Bill Kirkland

Appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster in February 2025 as chair of the South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) board of trustees, Bill Kirkland also serves as SCRA's interim president and CEO. Kirkland previously served as the managing partner at, as well as founded, the 1818 Consulting Group. Additional prior roles include executive director of the Office of Economic Engagement at the University of South Carolina, chairman of the board for the USC-Columbia Technology Incubator, and co-founder/president/CEO of Collexis Holdings, Inc. Additionally, Kirkland spent two decades in global senior leadership positions at both IBM and Pfizer. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and also served in the United States Coast Guard.