Welcoming Hayes Williams, Dataw's New Chief Financial Officer
What are the chances that a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) applicant already has already performed an in-depth review of our financials, worked at Dataw in the distant past, and also has more than 28 years of experience? The answer: 100%!
Dataw Island Club and Dataw Island Owners Association are pleased to announce the hire of Hayes Willliams, CPA, as our new CFO.
Hayes joins us most recently from his own consulting firm. However, he first learned about Dataw’s financials as an auditor with Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, LLP, where he began his career (1996 – 2011). After rising to Senior Manager, he served at Crowley, Wechsler & Associates, LLC, as Principal, and next served the Marine Corps Community Services as a Financial Management Analyst Supervisor. Hayes then went to Sea Pines to serve as their Controller for the Community Services Associates before making his way back to Northern Beaufort County to positively impact the operational and financial practices at the County Council of Beaufort County as Finance Director, and then Chief Financial Officer. At one point in time, Hayes even worked as a youngster on the golf courses and common grounds in the late 1980s
Hayes Williams has extensive experience with budget management and operations, and brings a unique perspective of having worked both for a private common interest realty association and having worked on several private clubs and communities as auditor. His experience provides a unique insight into club finance and operations.
He is a Beaufort native, and enjoys many of the wonderful things our community has to offer: hunting, fishing, birding, boating, sporting clays and spending time in the woods and wetlands of the Lowcountry with his family. He has been a life-long member of St Helena’s Anglican Church where he serves as an usher. He is the head coach of the Turkey Hill Shooting Team, and Treasurer of the Jean Ribaut Society. He has served as Past President of the South Carolina Certified Public Accountants and Director of the Beaufort Rotary.
Hayes and his wife, Elizabeth, have two children: Sarah, who this week graduated from Beaufort High School, and John, a rising junior at BHS.
“I am excited about joining the Dataw Island team,” Hayes says. “Dataw Island has been a part of my life since I was a child coming out with my father to pick tomatoes in the summer for Mr. Rowland. Dataw also gave me my first summer job I had after high school, working in the Landscape Department.”
Since then, Hayes has come a long way in his finance career, “I cut my teeth as a staff accountant working on the audit team with Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, L.L.P. until I was the lead supervisor as the Senior Manager. I am excited to use all of the knowledge and experience that I have accumulated over the past 28 years of Clubs and Common Interest Realty Associations to serve the residents and members of Dataw Island.”
GM Ted Bartlett says, “Hayes brings a unique skill set, and an affable personality – a combination that we believe will suit Dataw perfectly. From a field of many qualified applicants, Hayes’ unique experience with other clubs, familiarity with Dataw, and commitment to the community truly set him apart.”
Hayes is eagerly looking forward to beginning his next challenge at Dataw and will be joining the team in mid-June. Please join us in welcoming Hayes Williams!
