William B. Cole, Jr. has over 30 years experience in managing, reviewing and assisting federally-funded grant organizations, operations and programs. Since 1996 he has been President of Cole and Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm specializing in financial, management, organization and compliance issues related to grants and grantee organizations. For over 12 years prior to this he served as a senior executive at the National Science Foundation (NSF) where he was Director of the Division of Grants and Agreements. As Director he was responsible for the business, financial, administrative, management and policy aspects of over 20,000 grant awards, obligating nearly $3 billion annually. He also previously served as Director of NSF Grants and Contracts Policy, and as Director of the Office of Small Business Research and Development.

During the past 20 years Mr. Cole, both as a manager and a practitioner, has directed and conducted reviews of financial, business and management systems, policies, procedures and practices and provided technical assistance to hundreds of federally-funded state and non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and federal agencies. He has conducted reviews and provided guidance to enable officials to identify and understand issues; develop corrective actions; adopt and implement improvements in financial and management systems, policies and operations; ensure adequate controls; and comply with federal award requirements. Mr. Cole has worked extensively with various federal administrative and program requirements and is an expert on grants management policies and best practices and on OMB Circulars covering the administration, management and cost principles affecting grantee organizations.

Mr. Cole has a B.S. in Economics and Business Administration. He also has studied law and is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute. He has been a member of the National Grants Management Association (NGMA), the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA), the Society of Research Administrators (SRA), and the Senior Executive Service (SES). He is the recipient of the highest distinguished service awards presented by NGMA and by NSF.