Bio
William F. Meehan III is the Lafayette Partners Lecturer for 2015-2016 at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Director Emeritus of McKinsey & Company.
Mr. Meehan is a regular writer, speaker and advisor on nonprofit strategy, governance, performance measurement, as well as innovations in philanthropy, including the role of the internet. At Stanford, he is a founding member of the Advisory Council of the Center for Philanthropy and the Civil Society, a faculty member of the Public Management Program and the Center for Social Innovation and a member of the Arts Initiative Council.
He is a long-time Board member of the San Francisco Symphony, a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Endowment Board, a member of the North American Council of Ashoka, and a member of Positive Coaching Alliance’s National Advisory Board.
He has developed and is teaching a pioneering course in frontier markets private equity as part of the Stanford Institute for Innovation in the Developing Economies (SEED). He also teaches strategy in various other programs, including the Stanford Leadership Program.
He is former Chair of the United Way of the Bay Area, Chairman Emeritus of Guidestar, a former member of the Board of Fordham Prep, the National Academy of Sciences’ Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy (STEP) and the California Roundtable. He is a Special Advisor to Embrace, Equal Opportunity Schools, and GiveDirectly.
Mr. Meehan retired in December 2008 after over 30 years at McKinsey & Company where his focus was working with chief executives in technology, private equity, retail, financial services, and media on topics of top management strategy, organization, and leadership, including mentoring more than a dozen new CEOs in shaping their agendas.
In addition to his service to clients, he held many leadership roles with the Firm. As a member of the Shareholders Council, McKinsey’s board, he was Chair of the Client Committee and Chair of the McKinsey Investment Office, which oversees more than $5 billion in investments. He was also Vice-Chair of the Directors Review Committee, founder and leader of the Private Equity Practice; Chair of the West Coast Practice, and Managing Director of the San Francisco Office.
He is a former Director of Juniper Networks and currently a Director for Big Switch and Westward Leaning.