William Shields is a Southborough-based finance professional who holds a master of business administration in finance and real estate from the University of Connecticut, as well as a bachelor of arts in sociology with a minor in business from Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. His career includes tenures with multiple Boston firms such as the privately-owned real estate development and management organization Davis Marcus Partners and the Boston offices of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Since 2003, William Shields has served as assistant vice president and managing director within the Real Estate Group of Manulife Financial in Boston. He was the recipient of Manulife's Stars of Excellence Award in 2006, 2015 and 2017.

Mr. Shields enjoys traveling and taking photographs of a broad spectrum of subjects and scenery. He also regularly volunteers at various soup kitchens and food pantries in the vicinity of his Southborough home. His other community volunteer efforts have ranged from overseeing school lunchrooms and computer labs to coaching youth soccer, basketball, football, and baseball teams.