The Journey to Success: CEO of Washington Media Cathy Merrill Williams’s Perspective on Hard Work and Owning a Business

BY AVA GUARINO, GRADE 12

Cathy Merrill Williams. Washingtonian

Cathy Merrill Williams is the CEO and President of Washington Media, which owns D.C.’s most prominent magazine, Washingtonian. During her time as CEO, Ms. Williams has created new sectors of Washington Media including the magazines Washingtonian Weddings and Washingtonian Welcome Guide as well as the companies Washingtonian Events and Washingtonian Custom Media. Ms. Williams is proud to be a successful female business owner and shares her most valuable lessons with the participants of the Girls Who Start Summer Writing Workshop.

Ms. Williams started off in New York City in international marketing for Estée Lauder. She developed a great appreciation for the company but did not particularly enjoy her work. “It doesn't matter how great the company or your boss is, but the days are long if you don't like what you're doing,” Ms. Williams proclaims. However, her Estée Lauder experience ultimately helped her realize what kind of work she didn’t want to do. “I like numbers and I was always strong in math,” Ms. Williams shares. At this moment, she realized she wanted to pivot to a career in business or finance. 

Ms. Williams eventually got a job in management consulting but didn’t have the background to jump into sophisticated work – she worked on the support staff at 25 years old and spent the first three months binding documents. The most important thing she did to advance her career was to ask, “Is there anything I can do for you?” She strongly recommends using this phrase later on in life, as she believes in its power in the long run. Individuals began giving Ms. Williams extra work and she eventually fought her way onto the consulting staff. She made partner in five years and was the youngest female partner at the time. After her time in management consulting, Ms. Williams worked for a large government contractor. Then, after her father passed away, she took over Washingtonian and began her career as CEO.

Ms. Williams grew up in a “newspaper family” with Washingtonian as her family’s business. She was comfortable with business concepts and wanted to bring her knowledge to the company.

Washingtonian covers. Washingtonian

The rapidly changing media business, recessions, and the COVID-19 pandemic have been the most challenging aspects of Ms. Williams’s career. Although there have been challenges, she states that “experimenting and seeing what works” has helped her overcome them. Ms. Williams has also found that mistakes can be good – for example, they expedited her understanding of how to get things under control quickly. She is proudest of the fact that Washingtonian did not lay off a single worker in 2020, and that the company maintained its core values during unprecedented times. 

While Ms. Williams is not a writer for Washingtonian, she has valuable insights on developing ideas and the creative process when writing an article. Her company holds a 9 a.m. meeting every morning to come up with article ideas. “We think of the interesting meter, and what will be interesting to our readers and what will be interesting to us,” Ms. Williams explains. In journalism, it is important to “get things right” for your readers to trust you, a key goal of Washingtonian. Additionally, Ms. Williams says that in an article, “tightness is key” and too much “flowery language” is inefficient; concise and simple writing is what most people appreciate. Finally, Ms. Williams believes that the best articles are those about people, not things. She points to how people would rather read an article titled “How Steve Jobs Built Apple” than “How Apple Was Built.”

Ms. Williams at the 2018 Washingtonians of the Year Luncheon. Washingtonian

Ms. Williams values the importance of hard work, perseverance, and knowing what you want. Although she has faced numerous challenges in her career, her patience and confidence have ultimately led to her inspiring success today.

This article was written during the GWS Summer Writing Workshop. Taught by the GWS Publication Team, the workshop hosted young journalists in grades 1 through 12, each with a passion for writing and learning. Over five weeks throughout the summer, students brainstormed, researched, outlined, drafted, revised, and ultimately produced an article about a topic related to women in business. Learn more about the workshop here.