PG&E's Geisha Williams: First Fortune 500 Latina CEO

Boss Files with Poppy Harlow

CNN

Business, Entrepreneurship

4.6 • 538 Ratings

🗓️ 9 April 2018

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Geisha Williams, President and CEO of PG&E Corp., made history last year becoming the first Latina CEO of a Fortune 500 Company. Cuban-born, she immigrated to the United States with her parents in 1967 and opens up about how her family embodies the American Dream. She weighs in on the immigration debate today, and shares how the "power of mentorship" helped guide her to the C-Suite and her take on the future of the energy industry. Produced by Haley Draznin, CNN.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	In this episode of Boss Files, my parents really are that embodiment of the American dream.
0:05.3	My dad worked several jobs at a time. My mom did peace work at home, just to sort of make a living and provide for me.
0:13.6	Gasha Williams, she made history becoming the first Latina CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
0:20.1	Born in Cuba, she came to the United States with her
0:22.8	parents at just five years old. Today, she is leading California's largest utility and has committed
0:29.6	to delivering 50% renewable energy by 3030. I just fell in love with the field of energy and electricity.
0:36.8	And it just, it's this silent enabler.
0:39.5	It's what powers America, what powers commerce.
0:42.4	And I fell in love with the culture of this industry, very service-oriented, very much focused on the community.
0:49.0	And I just, I loved it.
0:50.2	I got hooked.
0:50.8	Plus, her take on immigration and so-called dreamers, why she calls immigrants a secret weapon benefiting this country. I sat down with Gasha Williams at Fortune's Most Powerful Women's Summit. Gisha Williams, it's nice to have you. Thank you for having me.
1:07.7	Congratulations, and your fairly new physician. I position. Yeah, I'm very excited.
1:11.7	President and CEO of PG&E. There is a lot to cover here, but let's begin with the beginning.
1:16.9	Let's begin with your story and the history that you have made becoming CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
1:23.5	You are the first Latina female to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
1:28.3	Congratulations.
1:29.3	Thank you.
1:30.3	It's hard to believe that I'm the first. I really couldn't believe it when I first started hearing that. It's about time. It really is. I can't believe that it's in the energy industry too, right? Who would have thought that? That's true. said there is Geisha a part of you that still believes that five-year-old immigrant to the
1:46.5	United States part of yourself that still asks, was it all a dream? Is it all a dream?
1:53.6	I absolutely. I mean, how can that be, right? This five-year-old little girl coming here with her parents
1:59.6	from Cuba, English, I didn't speak English, you know, going to Minnesota, which was unbelievably cold.
	...

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