Wifredo (“Willy”) Ferrer is known for his gifted leadership style and success in the law, having served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida for 8 years (2010 – 2018) and currently serving as Holland & Knight’s chair of global investigations and compliance. In this podcast episode, Willy explains how his childhood and upbringing shapes how he leads and stays grounded as a husband, father, friend and mentor. Willy also shares difficulties he has had along the way, despite how “perfect” his resume may seem. You don’t want to miss learning more about his powerhouse lawyer and Athena Ally, who encourages all professionals to “do good”!
As always, you can tune in via Apple Podcasts (see link below), Spotify, or YouTube (latter two links on Athena Rising’s website).
Willy’s interview is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes in length. Here are some timestamps to help you along the way:
3:30 – why “not being on the sidelines” is ingrained in Willy’s DNA
4:50 – how Willy learned the power of optimism and humility
19:18 – what defines Willy’s leadership style
22:00 – why Janet Reno epitomizes true leadership to Willy and why more leaders need to “own” their decisions more
32:00 – why preventing crime was just as important to Willy (as U.S. Attorney) as prosecuting criminals were
38:00 – why the justice system fails when both parties (defense and govt) see the world “black and white”
39:00 – what the hardest part of transitioning to private practice has been
42:38 – examples of gender discrimination that Willy has seen in his “first row seat” as a leader
50:55 – what his wife had to sacrifice for Willy’s professional successes – and why chocolate is on the horizon
1:00 – Willy’s intentionality in passing humility and grit onto his children
1:05 – how Willy has dealt with “imposter syndrome”
1:11 – what Willy hopes will be the highlights of his eulogy speech