Growing up in a military family, Cody Williamson moved around as a young child. He didn’t really understand his heritage until he moved back to his Tribal home in the fifth grade. He quickly realized he had more Creek relatives than he could have imagined. The grandson of Jack McGhee, Cody began to learn more about Tribal culture and became more involved in the traditions that his extended Tribal family shared.

Cody did well in school and eventually graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in finance. He went on to get his law degree from the University as well. Both degrees would serve him well in the years to come. He started his career in Atlanta, working for a boutique accounting firm focusing on corporate tax structure. He went on to work with Cox Communications before returning home to Poarch.

This experience served him well and he took a position with the Tribe’s legal department upon his return. It was clear to Tribal leadership that Cody represented a new generation that could help the Tribe grow and thrive after achieving federal recognition. After the Tribe opened its first casino, he directed procurement and compliance for PCI Gaming. When the Tribe was developing Wind Creek Wetumpka, he was the ideal choice to manage the property. For the next seven years, Cody grew the property into a successful, sustainable operation.

While he was growing the gaming operation, he also served on the Board of Directors for Creek Indian Enterprises Development Authority. This practical experience gave him unique insight into how the Tribe could reinvest gaming revenues to diversify its economic base. He saw how businesses in other industries could provide opportunities for Tribal Citizens to develop careers outside of gaming. As he became more involved with CIEDA, he worked to grow existing Tribal businesses in manufacturing and other industries and used his legal and financial expertise to help identify investments in PCI Federal Services. He also put his hospitality experience to work growing CIEDA’s portfolio of hotel properties.

In 2018, CIEDA named Williamson President and CEO. Under his leadership, the Tribe has seen phenomenal growth in its non-gaming enterprises. Poarch Creek Indians Federal Services has grown exponentially, expanding to more than a dozen business units through acquisition and organic growth opportunities. He has also overseen the successful development of OWA, building a record-setting indoor water park, wave pool, and surf simulator into the Tropic Falls theme. This is in addition to a new RV park as well as expanded retail properties onsite. CIEDA has also partnered with other real estate investment groups to develop hotel properties nationwide.

Anyone who has worked with Cody will recognize his no-nonsense approach to business. This has served him well in assessing investment opportunities and managing the investments CIEDA has made in new acquisitions and projects. The success and growth speak for themselves. He is a hands-on leader who has had to learn to delegate as the organization has grown. This has made him a mentor to many in the Tribe, in the businesses he manages, and among the communities he serves.

If you ask him to reflect on how he arrived in his current position, he will tell you that his Tribal heritage has played a key role in his professional development. When he returned to his Tribal home as a youngster, none of the businesses he oversees or has worked with even existed. As he looks back, he takes pride in the growth of the Tribe’s businesses, but he never forgets where he came from. He looks at the opportunities presented to the next generation of Tribal leaders and hopes they don’t take generations of perseverance for granted. His Tribal values guide him in his personal and professional life, and he credits that for both his success and the self-determination of the Tribe as a whole.