Brent Gledhill

Chair

Brent Gledhill, partner, is the president and chief executive officer of William Blair.

Brent was elected CEO in January of 2022, having previously been named president in 2021. Before becoming president, he was the global head of investment banking for William Blair, leading a business that comprises over 700 bankers on four continents serving clients in M&A advisory and growth financing assignments. Brent also serves on William Blair’s Executive Committee, Extended Leadership Group, Global Inclusion Council, Pride Alliance Resource Group, and Debt and Equity Commitment Committees.

Since joining William Blair in 1997, Mr. Gledhill has led the firm’s successful growth and reputation surge in the global investment banking marketplace by delivering execution excellence for clients across more than 30 countries. Under his leadership, the firm completed a minority investment and strategic partnership with BDA Partners. Mr. Gledhill also helped William Blair establish a strategic alliance with Israel’s Poalim Capital Markets and Australia’s Allier Capital.

Mr. Gledhill played a vital role on the U.S. Treasury’s Small Cap Task Force in 2012 that informed legislators of an action plan for stimulating capital formation and access for emerging businesses in the United States. The task force led to the enactment of the JOBS Act (“Jump-Start Our Business Start-Ups”), which has made an IPO a more viable alternative for emerging growth companies to fund their innovation and investment plans.

Before returning to the United States to become William Blair’s global head of investment banking, Mr. Gledhill lived in London and served as head of the firm’s European and Asian banking from 2003 to 2009. Before joining William Blair, Mr. Gledhill worked for Price Waterhouse as a certified public accountant (CPA), Andersen Consulting, and U.S. Congressman Michael Oxley.

Mr. Gledhill earned a B.S. in business administration from Miami University in 1991 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1997.

Civic Involvement (Board Director/Trustee roles):

Chairman-Elect, The Chicago Public Education Fund
President, Francis W. Parker School
Member, National Public Radio (NPR) Foundation
Advisory Board Member, BAM – Becoming A Man (a Youth Guidance program)
Executive Committee, Lyric Opera of Chicago
Member, John G. Shedd Aquarium
Other Affiliations:

The Commercial Club of Chicago
Regional Chair, Harvard Business School Fund
Economic Club of Chicago
Chicago Commonwealth Club
Chicago Council on Global Affairs