Bill Bates is Executive Vice President of the Council on Competitiveness and was the founding Executive Director of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils. Bill recently led multi-year initiatives to explore the economic opportunity for advanced manufacturing in the United States and the development of a national cybersecurity agenda. Since 2019, Bill has been spearheading a new Council initiative, the University Leadership Forum, to draw greater attention to higher education’s role in U.S. competitiveness: from leadership in game-changing technologies to the development of the next generation of entrepreneurs. Bill previously served as Director of Government Relations for the United States Telecom Association. Prior to that, he was Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to House Commerce Committee member U. S. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA). He advised the Congresswoman on a wide range of technology issues including telecommunications, biotechnology, and intellectual property. Before joining Ms. Eshoo’s team, Bill was an Associate with the Washington, DC-based public affairs company Cassidy & Associates. Bill holds a master’s degree in government from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in government and history from Cornell University.