William J. Hochul Jr.

One of NAFUSA’s newest members, William J. Hochul Jr., serves as General Counsel and Secretary for Delaware North, a global leader in hospitality and food service.  With over 60,000 employees and operating on four continents, Delaware North is one of the most admired, privately-held companies in the world.  Delaware North also owns and operates businesses involved in gaming, sports, resorts, travel and more.

As General Counsel and Secretary, Hochul manages the legal function for the company and provides advice and counsel to senior management in all legal matters involving Delaware North or its operating companies. His responsibilities also include oversight of the company’s numerous regulatory and legal compliance requirements, along with its vast array of licenses throughout the world.  Hochul also oversees the Security and External Affairs Departments.

Prior to joining Delaware North in 2016, Hochul served as United States attorney for the Western District of New York – a position he began in 2010, when the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed him following nomination by President Barack Obama. Hochul managed a staff of more than 100 attorneys, paralegals, and support personnel while overseeing the prosecution of all federal criminal cases brought within the 17 counties of Western New York. His office also represented the United States in all civil matters brought within the district.

Under Hochul’s leadership, the office successfully implemented numerous strategies, organizational initiatives, and public outreach programs designed to keep the community safe, and also successfully prosecuted crimes involving terrorism, narcotics, the environment, identity theft, and cyber-related offenses. The office’s civil litigation returned hundreds of millions of dollars to U.S. taxpayers. Hochul also served as the chief federal law enforcement official for the area.

Hochul began his legal career as a law clerk to a Maryland Court of Appeals judge, and thereafter joined the litigation section at the Washington office of a large international law firm, where he represented a wide variety of clients in complex civil litigation matters. Hochul joined the U.S. Department of Justice in 1987 as an Assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia before moving to the Western District of New York in 1991. Hochul became chief of the office’s anti-terrorism unit following September 11, 2001, and chief of the national security division in 2006. He served as lead prosecutor in several high-profile international terrorism cases, including the highly successful prosecution of the internationally known Lackawanna Six, the first known instance of Americans traveling to train with al Qaeda.

Hochul has received many dozens of awards and honors for his work, including co-recipient of the 2003 Attorney Generals Award for Exceptional Service – the highest award of the U.S. Department of Justice. He served as an adjunct professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, Hilbert College and Niagara University, and has also lectured, both domestically and abroad, on a wide variety of topics including anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism, public corruption, rule of law, and more.

Hochul graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1981, and earned his law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School in 1984.  Hochul also received recently his mini-MBA from Boston University, Questrom School of Business.  Hochul is married to Kathy, the current New York State Lieutenant Governor and a former Member of Congress.