Victor Williams

Managing Partner at Lions Range Group

Interviewer

Victor Williams is a distinguished finance and sports industry leader and investor with over 25 years of transformative experience driving business growth across the U.S. and Africa.

From 2020 to 2023, as CEO of NBA Africa, Williams led all the league’s basketball and business development initiatives in Africa, enhancing the NBA brand’s growth and popularity on the continent. He oversaw the formation of NBA Africa as a standalone entity with external investment, led the launch of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the NBA’s first professional league outside North America, and established new offices in Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya. He also launched the first NBA Stores in Africa and scaled grassroots programs, talent development, marketing, fan engagement, media partnerships, and merchandising.

Prior to joining the NBA, Williams had over two decades’ experience as an investment banking executive. As the Executive Head of Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), Africa Regions for Standard Bank Group, he oversaw the strategy, execution, and financial performance of the business in 19 African countries and led its expansion into Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.

Previously, as a senior mergers and acquisition banker with Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo Securities, Williams led several multi-billion dollar transactions and advised Fortune 500 executives on complex mergers and financing.

A dual citizen of Sierra Leone and the U.S., Williams holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and undergraduate degrees from Brown University. Named among the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2021 by New African Magazine, he serves on the Board of the Smithsonian Museum of African Art and Harvard Business School’s Africa Advisory Board. He has also served on boards of public companies and non-profits in the U.S., Nigeria, and Kenya.