Washington and Lee Board of Trustees Welcomes New Members
Washington and Lee University added two members to its Board of Trustees on Feb. 6, during its winter meeting, in Lexington.
James R. Small, of Midland, Texas, is the president of Icon Petroleum and a founding partner of Element Petroleum. He graduated from W&L in 1981 with a B.S. in geology and has been employed in the oil and gas industry since 1981. He has been an active volunteer both at W&L and in his community. For W&L, he is the past president of the W&L Alumni Association, a class agent, the AAP chairman for West Texas, on the Capital Campaign Committee, on his 25th reunion committee, on the Parents Leadership Council, and the chairman of the Science Advisory Board. He is the president of the board of trustees of the Museum of the Southwest, in Midland; a trustee of Midland Community Theatre; and on the board of visitors for the McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas. He and his wife, Alison, have two children, Eileen, a senior at W&L, and Patton, a sophomore at Carleton College.
Christopher H. Williams, of Richmond, Virginia, is the managing director and co-founder of Harris Williams & Co. He graduated from W&L in 1985 with a B.S. in business administration, magna cum laude, and also earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Williams has nearly 25 years of transactional experience focused on middle-market mergers and acquisitions assignments. He worked with Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. before co-founding Harris Williams & Co. in 1991 as a national investment banking firm focusing on mergers and acquisitions. Since then, he has led it to become one of the largest and most influential mergers and acquisitions boutiques in the country. His board service includes the board of governors at St. Catherine’s School, Richmond; the board of advisors of the W&L Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics; the Elk Hill School for troubled youth, Goochland, Virginia; the Boys and Girls Club of Richmond; and The Community Foundation, which serves charitable organizations throughout Virginia. Williams lives in Richmond with his wife, Claire, and their three children, Emma Claire, 17, Terrell, 17, and Grace, 14.
