'Inspiring others to thrive' - renowned poet, anti-corruption campaigner and academic Athol Williams joins our faculty

Athol is a business and ethics expert with over twenty years as an executive in management consultancy and corporate strategy roles. His work explores the interplay between ethics and strategy, corporate finance, and risk management. His research focuses on three key areas: strategic formulation, self-leadership, and corporate moral responsibility.

Commenting on the appointment, Deputy Dean for Faculty and Research, and LÓreal Professor of Marketing, Andrew Stephen, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome Athol into our Oxford Saïd community. Ethical leadership and strategy in business lie at the core of our curricula and programmes. They are crucial in helping us achieve the transformational impact we hope to develop in our students and communities. Athol's research and experience will help prepare our global leaders for the complex challenges our societies must solve. I warmly welcome him and his expertise to Oxford Saïd.’

Athol is the founder of the Institute of Social and Corporate Ethics which fosters ethical practices, and an ardent campaigner against corporate corruption, having authored the paper, ‘ Ranking Agents of Justice: When should the corporation act?’.

His first-hand knowledge of unethical conduct was the central tenet in the South African Zondo Commission’s investigations into allegations of public sector corruption and fraud.  Recognised for his role and courageous disclosure of the US-based consultancy Bain & Co, he received the 2022 Blueprint Special Recognition award for ‘integrity and bravery in the public interest’. His book released in 2021 entitled, Deep Collusion: Bain and the Capture of South Africa, details his experiences as a whistle-blower embroiled in the aftermath of the state capture crisis in South Africa.

He advocates for more leaders taking a stand against unethical leadership and behaviour, saying: ‘We live in an increasingly complex world where making ethical decisions means our ethical positions are challenged daily, but we can improve our companies and our societies. I discovered that doing so can come at great cost, but I am also confident the cost will decrease as more leaders act with courage to uproot unethical behaviour from their organisations.’

An accomplished poet and writer, Athol is the author of 18 books, more than 100 poems, and two short stories in literary journals published in collections worldwide. He is a two-time winner of the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award, a poetry award for South African writers. He co-founded Read to Rise, an award-winning non-profit organisation that promotes youth literacy in South Africa. 

Before joining Oxford Saïd, Athol Williams was a Senior Lecturer at Cape Town University and an Adjunct Professor at the Wits School of Governance. He is a Research Associate at Hertford College and a Visiting Tutor at St Catherine’s College, at the University.