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By FRED W. WRIGHT JR.NEW POSITION: President, National Geographic Imaging, Tampa. PREVIOUS POSITION: Executive vice president, National Geographic Imaging
In his new role, Greg Williams finds himself on the road a lot - driving between principal offices in Jacksonville and Tampa and seeking out expansion in Orlando and South Florida. Coordinating with the company's strategic planning committee is a particular focus, Williams said.
"My job is once we figure where we want to go that I help them any way I can," he said.
Williams is also chief operating officer.
"I make sure all daily operations run correctly," he said.
NGI also has offices in Orlando, Ocala, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., and about 165 employees.
"We are what used to be known as a blueprint company," Williams said. "It's evolved from blueprinting to digital imaging. We do black-and-white plans and specs for the building industry. But a segment of our industry is color graphics, which applies to just about everybody in the world."
NGI was started in Tampa in 1986 as Bay Reprographics. Williams was a co-founder. Being on the road so much, Williams confessed to being more linked to technology than he would like.
"Like the rest of the world, I'm pretty much addicted to my cell phone and my e-mail so I'm constantly in touch with people," he said. "You don't have to be bound to an office with today's technology."
Williams said he likes the imaging industry because "there's never the same thing. There's not a routine to it. Every day is different. You have to meet the needs of customers and you have to juggle to respond to them. It's kind of exciting."
Born in Seattle, Williams grew up in Jacksonville, where his family moved when he was 4. He attended Florida Junior College in Jacksonville in the late 1970s, but began working before he completed the program.
"My education is on the job for the most part," he said.
He began working part time for a blueprint company in Jacksonville while in college, starting in the darkroom and eventually becoming production manager. In 1984, Williams moved to Tampa to join a startup company, Florida Blueprint, as production manager.
Two years later, he helped start Bay Reprographics as vice president of operations.
Plans are under way for a company-wide celebration to mark NGI's 20th anniversary, Williams said.
"We're going to have a big party," he said.
Williams, 47, and his wife, Janet, live in Atlantic Beach. They have two children, Alison, 16, and Scott, 14. Williams said he is an avid boater, often out on his 22-foot outboard on the St. Johns River or "up and down the Intracoastal Waterway," he said. "It's a very peaceful thing."
He and his family frequently vacation on Abacos Island in the Bahamas.
"It's beautiful," he said. "Cell phones don't work there."