William A. Adams

William A. Adams is a software engineering pioneer, entrepreneur, technology executive, diversity and inclusion innovator, mentor, and philanthropist whose career has been dedicated to expanding opportunity within the technology industry. Over several decades, he has combined technical innovation with a commitment to helping Black professionals and other historically excluded groups enter, advance, and build lasting influence within the field. During his career at Microsoft, William contributed critical XML technology that was deployed across several of the company’s major products. He later became the first Technical Advisor to Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott, placing him in a position to influence technical strategy, engineering culture, and leadership at one of the world’s most influential technology companies. William also co-founded the Microsoft Leap Apprenticeship Program, an initiative designed to create alternative pathways into technology careers for people whose talent and experience may not be reflected by traditional hiring credentials. The program has trained developers and program managers from nontraditional backgrounds and helped participants convert their life experience, transferable skills, and technical potential into meaningful careers within Microsoft and the broader technology industry. Long before his leadership at Microsoft, William was among the early Black entrepreneurs working in Silicon Valley. Through his company Adamation, he developed custom enterprise applications for NeXT computers, the company founded by Steve Jobs, and helped pioneer an early network-based instant-messaging service that was later purchased by the CIA. His contributions to software engineering and entrepreneurship have been documented by the Computer History Museum. William’s broader mission is rooted in what he calls Tequity—the belief that Black communities must move beyond simply gaining access to technology jobs and begin building wealth, agency, and ownership through technology. His vision is to help Black professionals enter the industry, prosper within it, create companies, develop intellectual property, and hold an equity stake in the technologies shaping the future. Through mentorship, workforce-development initiatives, community investment, and programs such as The EV3NT, William encourages aspiring technologists to recognize that their experiences have value and that there is no single acceptable pathway into the industry. His work challenges companies to take greater responsibility for identifying talent, removing unnecessary barriers, and creating environments where people from different backgrounds can contribute and lead. William’s appearance on The Lifestrong Project, titled “Breaking the Code: The Diversity Gap in Tech,” examines the systemic barriers contributing to the underrepresentation of Black professionals in technology. The conversation explores the importance of access, mentorship, corporate accountability, alternative career pathways, and Black ownership in closing that gap. William’s story demonstrates that representation in technology is about more than employment numbers. It is about ensuring that Black people have the opportunity to design the products, influence the decisions, own the companies, and share in the wealth being created by the technologies transforming society..