Dr Peter Williams
Dr. Peter Williams has over 35 years of experience in assisting businesses and governments in leveraging new technology. Initially a strategy and process consultant, he held the position of CTO for IBM's "Big Green Innovations" unit, where he significantly contributed to the development of IBM's "smarter planet" initiatives in environmental management, water management, smart cities, and disaster resilience. His work in disaster resilience includes being the lead author of the UN City Disaster Resilience Scorecard, utilized by more than 350 cities worldwide.
Since retiring from IBM in 2018, Peter has engaged with various start-ups focused on smart water and wastewater management, smart grids, smart cities, and precision weather forecasting. He has provided advisory services to several venture capital firms and has served as a judge in competitions such as Imagine H20.
Currently, Peter leads the US Network of ARISE, which is a UN DRR initiative aimed at fostering public-private collaboration in disaster risk reduction. In this capacity, he has notably expanded membership and has been involved in projects including the creation of a community toolkit for wildfire risk reduction, a critical asset management tool, and practical guides for cities striving to enhance their disaster resilience. Moreover, he spearheaded the development of an additional UN Scorecard designed to assess the resilience of industrial and commercial real estate.
In recognition of his contributions, Peter was honored as an IBM Distinguished Engineer in 2009. He also lectured at Stanford University for several years, covering topics related to Smart Cities and Communities. Originally from the UK, he has resided in the US since 1999.
Why Water?
My father was a sea captain, and I largely grew up in a seaside town in Sussex in the UK. I had plenty of chances to observe firsthand, and hear from my father what a really angry sea can do - it has to be one of the most awe-inspiring forces in all of nature, and I would go down to the beach on stormy days just to look. I also have numerous happy childhood memories from calmer days spent poking around in tide pools looking for shrimp and crabs. Fast forward, and I came to realize that as powerful as it is, the sea is incredibly fragile, and its health is in dire danger from climate change, plastic waste and other perils. I was also asked by IBM to play a large role in the development of its smart water business and came to an additional appreciation that freshwater is, if anything, even more fragile and exponentially scarcer than the oceans while being chronically under-valued and therefore under-invested and under-managed. So my interest was initially sustainability-led, but sustainability is a huge component of my other passion, which is resilience and disaster risk reduction. A community cannot be resilient without a resilient water supply offering sustainable and equitable access to all. And it cannot really be sustainable without efficiently managed water systems and environmentally aware management of water resources - conditions which all too often today are not met. Physical and information technologies offer opportunities to reverse the downward arc of water resources on this plant, whether at the community or continental scale. I am passionate about bringing those technologies to market and letting them loose to make the difference we all need.