Meet the ‘powerhouse’ who makes sure Washington’s tech sector keeps growing

Joseph Williams is uniquely equipped to help guide and grow Washington’s tech industry.

With a career that spans academia, corporate tech, and public service, Williams brings a seasoned perspective to his current dual role as a senior policy advisor and economic development director for the state’s tech sector.

For his civic work, Williams is being honored at the 2025 GeekWire Awards on April 30 as this year’s Public Policy Champion for Innovation.

As a longtime leader at the intersection of policy and innovation, Williams shapes strategies to keep Washington at the forefront of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and semiconductors.

“We’re trying to keep the ecosystem here as robust as possible,” Williams said in an interview with GeekWire.

Washington’s tech industry makes up 22% of the state’s economy. That share — the largest in the nation — underscores the importance of Williams’ role.

As the state’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector lead within the Department of Commerce, Williams writes legislative briefings, testifies at hearings, and coordinates with organizations like the Washington Technology Industry Association.

He also spends time on economic development: promoting Washington’s tech economy both locally and internationally, hosting foreign delegations, and working to attract investment from private corporations as well as public sources such as the CHIPS Act.

“Joseph has been a powerhouse behind Washington’s innovation economy,” said Joe Nguyen, director of the Department of Commerce and last year’s Public Policy Champion honoree.

Others praised not just his experience but also the way Williams conducts himself.

“Joseph brings his trademark brand of a level of approachable professionalism to every engagement, which makes working alongside him both insightful and highly enjoyable,” said Kirk Esmond, the innovation and industry partnerships director at the Department of Commerce.

Williams also co-chairs Northwest Quantum Nexus, a regional effort to build leadership in quantum technology, and leads the state’s semiconductor working group established by former Gov. Jay Inslee.

In 2016 he became a tech policy advisor to Inslee. He left that role in 2019 to join the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as its Seattle director, and returned to state government work in 2023.

Williams got his first exposure to tech as a manager at Sun Microsystems during the dot-com era. He moved to the Seattle area in 2004 to join Microsoft, where he spent nearly a decade in various leadership roles.

“This is God’s country when it comes to software,” he said. “It was back 20 years ago when I came here, and it still is.”

While Washington has made major strides in software and cloud, Williams said the state still lags in hardware and manufacturing.

He also pointed to broader challenges that could hinder long-term tech sector growth — such as computer science education and the state’s high cost of living.

“We need more housing, we need more daycare, we need more health facilities,” he said, adding: “This is an amazing place, but it is not an affordably amazing place.”

Williams, who helped launch the new state-supported “AI House” initiative, is bullish about the density of AI talent in Seattle.

“We are a hotbed for AI,” he said. “We’re going to continue to be a hotbed for AI.”

Williams said he’s been using AI tools to boost his own productivity.

“AI is in its early stages,” he said. “It’s going to get far more interesting as we go along. I take it all in stride — I’m not a Luddite. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for Luddites. The world just doesn’t slow down. It moves.”