NORFOLK, Va. (March 14, 2018) – On March 8, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) recognized distinguished alumni from its 13-member league and Howard University's Bruce Williams was this year's recipient.
Williams and other honorees were recognized Thursday evening during the 2018 MEAC Basketball Tournament at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
Williams, a proud graduate of Howard University, earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from his alma mater, which included time spent as a starter on the Howard football team all four years, where he was named captain as a senior and selected as outstanding defensive back in the MEAC. Although signed as a free agent by the Denver Broncos upon graduation, Williams traded in his cleats for corporate America and began his professional career at the IBM Corporation as a system engineer.
Over the next 30 years, Williams would make an astounding mark at IBM, holding many executive positions in marketing, technical, and sales organizations; earning numerous sales, management and leadership awards; leading a 100-person team; and managing an operating budget of $250M. His experience included a five-year assignment based in Tokyo, Japan as the Asia Pacific Vice President of IBM's Integrated Technology Services Division, before being promoted to Global General Manager, which included conducting business on six continents for the same division headquartered in New York. As the vice president of IT operations at IBM, he successfully led a 10-fold increase in revenue in both the U.S. and Asia Pacific, which included the development of a consortium of small business partners and the management of 10 diverse product lines. In addition, Williams transformed entire sales and marketing strategies across $12.7B global ITS businesses with operations in 147 countries throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Always desiring to give back, Williams also has held numerous advisory and volunteer positions including having served as Board of Directors chair for the Special Olympics Maryland, as Board of Directors chair for the American Red Cross Maryland, and currently as Board of Directors chair for Bison Express—Howard University's athletic booster club. Under Williams' leadership, Bison Express has raised over $500K for a variety of athletic department initiatives, including the construction of a new weight room, securing student internships at Monumental Sports Corporation, managing a 2013 apparel agreement with Under Armour, and constructing a new academic center for student athletes.
In addition to his role at Howard's Bison Express, Williams is board co-chair of Year Up, which works with urban young adults to eliminate the opportunity divide in their communities. Also, Williams is a charter member of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in Baltimore, Maryland, a proud lifetime member of the Howard University Alumni Association, and a 2014 Inductee to the Howard University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Williams is the father of two sons and currently resides in Ellicott City with his lovely wife, Tresa. He is currently managing partner of the business advisory firm BH Williams, LLC.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at
www.HUBison.com.
