It’s amazing the depth of information you can absorb simply by listening. Elliot Williams knows this to be true. The director of product marketing for Business Imaging at Epson could easily throw around the weight of his long career, but a know-it-all attitude is the first step toward stagnation. Williams prefers to listen, ask questions and get valuable feedback. Problem solve.
“I always start with listening—what does the customer want, what are they trying to do,” said Williams, a 2024 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “Then I ask, ‘what can we build out of that?’ Too often people want to start by telling you the answers. And you can’t provide the right answers if you don’t listen.”
Williams has the benefit of offering a broad perspective, having assumed roles in engineering, finance and marketing. He’s worked with Fortune 500 companies and start-ups—domestically and internationally—leading new product launches and sometimes reverse engineering to get to the bottom of what clients are looking to accomplish. Whether it’s his brain, leveraging contacts and connections, or leaning on prior experience, “figuring it out” makes his job more gratifying and fun.
Williams has enjoyed a vibrant (almost) 40-year career, having entered the business world with Ford Motor Company as a manufacturing engineer after graduating from the University of Michigan. After a brief stint with Intel, his foray into the business side of printing garnered momentum, with 10-plus year stops at HP and Memjet. The HP stop was fortuitous timing, as the company wanted to enter the office space and he helped usher in significant printer lines. Williams joined Epson as a senior product manager in 2014 and was one of the major players involved in the launch of the WorkForce Enterprise line.
Unchartered Waters
Across his career, taking on challenges, entering new customer segments and getting involved in product launches speak to his love of critical thinking. In essence, it’s simply the art of discovery.
“The common theme with every place I’ve been is that I’ve worked on new business ventures, new opportunities—all new things,” he said. “I’m always into the gray space of how do we do something, try something we’ve never done before, entering a new category, charting new territory.”
One of his greatest influences was Bill McGlynn, whom Williams worked under at both HP and Memjet. A learner and puzzle solver like his protégé, McGlynn imparted on Williams a “seize the opportunity” philosophy.
“His view was always the right people with the right purpose can do wonderful things against all odds,” Williams noted.
As 2024 turns the page, Williams believes part of the growth path entails Epson embracing the role of “up and comer,” providing unique value to customers. His is not just another laser printer company, it’s a vehicle to deliver a different solution to the marketplace. Bringing new, innovative products and entering new categories will continue to be Epson’s niche.
Telling Epson’s story to a more diverse audience and shining a light on offerings the client wasn’t aware of will enable both Williams and his company to gain traction and visibility. “It’s about doing more case studies, more customer quotes, more proof points, giving people reference accounts so they can believe and understand how are customers benefiting from using our technology. We have a great story to tell.”
On the home front, Williams and his wife, Elllecia, have been married for 26 years. They have a daughter, Eva, and son, Cameron. The couple recently returned from a vacation to Peru, where they had the opportunity to visit Machu Picchu and other historical sites. Williams’ jobs have allowed him to visit many countries, including Germany, Hungary, Singapore, Spain, France, Brazil and Argentina. Egypt provided the ‘wow factor’ with the pyramids and thousands of years of rich history, with Greece. The Williamses even took a memorable cruise down the Nile.
