William M Brown

William M. (Bill) Brown is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS). Harris, with annual revenue of approximately $6 billion, is a leading global provider of communications and information technology products, software, systems and services to government, defense and commercial markets. Brown was appointed president and chief executive officer in November 2011 and elected chairman of the board in April 2014. Prior to this, Brown was with United Technologies Corporation (UTC), where he held several senior leadership roles since joining the company in 1997. He most recently was senior vice president, Corporate Strategy and Development, with responsibility for the company’s global strategic planning and M&A activity. Before that, he served five years as president of UTC’s $6.5 billion Fire & Security division, where he led 45,000 employees, operating 41 factories and 350 branches across 35 countries. In this role, he successfully executed and integrated a number of acquisitions, grew sales from $4.2 billion to $6.5 billion and tripled operating profits. Prior to leading UTC’s Fire & Security division, Brown held U.S. and international roles at UTC’s Carrier Corporation, including president of the Company’s Asia Pacific Operations. Before joining UTC in 1997, he worked for McKinsey & Company as a senior engagement manager. Brown began his career at Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., where he worked as a project engineer. He serves on the board of directors for the Celanese Corporation, the Fire Department of NYC (FDNY) Foundation and the board of trustees of both the Florida Institute of Technology and Florida Polytechnic University. He is a member of President Trump’s Manufacturing Jobs Initiative, the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, the United States-Brazil CEO Forum and the Aerospace Industries Association executive committee. He received bachelor of science and master of science degrees in mechanical engineering from Villanova University and a master’s of business administration from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.