The National Basketball Association (NBA) on Monday named Victor Williams as CEO of NBA Africa with effect from August 17.
Williams is an accomplished investment banking executive with extensive experience growing businesses across the United States and Africa.
Williams, a dual citizen of Sierra Leone and the United States, will be based at the league’s office in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he will oversee the league’s basketball and business development initiatives in Africa.
Williams will also be responsible for continuing to grow the popularity of basketball and the NBA across Africa through a number of initiatives.
“It allows me to blend my professional experience building businesses in Africa with my passion for the sport of basketball. I look forward to working with our colleagues in Johannesburg and Dakar to help grow basketball’s commercial and social impact in Africa and on the world stage,” Williams said in a statement on NBA’s website.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the addition of someone of Williams’ calibre and experience was an important step in the NBA’s long-term goal to grow basketball across Africa.
“We look forward to Victor leading NBA Africa’s operations and helping to accelerate the use of sports as an economic engine across Africa.”
Williams has previously worked at Standard Bank, Wells Fargo Securities and Goldman Sachs. He has also served on the boards of publicly-listed companies and non-profit organizations in the United States, Nigeria and Kenya.
