Williams CEO urges Tulsa to invest in energy infrastructure

Williams president and CEO Chad Zamarin urged Tulsa to compete harder for companies and talent and called for critical investments in infrastructure and workforce.

• Main announcement/action: Chad Zamarin said Tulsa must compete harder for companies and talent and warned the city and state risk losing more employers and workers unless critical investments are made; he emphasized Williams expects significant growth in the coming decade and needs a city that can grow with it. Zamarin highlighted rising demand drivers such as exports, manufacturing and data centers and said speed is critical as AI drives new power needs (“We are not going to win the race for AI if it takes six to eight years to scale up our AI infrastructure”).
• Background and other details: Williams (founded 1908) operates roughly one-third of U.S. natural gas through its pipeline, gathering, processing and storage systems; the company is evaluating solar, hydrogen, nuclear and battery storage while prioritizing projects deployable at scale in the near term. The remarks were made at a sold-out April Friends of Finance Executive Speaker Series luncheon at The University of Tulsa; the event was the last of the 2025-26 series and the 2026-27 series will begin in September with new UTulsa President Stacy Leeds.

Event details:

• Date: April (sold-out April Friends of Finance Executive Speaker Series luncheon)
• Time: null
• Location: The University of Tulsa
• Agenda/subject: energy infrastructure, natural gas and electricity demand, AI-driven power needs, regional development and talent attraction