Lizette Williams

As the Head of Cultural Engagement & Experiences for McDonald’s Corporation, Lizette Williams is responsible for developing the vision and plan for the organization to be culturally-relevant by connecting with consumers through their passion points. She manages the team that leads music, sports and entertainment strategies, national events and promotional strategy, U.S. Social and Digital, the national Ronald McDonald program, branded content integration, and multicultural advertising.

Prior to her role at McDonald’s, Lizette served as Multicultural Marketing Leader, North America for Kimberly-Clark Corporation where she was responsible for driving the Company’s business objectives to win diverse audiences across the brands that encompass the $6 billion North America business, including Scott®, U by Kotex®, and Huggies®.

An industry pioneer, Lizette has provided expertise as a speaker at several conferences, including SXSW, Advertising Week and multiple Association of National Advertisers conferences. She is one of the foremost-awarded marketing executives in the field and was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Advertising Hall of Achievement. She has been listed in Crain’s Chicago Business “40 under 40,” Advertising Age’s “Women to Watch,” and Black Enterprise “Top Women Executives in Advertising and Marketing.” Lizette’s love of all things “culture” comes from being a born-and-raised New Yorker (and proud “Afro-Latina”,) though currently based in Chicago. She most recently served as President of the Board for the Chicago Advertising Federation. Lizette has a passion for serving young people and women and as a result, has a countless number of mentees across the country. She spends her free time inspiring college students and has keynoted events at Northwestern University and Lincoln University as well as guest lectured classes at several other universities.

Lizette received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She received her BA in Economics/ Political Science through a joint program with Columbia University in New York City and the London School of Economics.