Misha Williams: How Versatility and Resilience Can Be a Superpower in Tackling New Challenges

Misha Williams is vice president of revenue performance at FreeWheel, a global technology platform for the television advertising industry. He first joined the company in a client services role in 2018 and has progressed to leading new teams and company wide projects and initiatives during his time here.

Williams, who has also worked in the technology, consulting and start-up sectors, also previously served in the U.S. military. In this Q&A, he shares some of the biggest professional insights he’s learned from his versatile career path, including the importance of adaptability and resilience when it comes to tackling new challenges and rising to the occasion.

Q: Tell us a bit about what you do at FreeWheel.

A: I lead FreeWheel’s U.S. Revenue Performance team, overseeing our sell-side software and technology business. My role encompasses Commercial Strategy, Operations, Deal Desk, Client Renewals, Sales Engineering, Agency Demand, DSP, Platform Account Management and Analytics. I'm responsible for revenue growth, market share and profitability, while ensuring client satisfaction and trust in our solutions. My focus spans strategy execution, process alignment and optimizing client relationships.

Q: You joined FreeWheel five years ago in a different capacity – as head of global client services. Tell us about that position and what the transition was like.

A: I joined FreeWheel in September 2018 to head its global client services team. Looking back, I’d say that role required an incredible amount of focus on the customer, strong relationship management skills and knowledge of the industry, all of which are traits I utilize heavily in my current role.

In my previous position, my team and I leveraged the transformational foundation set by the leaders of the organization before me, such as Michael Lawlor (Chief Operations and Service Officer), to help evolve client services into a marketplace-oriented services organization that covers the full suite of FreeWheel’s solutions and products. One milestone that my former team and I are very proud of is FreeWheel’s successful integration of Beeswax, a demand side platform that we acquired in December 2020, into our overall offerings.

Before FreeWheel, I ran my own company, Ceres Media A.I., and I found that many of the skills I leveraged in my day-to-day entrepreneurial life were invaluable in my role as global client services lead, which was a new role for the company, as well as in my present role.

My career path has spanned various aspects of the technology (Salesforce, Texas Instruments), consulting, financial services, retail, media and entertainment and start-up sectors, and one skill set that I really value – and which I’ve carried throughout my professional career – is adaptability.

I also spent eight years in the military, and that is where I learned the incredible value of this trait.

Q: Wow! That is quite impressive. Tell us about that experience. And, what made you decide to join the military?

A: I served eight years in the military attached to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. I decided to enter the military because I knew I wasn’t ready to go to university right after high school. I wanted to give myself time to grow personally and professionally and the military taught me a lot. And so, getting back to my earlier point, one of the key takeaways from my time in the military is adaptability. When asked what my superpower is, I’ll tell people: “It’s adaptability.” You can put me anywhere, in any situation, and I’ll thrive.

That said, adaptability also means recognizing that one may not necessarily have all of the answers, and that one may need to shift things around in order to get to where one needs to go. It’s an important life – and professional – skill to develop.

Q: Love the insight. How did you make the transition from military to civilian/professional life?

A: After the military, I earned my bachelor’s degree in computer science and started my professional career at Texas Instruments as an engineer. One day, I had a chat with one of the vice presidents who hired me about learning different facets of the business. He helped me secure a rotation across various functions of the company, and this was way before that type of multi-department rotational program became as prevalent as it is today. That experience allowed me to flex my adaptability muscles as I was able to learn about project management and client relationship management skills, which was a big leap from working as an engineer. I’m grateful to this VP, as he helped create an opportunity for me to explore different business functions and career paths and to broaden my thinking and adaptability skills.

Q: Was there another moment in your professional life where adaptability came into play?

A: There were two additional moments where adaptability played a key role in my professional life. First, I left Texas Instruments to lead an analytics consulting firm focused on global investment banks, a major shift that required me to navigate a new industry and build a successful firm from the ground up. Second, I departed Salesforce to start a venture dedicated to artificial intelligence and machine learning, aimed at improving the viewer experience and consolidating viewer identities across a fragmented device ecosystem. These experiences showcase the transformative power of seizing daunting, yet intriguing opportunities with adaptability at the forefront.

Q: You are involved in and passionate about workplace DE&I, mentoring, talent and recruitment initiatives, which you are involved in both at FreeWheel and its parent company, Comcast. What advice do you have for future rising stars and those who are looking to get their foot into the door in a profession that’s of interest to them?

A: One of the challenges that exists in the Black community, and also across other communities, is the lack of information about different career paths. This was a challenge that existed when I was getting started in my professional career, and it still exists today: the lack of information and the lack of mentors and experienced professionals who can – and are willing to – share insights about the different types of career paths. Technology, such as online searches, has made it easier to find information on different careers, but oftentimes, new college graduates and those who are looking to get into an industry struggle with figuring out where to even begin the search.

That said, here are two pieces of advice I’ve found to very helpful and that have resonated with me throughout my career journey:

Keep an open mind and do your research and homework on the types of career paths that are available out there. After graduating from college, I had just a small glimpse – and idea – of the types of career paths that are available. Be creative, imaginative, curious and relentless. Do your research. Read the news. Talk to people who are working in the fields you are interested in or want to explore. In today’s workplace, especially, there are so many career options beyond the professions we may have grown up knowing or that our parents want us to pursue. Explore the possibilities!

Take the risk. Don’t talk yourself out of exploring a career path just because you can’t see yourself in it. There were career defining moments in my life where I had to talk myself out of being afraid and learn to reframe fear. Instead, I told myself that if I went for it, regardless of the outcome, it would still be a win because no matter what, I would learn something valuable from the experience.