Meet Bill

Bill Wansley is the client service officer for the National Agencies account. He leads consulting teams in providing mission-essential support to multiple federal agencies including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and classified clients. He is responsible for business activities associated with the development, delivery and maintenance of mission-tailored multidisciplinary consulting services for these agencies.

Bill focuses on solving emerging strategic and operational challenges in the national security and space-related enterprises based on emerging enterprise digital strategies. He has led the development of innovative advanced analytic services focused on the evolution of data science applied to complex intelligence analysis problem sets and the enterprise services required to support this evolution.

He has previously served as the business leader and program manager for several national security-related projects and contributed to a broad range of security-related services, skills, and insights, including strategic planning, mission innovation, CIO strategy and responsibilities, cybersecurity, continuity planning, counterintelligence, intelligence operational support, and advanced analytics. He also supported commercial financial services clients with threat intelligence, advanced analytic and cybersecurity services.

Bill is a director on the board of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), a not-for-profit, non-partisan, public-private organization that works to promote and recognize the highest standards within the national security and intelligence communities. Within INSA, he co-chairs the Task Force on Financial Threats.

Bill has more than three decades of professional experience as an operational U.S. Army officer, a national security policy planner, and a management consultant for the U.S. intelligence community and global commercial clients. His operational military experience includes serving as a field commander, division-level war planner, and national security strategist. His national-level policy planning experience includes serving as a strategic planner responsible for the Joint Strategic Planning System for the Directorate of Strategic Plans and Policy, J5, Joint Staff. Later in his career, he again served the J5 as a national security policy planner and representative for international negotiations on the Treaty for Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty).

While a student at the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), Bill published monographs on tactical leadership and a theory of peace, based on the synthesis and integration of traditional military theory and contemporary business management best practices.

He holds an MBA from Creighton University; an M.M.A.S. in theater operations from the School of Advanced Military Studies; and a B.S. in general engineering from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point.

How do you help your clients prepare for the future? We have the ability to step back and look more strategically at the mission and operations of our client agencies. We take advantage of what’s going on in the rest of the world to find better ways—new technologies and approaches—to empower our clients to accomplish and advance their mission.

What advice would you give yourself as a young professional? Take the time to invest in yourself. College and graduate school are just a beginning of your professional development. Once you start working in a profession, you find yourself surrounded with new ideas, new people, and new challenges. As you transition into this professional role, take advantage of the experiences of those around you and engage in a deliberate quest for personal development based on continuous learning by seeking stretch opportunities.

What’s the most influential book you’ve read? The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt. The Goal is a short novel that walks the reader through a series of business challenges that make up the everyday life of a manager. The lessons communicated in the book are subtle and brilliant for gaining understanding of what to focus on every day—the goal.

Is leadership something you learn, or is it innate? Leadership requires a combination of nature and nurturing. While many people seem to have a natural ability to lead and inspire others, there are many leadership skills that can be taught. Most importantly, leaders need to have a vision of where a group or organization is going, develop trust with the people they lead, and effectively communicate that vision. A leader in today’s rapidly changing and complex environment needs to be continuously learning and adapting to meet new challenges and serve as a guide for others to follow.

What motivates you? I am inspired every day by my wife and three children, by serving my country, and by the unlimited opportunity to learn from others.

Why do you think Booz Allen is an ideal firm for someone with your expertise and skills? Our purpose empowers people to change the world. Working for an organization that has a shared purpose and a set of values is a good starting point for anyone who wants to have an impact and to grow professionally.

What excites you about working in national security? I find working in the national security community important and purposeful. Our country’s greatest responsibility is to protect its citizens from enemies, foreign and domestic. Accomplishing this task without unnecessary infringement on the rights we are protecting is a high calling for all of us.