Veronica Williams

There is nothing beige about Veronica Williams. From the moment people meet her, they instinctively know they are in the presence of one of the most colorful, dynamic, and interesting people to ever cross their path. Veronica’s dimensionality comes compliments of a fairly wild ride of a life. There are not many people in whose brag-book cowgirl camp, television personality, fire-walking, and an MBA can live comfortably together.

And then there’s the story of how Veronica got into advertising through skiing. The Cliffs Notes: A postcollege, pre-reality ski bum (read: instructor) turns assistant to the VP of Marketing at Mount Snow, turns Merchandising Manager, then Telesales Manager then Advertising Manager then Director of Marketing at Sugarbush. Either highly aspirational or an adrenaline junkie (we’re still wondering), Veronica’s agility across the broad marketing spectrum landed her in the crosshairs of hmc²’s soon-to-be-old guard, who offered her the opportunity to become the agency’s next president. No Eliza Doolittle, Veronica took the reins and quickly galloped off on her own path under the new label of hmc².

The horse analogy is prompted by, well, horses. They are the other single most important thing in Veronica’s life. She swears that a month with an unbroken horse can do more to open one’s eyes to the value of consistency when it comes to managing people than a year at Harvard Business School. But we digress. If asked, Ms. V. would tell you it’s her willingness to take risks that set her and the agency apart. This neglects to mention one very important qualification—calculated risks. See, Veronica’s fearless leadership is filtered—unwittingly, even—through her Isenberg School of Management acumen. Which explains why she is hell-bent on helping clients recognize unrealized opportunities (a personal favorite being the largely untapped $4 billion purse held by women decision makers). Veronica continues to add chapters and verve to her life faster than we can capture it here, which is why it’s worth meeting her in person. Her family consists of her good-hearted and outdoorsy husband, three cats, an Australian Shepherd and two Quarter horse geldings.