Speaker details

Biography

Melvin Williams, Jr. is a principled and passionate leader with over 30 years of demonstrated success advising clients in the private and public sectors, both domestically and internationally. Melvin has extensive knowledge and experience advising government agency heads and C-suite leaders in highly regulated industries, specifically financial services, and was responsible for enforcing regulations as the top legal officer in two government agencies. Melvin also has significant experience in conducting corporate investigations and crisis management. Melvin is the Chief Legal Officer of Chicago Trading Company (“CTC”), a leading proprietary trading firm and market maker providing liquidity on all major exchanges. He is the executive team member responsible for the legal, compliance and regulatory advocacy at CTC. Prior to joining CTC, Melvin was the General Counsel of the US Small Business Administration, where he led the 3,000-member cabinet-level agency as the principal legal officer, supporting over $130 billion in loans to over 200,000 small businesses. Prior to joining SBA, Melvin served as the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (“MCC”) where he oversaw the legal components of U.S. Government investments in more than 40 foreign governments, totaling over $9 billion. During his time at MCC, Melvin represented the United States in negotiations with foreign leaders in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and had the distinct honor of being awarded the rank of Chevalier in the Order of Merit by the President of Benin. Melvin is an honors graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Law School.