BOITUMELO RANTAO
THE world’s leading basketball league, National Basketball Association (NBA), has announced Victor Williams as the new CEO of NBA Africa.
Williams, fulfilling a newly created role, will oversee and be responsible for growing the NBA business and basketball development initiatives in Africa. This was announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver who praised Williams as an accomplished investment banker with extensive experience growing businesses across the U.S. and Africa.
“Adding an executive of Victor’s calibre and experience is an important step in our continued efforts to grow basketball across the continent,” said Silver. “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, a dual citizen of Sierra Leone and the U.S, holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and Bachelor’s Degrees in applied math and economics from Brown University, will be based in the league’s office in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“Becoming CEO of NBA Africa is a compelling opportunity to join the NBA – a widely-respected and admired globally-oriented sports enterprise,” said Williams. “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.”
