Christopher Williams
Founder & Principal
Custament Partners
Date Joined: 2/2/23
Rotary Sponsor: Kris Hemenway
Christopher O.H. Williams is a global executive with 25+ years’ experience leading transformational enterprise change at some of the world’s best-known sport and lifestyle fashion companies and consumer brands. His areas of expertise include strategy and transformation, brand management, international business and go-to-market.
Professional
He is currently the Founder and Principal of Custament Partners LLC, an impact advisory firm that caters to supporting disruptor and challenger brands, organizations, and leaders. He is also a Board Director of Reach University, a pioneer of apprenticeship-based degrees in teaching and Chair of the Board of Enda Athletic, a private sportswear brand inspired by Kenyan long-distance runners.
Previously, he was the 1st President and a Board Director of African Leadership University (ALU), 1,500 students) in Mauritius and Rwanda.
Christopher retired from active corporate work in 2018. Over 2 decades, he held senior executive roles in Strategy, Sales, Finance and General Management at adidas, Nike, VF Corporation and Gap. He started his professional career in Investment Banking in Analyst and Associate roles at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers.
He is a former Executive-in-Residence at both ALU and European School of Management and Technology (ESMT Berlin) and sits on the advisory boards of Mizizi African Consumer Holdings, a U.S.-based house of African brands, Pacific University College of Business and Emory & Henry School of Business. He is also a member of both the National Association of Corporate Directors and Private Directors Association. He regularly writes, lectures, and gives keynote speeches to audiences on the topics of Brand Management, Systems Thinking, Multi-Cultural Experience, Consequential Leadership and Courage.
Education
Christopher earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts and a BA in Economics from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he graduated with Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude and Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics honors.
Personal and Family
Christopher enjoys global affairs, travelling, painting, and writing. He has lived and worked in 13 cities across the United States, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Today, he, his wife, and two young children live in Denver, Colorado.
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