Kelly Williamson works at the intersection of capital markets and strategic advisory. As APCO’s chief client officer and global president of Capital Markets, she leads the firm’s global client leadership model and its Capital Markets and Financial Advisory practice. She helps organizations navigate high-stakes moments where business strategy, stakeholder expectations and market forces converge. She also serves on APCO’s Executive Leadership Team.
Kelly advises C-suite leaders and boards through periods of scrutiny and change, when capital markets pressures meet broader strategic challenges. Her experience includes investor activism, contested transactions, competitive threats, crisis and reputation challenges and issues affecting an organization’s license to operate. She helps leadership teams in highly regulated industries build the stakeholder confidence and support they need to operate, compete and grow.
As head of Global Client Leadership, Kelly oversees how APCO serves its most important clients, so they can draw on the firm’s expertise across markets and capabilities when they face their biggest business decisions. She has served as president of APCO’s North America region since 2018.
Ragan Communications named Kelly an Industry Game Changer in 2023. In 2018, PRWeek named her a Champion in its Hall of Femme and PR News named her a Top Woman in PR. She is a member of the CNBC CEO Council, serves on the board of advisors for the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and serves on the board of trustees of the Institute for Public Relations.
Before joining APCO, Kelly was a financial management consultant with Principal Financial Group. She has a bachelor’s degree in communication from James Madison University, with concentrations in public relations and business.
