Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to its Board of Directors: Kirk Nelson and Robert Williams, PhD. Their terms of service are effective this month.
Mr. Nelson is Chief Executive Officer and President of AAA Washington and previously served as Washington President of Qwest. As former chair of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Washington Business (AWB), the Community Development Roundtable, the Seattle Sports Commission and the Seattle-King County Sports and Events Council, Mr. Nelson has extensive experience as a civic leader. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Seattle Sports Commission and is a director on the boards of AAA Washington, Forterra, Inc., and the American Commerce Insurance Company. Mr. Nelson earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Pacific Lutheran University and his MBA from Seattle University.
Dr. Williams started his career as a research scientist with GE and holds ten U.S. patents in the fields of silicone chemistry, organometallic catalysis and polymer chemistry. He was a general manager for GE Plastics and Silicones businesses in Europe and president of GE-Toshiba Silicones in Hong Kong before returning to the U.S. and joining Microsoft, where he held leadership positions in the Windows and Windows Phone product groups. Dr. Williams also served as Director of the Amazon Appstore for six years. He serves on the External Advisory Board for the University of North Carolina Department of Chemistry, as well as the Finance and Sail Committees at the Seattle Yacht Club. Dr. Williams holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Colorado State University.
