Oak Williams is currently the Vice President, Commercial for Infra-Metals. Oak began working at our company in 1998 after graduating from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He began his career journey in an entry-level sales position, perhaps never expecting that he would still be here almost 24 years later. Optimism is the word that Oak most enjoys being associated with and hopes to share in each of his daily interactions. His wife Michelle, his daughter Adriana(9) and his son Theo(6) are priority number one in his life, after that it’s sunshine, physical activity, and whatever challenge that particular day brings which matters most.
Career Growth at Infra-Metals
Oak was hired to work in the sales department for the Wallingford, CT branch but in a rather unconventional way. At that time, our first CNC plate processing machine was being installed and there wasn’t a resource on hand that had any experience with CNC programming. Coupled with his knowledge of AutoCAD and basic G & M coding, Oak found himself as the subject matter expert by default. After about six months of working in the warehouse, he returned to the office to begin what would eventually be a long and fulfilling career in the commercial and leadership side of the business. Oak quickly found that the entrepreneurial culture at Infra-Metals is designed to cultivate the individual by identifying and supporting their strengths. As an inside sales representative, Oak was afforded the opportunity to learn about multiple aspects of the business, such as operations, finance, credit, procurement, marketing, and other key business functions.
In 2013, after more than a decade of success in sales, Oak was offered the opportunity to take on the position of general manager for the yet to built and newest large scale service center in New Boston, Ohio. In this role, he was entrusted to develop the business and the Ohio team from the ground up. This allowed for the creation of a culture that would soon be the benchmark of his approach in future roles. After a successful and educational five years as leader of the New Boston team, Oak was promoted to vice president, commercial in 2018.
Current Day-to-Day as Vice President, Commercial
In his current role, Oak has become a leader, a servant, and a problem-solver. On a daily basis, he helps to solve multipart issues with vendors, customers and most importantly his teammates. As an advocate for all of the hard working and fun loving people within the Infra-Metals family, Oak focuses much of his time on just that, the people. This prioritizes acting as a resource for all employees to turn, to discuss complex issues and to seek advice and guidance. “Creating a fulfilling, safe, and optimistic work environment not only allows us all to achieve the best possible results for the company, more importantly it allows us all to be the best we can be in our lives outside walls of work. This is the future of a work life balance and one that will allow us all to continue to build and improve upon the previous successes of the company.“
A Career In Steel
“We buy and sell steel, however this is what we do, it is not who we are. The “what” does not have to define us, it’s the “who” that I really love to develop and focus on. I want to create an environment where you feel safe to speak your truth, you feel as though you belong, and your ideas and opinions are valued, appreciated, and acted upon, i.e. you want to come to work every day”
Oak came to Infra-Metals at age 21 with a goal of being a leader, so far that goal has been achieved by working hard and believing in the company and his teammates as much as the company and his teammates have believed in him.