Willie is the Director of Partnering Products & Services at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the world’s largest trade association representing the biotechnology industry. He leads product development for the BIO One-on-One Partnering™ system, a software platform that enables more efficient connections in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry and drives the creation of therapies and medicines in a host of disease areas. Willie oversees business-to-business partnership operations for BIO’s portfolio of business development & licensing events across North America, Latin America, and Asia.

Before joining BIO, Willie was a teacher and project manager in South Korea and Argentina, and prior to that, he worked with the Patent Group at the Emory University Office of Technology Transfer. A lifelong tech enthusiast, Willie ran a technology consulting company for 7 years, focusing on hardware and network solutions for individuals and small business owners. His long-held interest in science and technology was fueled early on through behavioral & social psychology research, an engineering apprenticeship with the Academy of Applied Sciences, and an insatiable desire to ask “why” when there was no clear answer. Willie was a speaker at the Senate briefing “The Refocus: A Discussion on Human Trafficking and Ebola.”

In his free time, Willie serves his alma mater as President of the Emory University Alumni Association chapter in Washington D.C. and is always on the hunt for the next great restaurant.