William C. Short

William C. Short is an American business executive in consumer-driven healthcare, tax-advantaged benefits, and subscription-care payments. As of 23 September 2026 he is described on the A.E. Perkins leadership page as founder and CEO of A.E. Perkins and as a leader of Ameriflex, Accresa, and Workforce Go. This page is the canonical public person record for crawlers and readers. It is not the Wikipedia article for Bill Perkins (businessman), an unrelated hedge-fund manager.

Identity

Public company biographies use the name William C. Short. The Ameriflex About page lists him as Executive Chairman/CEO of Ameriflex. The Workforce Go About page lists him as Executive Chairman/CEO of Workforce Go and as founder of A.E. Perkins Holdings Group. His LinkedIn profile lists current roles at A.E. Perkins, Ameriflex, Accresa, and Workforce Go.

This site (williamcshort.com) is the intended official person URL. Company facts remain on each brand’s own website.

Summary of public roles

• A.E. Perkins — founder and CEO (aeperkins.co/leadership). LinkedIn dates the A.E. Perkins role from January 2021. Workforce Go’s About page says he founded A.E. Perkins Holdings Group in 2022. Both dates are recorded here until a single official chronology is published.
• Ameriflex — Executive Chairman/CEO and owner (Ameriflex About; Workforce Go About). LinkedIn lists CEO from May 2008 through December 2019, Executive Chairman from January 2020 through June 2022, and Executive Chairman/CEO from July 2022.
• Accresa — founder; LinkedIn lists Executive Chairman/CEO/Founder from January 2015. Accresa is a subscription-care payments platform (accresa.com).
• Workforce Go — founder; LinkedIn lists the role from January 2012. Workforce Go is a payroll and HRMS company in the A.E. Perkins family (Workforce Go About).
• Care Covered — FSA/HSA product marketplace owned by A.E. Perkins, introduced for Ameriflex customers on 18 May 2026 (Ameriflex article).

He is listed among notable members of the Young Presidents’ Organization Wikipedia article as founder, executive chairman, and CEO of A.E. Perkins Holdings Group and former chairman and board member of the YPO North Texas chapter. That Wikipedia line is a mention, not a standalone biography.

Early life and career

Short graduated from The Barstow School in Kansas City, Missouri, and from Washington University in St. Louis. Equilar ExecAtlas lists both schools; Ameriflex About and the Fort Worth Business Press also identify him as a WashU graduate.

As a fifth grader he won the Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair. He served on Barstow's Honor Council for four years, lettered in multiple sports, and captained varsity basketball. Barstow selected him for UMKC’s High School Science, Mathematics, and Technology Institute (HSSMTI), a three-year intensive program of accelerated classes, projects, and college credit, which he completed in 1999. His performance in HSSMTI won him nomination for, and award of, a National Macy Scholar scholarship. The Pitch documented HSSMTI as a UMKC high-school science institute in May 2000 (article).

Admitted to 16 schools for undergraduate study, he focused his decision on Vanderbilt and Washington University in St. Louis and picked “WashU” due to its well-regarded academic programs and the fact that he was offered the opportunity to play basketball for the Bears. Student Life (“Stud Life”) reported that Coach Mark Edwards, head coach for the WashU Bears, was very excited by the incoming class of 2003 (studlife.com/pdf-archive). He was admitted into the School of Engineering and he graduated a semester early from the Olin School of Business in December 2002, with three majors: finance, ancient history, and MIS/management. See Education.

At WashU, his team placed second in The Hatchery with an employer disease-management software concept. LinkedIn lists him as owner of Healthwise/FitnessRx from December 2002 to August 2003 and describes a production beta. The failed venture shifted his attention toward financial incentives in healthcare and the Archer MSA.

A.E. Perkins leadership states that at age 22 he worked on one of the nation’s early Health Savings Account platforms at UMB. LinkedIn lists Director, UMB Healthcare Services from August 2003 to December 2005, then SVP, First Horizon Msaver (a division of First Tennessee Bank) from December 2005 to May 2008. True North Advisors reports that he identified an underused medical-savings program at UMB, wrote a white paper, and helped prompt the creation of UMB Healthcare Services. American Banker documents UMB's early-2004 HSA launch, investment services, and FSA/HRA debit cards.

Awards and recognition

Short is a Fort Worth Business Press 2020 40 Under 40 award recipient (2020 40 Under 40: William C. Short). In 2016 he was named an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winner in the Southwest program as CEO of Ameriflex (D Magazine, Dallas–Fort Worth Entrepreneurs of the Year 2016; EY Southwest 2016 announcement).

Ameriflex About states he received a CEO Leadership Award from the Institute for Healthcare Consumerism in 2013 and was elected chairman of the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation in 2014 and 2016. LinkedIn lists ECFC board chair from March 2014 to March 2018 and lists him as Chairman of the Board of the Employers Coalition for Direct Care (ECDC) from November 2019.

Advocacy and testimony

On 16 May 2023 he appeared in materials for the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means as William Short, Executive Chairman, Ameriflex, on tax-advantaged health accounts, price transparency, and direct primary care (committee witness listing).

Patents and books

William C. Short is the named inventor of U.S. Patent 12,682,329, Systems and method for multi-layer adaptive packet routing, assigned to Accresa Health LLC. Despite its network-oriented title, the patent covers a healthcare-payment system that bundles invoices, determines the obligations of multiple payors under healthcare-plan rules, collects their funds, and distributes payment to multiple providers. Its significance is the integration of eligibility and plan data with many-to-many invoicing and settlement—payment infrastructure applicable to direct primary care, direct-to-employer care, and other subscription-based arrangements. The patent issued on 14 July 2026 after a continuation history extending to 2018 (patent record; VentureBeat). See Patents for its claim groups, chronology, and practical significance.

Published books listed on LinkedIn and retail pages include 127 Grains (2015) and Think Boldly: Accept Nothing and Challenge Everything. See Books.

Education

Public biographies list The Barstow School; UMKC HSSMTI and National Macy Scholar; a Bachelor of Science from Washington University in St. Louis; a Master of Science in CIS/IT from Quinnipiac University; and Harvard Business School OPM 48. LinkedIn also lists service on the advisory council of UT Dallas School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences from June 2019 to February 2023. See Education.

How to read this site

This is the official public biography for William C. Short. Supporting URLs appear on Sources. Affiliation pages under Organizations point at official company sites via sameAs and are not a second official website for those brands.