Dr. Fiona Williams is a Research Director of Ericsson, based in Aachen, Germany, driving innovations in communications networks and services and their use in Smart Energy Grids.  She initiates and leads large-scale collaborative programmes and projects in the national and European context and builds up research, innovation and IPR activities for Ericsson, bringing results through to business innovation in products and services and as spin-off companies, where appropriate. She is currently Project Manager of the FINESCE IP in the FI-PPP Programme of the European Commission.  This project will field trial a range of concepts for communications in the Smart Energy sector in cross-border trials in Europe.

She holds board positions in industrial and academic organizations at international level.

She built up the research and innovation unit in Ericsson Eurolab, which has developed a wide range of successful product developments and set leading standards. She moved to Germany in 1991 from Ireland, where she was responsible for the start-up and operations of an Ericsson-Eircom joint venture advanced technology company.  She studied for her B.Sc.(Hons.) and Ph.D. degrees at the National University of Ireland and as a visiting fellow at Imperial College, London.