A Leader’s Path 

From student to C-suite, AlaNa Williams, MBA ’18, shows how curiosity and relationships shaped her growth and progress 

Her parents prioritized education, and Alana Williams, who loved learning and exploring, embraced it.

Earning a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Maryland wouldn’t be enough. She got a law degree and then an MBA from McCombs in 2018. 

Entrepreneurship beckoned, first as an undergraduate when she launched a cake delivery business and later as co-founder and CFO of Founding Principals, which provides financial guidance to startups and small businesses. Before that, she worked at such large companies as Apple, Whole Foods Market, and Evercore. 

In addition to her CFO role, Williams works as an adjunct professor at Neumann University in Pennsylvania, teaching three upper-level business courses.

In May, she spoke with the “McCombs Made” podcast about reaching the C-suite, a space held by fewer than 2% of U.S. Black women. Condensed highlights follow:

What inspired her entrepreneurship

When I started college, I was an intern at Cintas Corp. (a uniforms, facility services, and safety products company). I was in accounting, and then I moved to production and then to service and lastly, to sales. Seeing the whole business, understanding how it works, really inspired me to want to explore entrepreneurship. 

Choosing McCombs

I already had the law degree, so I wondered, what is the thing that is flexible that I can use and be able to get into the places I wanted to be in? The MBA was the best option. I wanted to be challenged. I wanted to work for some of the best companies. I wanted to go to one of the best MBA programs, which is McCombs.

On building community 

The MBA program is designed to bring people together to form a culture and bond. You put yourself in the room, and there are people who will mingle toward you. And the more people who can see that you want to show up, the more you can connect with them. Sometimes, you just want to be yourself or you’re like, I’m not really into keg parties, or whatever. But if you just show up and be yourself, everything will be OK. That was a big, big lesson. I had my people. I was developing relationships. That was so important, and I’m very, very appreciative of that community. 

How a law degree helped 

The best thing about law school was that it helped me understand how to teach myself complicated things and be more deliberate and think about all sides. 

Reaching the C-suite 

You have to show up in a way that represents you as an individual but also doesn’t harm whoever might be coming after you. You need to have confidence and resilience, even though people may be snickering behind your back or have certain biases. You’re showing up every day with a smile or with good intent — and a great work product. It’s all about being able to stand your ground and not focusing on what other people say. Because the moment you do that, you lose sight of what’s important.

A huge part of progressing in this space is having your sponsors, people who are supportive of you. Believe me, it’s hard. But I think the only way these people who have come before us have been trailblazers, is that they didn’t give up their seat. They decided that they were going to sit there regardless of what you think — and contribute. Showing up is something I learned in the MBA program, but I’ve learned since then to use my voice.

On mentorship

The conversations I have with mentors largely are around navigating environments, but also about how I differentiate myself in terms of being seen in a way that elevates my brand as compared with others. 

Giving back with an MBA scholarship

It’s important to support one another. I’ve got resources, but it’s not necessary for me to hold onto all of them. If you have that opportunity to be generous, it feels good to put that goodness out in the world.

Listen to the full conversation on the “McCombs Made” podcast. https://news.mccombs.utexas.edu/podcasts/mccombs-made-podcast-alana-williams/