USAV Names Williams its Beach Managing Director

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 16, 2010) – USA Volleyball is very pleased to announce the hiring of David Williams of Hermosa Beach, Calif., as its new Managing Director of Beach Programs.

Williams comes to USA Volleyball from the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), where he has served in several senior management positions: Director of Tour Operations, Director of Market Development and, most recently, Vice President of Operations. Williams has produced more than 150 events for the AVP, which has successfully developed and promoted the sport for more than 20 years and is the recognized National Beach Tour of USA Volleyball.

Prior to joining the AVP, Williams served as the Managing Director of The Women’s Professional Volleyball Association in 1997-98.

"I was fortunate enough to work with the greatest athletes in the history of our sport while at the AVP,” Williams said. “To grow the game across the country with USA Volleyball is an exciting challenge and I am honored for the opportunity."

“I am excited to have a proven beach executive like Dave Williams joining our staff,” USA Volleyball CEO Doug Beal said. “With Dave, USAV has found an executive who has worked with beach volleyball for more than 20 years. He is well known and respected by the athletes. He knows the business side, the event side and the financial side of the sport. His prior experience with the AVP Tour will ensure that joint USAV and AVP initiatives will be managed even better than before.

“We were very pleased with the overwhelming interest in the position and the quality of the applicant pool,” Beal added, “which makes the selection of Dave that much more positive for USAV.”

The USA Volleyball Board of Directors approved the new position of Managing Director of Beach Programs at its Jan. 25 meeting in Los Angeles as part of its initiative to create short- and long-term growth for the discipline.

Among the factors expected to boost the sport of beach volleyball in coming months and years are its inclusion as an NCAA emerging sport for women, which begins in August of this year for Division II schools and starts in August of 2011 for Division I. Another exciting development is the new FIVB Olympic qualifying procedure that will allow the United States to select its own beach Olympians at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for beach volleyball.

 “Today is a great day for beach volleyball,” said Mike Dodd, Commissioner of the AVP and 1996 Olympic silver medalist in beach volleyball. “We will miss Dave at the AVP, but we really look forward to working with him and USAV on future projects for beach volleyball. USA Volleyball could not have made a better choice in Dave Williams.”

“Creating the position of Managing Director of Beach Volleyball was definitely a step in the right direction and I think Dave is a great hire for the organization and the players who compete both domestically and internationally,” said U.S. beach volleyball player and Olympic gold medalist Todd Rogers. “Now he is going to have to work hard to create resources and opportunities for beach volleyball.”

Williams has also worked as Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for 3D Shopping / O2 Essential Marketing Technology, a publically traded web hosting and marketing company that was the exclusive 3D image provider to Yahoo Shopping. He has held executive management positions with Café Au Lait, Vie De France Bakery Corporation, Mauna Loa, and Pepsi.

Williams received his BA in Marketing and Organizational Communications from The Ohio State University in 1981 and is a life member of Ohio State’s President’s Club. He is a founder of the Manhattan Beach Open Dinner of Champions.

Williams will work in USA Volleyball’s beach office in El Segundo, Calif.

Tags: AVP, Beach, Beach Volleyball, David Williams, Doug Beal, Todd Rogers