John Williams

John Williams was named chief people officer of Optum in December 2022. In this role, Williams is responsible for developing and leading the people and culture strategy and enhancing our employment brand as a global leader in health care and technology.

John brings more than 25 years of leadership experience to this role, including more than nine years serving as a transformational leader in several senior People team positions at UnitedHealth Group, supporting most of the Optum business units and global organizations as well as serving most recently as senior vice president for UnitedHealth Group global and executive compensation and M&A.

Prior to joining UnitedHealth Group in 2013, John spent a decade at Microsoft, leading transformation across a diverse portfolio of businesses as they moved to online software and cloud-based services, and five years at IBM, where he helped in driving the company’s transition into the software and services business.

He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington Foster School of Business.