Zindel served as the Chief Financial Officer at American Century Investments. Mr. Zindel started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers holding several roles in the New Orleans, Omaha, and Kansas City practices. He is a Certified Public Accountant, CFA charterholder and graduated with a double major in Accounting and Finance from Loyola University of New Orleans. Mr. Zindel is a Director for Ronald McDonald Children's Charities in Chicago.

Brent Gledhill

President & CEO

James Connors

Principal, CTO

James Connors's LinkedIn

Chief Technology Officer of William Blair & Company. 25 year track record of leading IT functions for multiple global financial services organizations. Expertise in utilizing technology to deliver on business objectives. In-depth experience in developing IT strategy, overseeing operations, and ensuring effective implementations. Leadership experience spans the full range of IT functions including software development, IT infrastructure and IT support.

Beth Satterfield

Board Member

Cissie Citardi

General Counsel

Erin Murray Butler

Global Head of Workplace and Real Estate Management

Matthew Zimmer

Global Head of Investment Banking

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William Blair Founders

Name & TitleBio
William Blair Key Executives

Board Member

James Vaughan

Founder

William Blair Board Members

Name & TitleBio
John Ettelson

CEO / President

John Ettelson's LinkedIn

John R. Ettelson became president of William Blair in 2003 and has been CEO since 2004. Under his leadership, the investment banking and asset management business has grown to more than 20 offices globally and annual revenues have tripled to over $1 billion. During his three decades at William Blair, Mr. Ettelson has held various leadership positions within the firm, including; head of mergers and acquisitions, chief financial officer, and chief operating officer. Mr. Ettelson has a deep commitment to his community and is a respected civic leader. He is the past chairman of the board of trustees for Lincoln Park Zoo and of the Economic Club of Chicago. He currently sits on the boards of the Northwestern Medical Group, Francis Parker School, the Executives’ Club of Chicago, and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He is a member of Commercial Club of Chicago, and is a member of its Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. Additionally, he is also involved in industry trade organizations where he is on the board and executive committee of SIFMA and on the board of the American Securities Association. Mr. Ettelson received his Sc.B. from Brown University and his JD/M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

William Blair Key Executives

Board Member

Beth Satterfield

Board Member

Edgar Coolidge

Board Member

William Blair Leadership Demographics

William Blair Gender Distribution in Management Team

  • The William Blair executive team is 25% female and 75% male.
  • William Blair is 40% female and 60% male company-wide.
Male
Male
75%
Company-wide: 60%
Female
Female
25%
Company-wide: 40%

William Blair Executives by Race

Management Team:
  • The most common ethnicity among William Blair executive officers is White.
  • 69% of the management team is White.
  • 11% of William Blair's management is Black or African American.
  • 10% of the management team is Hispanic or Latino.
Company-wide:
  • White is the most common ethnicity company-wide.
  • 60% of employees are White.
  • 16% of employees are Hispanic or Latino.
  • 11% of employees are Asian.
  • Management Team
  • General
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Unknown
White
Black or African American
Asian
Hispanic or Latino

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William Blair Executives FAQs

Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of William Blair, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about William Blair. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at William Blair. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by William Blair. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of William Blair and its employees or that of Zippia.

William Blair may also be known as or be related to Wbc Holdings, L.P., William Blair, William Blair & Company, William Blair & Company LLC and William Blair & Company, L.L.C.