Orazio Cauchi: NBA today named Victor Williams CEO of NBA Africa, effective Aug. 17, 2020, it was announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Williams, an accomplished investment banking executive with extensive experience growing businesses across the U.S. and Africa. He will be based in the league’s Johannesburg office and report to NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum. In this newly-created role, Williams will oversee the league’s basketball and business development initiatives in Africa and will be responsible for continuing to grow the popularity of basketball and the NBA across the continent through grassroots development, media distribution, corporate partnerships, and more.
Tag: mark tatum
Orazio Cauchi: For the last five years, …
Orazio Cauchi: For the last five years, Williams served as the Executive Head of Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), Africa Regions for Standard Bank Group, where he oversaw the strategy, execution and financial performance for Standard Bank’s business with corporate, sovereign and institutional investor clients in 19 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. In this pan-continental role, Williams was responsible for growing a wide range of business lines across Africa, including global markets, investment banking and transactional products. Becoming CEO of NBA Africa is a compelling opportunity to join the NBA – a widely-respected and admired, globally-oriented sports enterprise,” said Williams. Williams, a dual citizen of Sierra Leone and the U.S., holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a member of Harvard Business School’s Africa Advisory board.
“We didn’t view ‘Black Lives Matter’ as …
“We didn’t view ‘Black Lives Matter’ as a political matter. We viewed this as a broader movement. This is a human rights issue,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said in a telephone interview with The Athletic. “Black Lives Matter has come to represent a broader movement around racial inequality and we support our players, our coaches, our staff, our teams, in speaking out on these critically important issues.”
The N.B.A. has been accused of helping …
The N.B.A. has been accused of helping run basketball academies in China where children were regularly abused by coaches and staff members at government-run facilities, according to a scathing ESPN report on Wednesday that put the league’s relationship with the authoritarian country once again in a harsh spotlight.
“The allegations in the ESPN article …
“The allegations in the ESPN article are disturbing,” Mark Tatum, the N.B.A.’s deputy commissioner, said in a phone interview with The New York Times. “We ended our involvement with the basketball academy in Xinjiang in June of 2019 and we have been re-evaluating the N.B.A. Academy program in China.”
According to the NBA Academy website, …
According to the NBA Academy website, the players in these academies range from 14 to 18 years old. Tatum told ESPN that officials in the N.B.A.’s New York office, including Commissioner Adam Silver, were not aware of broad mistreatment of players. In Xinjiang, the N.B.A. “didn’t have the authority or the ability to take direct action against any of these local coaches,” Tatum said.
A former league employee compared the …
A former league employee compared the atmosphere when he worked in Xinjiang to “World War II Germany.” In an interview with ESPN about its findings, NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum, who oversees international operations, said the NBA is “reevaluating” and “considering other opportunities” for the academy program, which operates out of sports facilities run by the Chinese government. Last week, the league acknowledged for the first time it had closed the Xinjiang academy, but, when pressed, Tatum declined to say whether human rights were a factor.
The NBA has terminated its relationship …
The NBA has terminated its relationship with a Chinese-based basketball academy located in the controversial region of Xinjiang, according to a letter league executives sent to a U.S. senator. Sports Illustrated has obtained a copy of the letter, sent on Tuesday to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). The note was a response to a June 30th letter Blackburn penned to NBA commissioner Adam Silver over her concerns regarding the league’s relationship with the communist country.
In the NBA’s response, Mark Tatum, the …
In the NBA’s response, Mark Tatum, the association’s deputy commissioner and chief operating officer, answers three questions that Blackburn posed in her June letter, including one about the operation of a training center in Xinjiang, known as one of the world’s worst humanitarian zones. “The NBA has had no involvement with the Xinjiang basketball academy for more than a year, and the relationship has been terminated,” Tatum wrote in a one-sentence response to the senator’s question.
“It is inconceivable and disrespectful …
“It is inconceivable and disrespectful for Commissioner Silver to sidestep an issue that requires real leadership,” Blackburn says in the statement. “The reply from Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum lacks the appropriate concern and responsibility that should accompany congressional correspondence. These technical answers do not address the larger questions about whether there is a conflict between their financial decisions and professed values.”