Categories: News

Meet 2015 Leadership Honoree Amadou Gallo Fall – NBA Vice President & Managing Director – Africa

“Beyond the laudable achievements of the “Great Lords of Sport” from whom I have drawn inspiration, it is from the generation of great African intellectuals, such as Theophile Obenga, Chinua Achebe and Leopold Senghor, that I discovered my true heroes. While the likes of Ali, Pele, Jordan and Magic made us dream, it was the great African intellectuals that restored our pride and the dignity of our African cultural identity, made us conscious and led us to embrace the belief that we had the agency and that it was incumbent on us – as Africans – to realize those dreams towards the total emancipation and development of our continent and its people. We see sport as a great tool to spur socioeconomic development in Africa with a focus on youth development.”- Amadou Gallo Fall

A Senegalese native, Amadou Gallo Fall currently holds the position of NBA Vice President and Managing Director – Africa. He oversees the NBA’s grassroots basketball development initiatives and its partnerships with marketing, media and consumer product companies in Africa. Fall has been working in this capacity since January 2010 and is currently based at the NBA Africa office in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Fall is also the Founder of SEED (Sports for Education amd Economic Development), a global non-profit organization established in 1998 with the mission of using sport as a vehicle to inspire, empower and support the holistic development of promising African youth, preparing them to become global citizens. To date, SEED has 100 alumni living across 16 countries in North America, Europe and Africa, who without the support of SEED, might have never had the opportunities to acquire the quality of education that they received from SEED, let alone to go and further their academic and professional careers abroad. In total SEED has served over 2,000 students through its various programs.

Fall previously worked for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks as Director of Player Personnel and Vice President of International Affairs. Prior to his 12 years with the Mavericks, Fall worked with the Senegalese Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Senegalese Basketball Federation. The national team he assembled went on to win the 1997 African Championship and participated in the 1998 World Championships in Greece.

Underpinning Fall’s drive for using sport as a vehicle to access better opportunities is the inspiration which he himself has drawn from African intellectuals. It is this wisdom that has helped to shape his academic and professional life and inspired him to aspire for greatness not simply for greatness’ sake, but in part to serve as an example to Africa’s youth that they too can aim for ever higher and ever bolder dreams.


SEE ALSO: MEET MIMI PLANGE, RECIPIENT OF 2015 FACE LIST AWARD FOR FASHION

Fall is a magna cum laude graduate from the University of the District of Columbia, where he also played center on the basketball team.

Fall, through his extraordinary leadership at the NBA is spearheading the effort to increase basketball’s popularity in Africa. In essence, what he is really doing is increasing the opportunities available to African boys and girls, and using sport as a means to empower and nurture a new generation of leaders,” said Face2Face Africa CEO Isaac O. Babu-Boateng.

Fall will be honored at the 2015 FACE List Awards Dinner on Saturday, July 11, at ESPACE Ballroom in New York. Click Here for Tickets.

The 2015 HONOREES:
Ashish J. Thakkar — Founder & CEO, Mara Group — Entrepreneur Award
Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker — Founders, Sophie’s Voice Foundation — Humanitarian Award
Fumbi Chima — Chief Information Officer, Wal-Mart Asia — Trailblazer Award
Amadou G. Fall — NBA VP and Managing Director, Africa — Leadership Award
Mimi Plange — Fashion Designer — Fashion Award
Donna Katzin –– Founder, Shared Interest — Ubuntu Award for Service
Donald C. Notice — Executive Director, WHGA — Community Development Award

F2FA

Face2face Africa (F2FA) is an ambitious, forward-looking, fast-growing media group with a diverse range of expertise and interests. We serve a technologically interconnected generation of young people across the world who have a shared-ancestry in Africa. Leveraging the talents and technological know-how of this same generation, we provide our audience with entertaining content and intelligent discourse across our wide range of platforms.

Recent Posts

‘It felt really scary’ – 14-year-old Nigerian ballet sensation on learning he’s largely blind in one eye

Anthony Madu, the 14-year-old Nigerian dancer from Lagos who gained admission to a prestigious ballet…

20 hours ago

‘I remember the day when 56 dollars would change my life’: Wayne Brady reveals humble beginnings

Actor-host Wayne Brady recently opened up about his early financial struggles in his now thriving…

21 hours ago

This 1-year-old loves to greet people at Target, so the store hired him as its youngest employee

Mia Arianna, also known as @mia.ariannaa on TikTok, helped her son become an honorary team…

21 hours ago

Postman drives 379 miles at his own expense to deliver lost World War II letters to a family

Alvin Gauthier, a Grand Prairie USPS postman, recently went above and beyond to brighten a…

1 day ago

Maj. Gen. Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed becomes Kenya’s first-ever female air force head

Maj. Gen. Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed is the first female commander of the air force and…

1 day ago

All Benjamin E. Mays High School seniors gain admission to HBCU Morris Brown College in surprise announcement

Benjamin E. Mays High School brought together its 272 senior class members for a meeting…

1 day ago

Meet the formerly incarcerated single mom who has gone viral for passing bar exam on first try

Afrika Owes' emotional response to learning that she had passed the bar exam on her…

1 day ago

New York attorney accused of hiring hitman to kill Zimbabwean ex-wife sentenced

A 49-year-old New York attorney was on April 26 sentenced to 10 years in federal…

1 day ago

Cher, 77, who is dating 38-year-old Alexander Edwards, explains why she dates younger men

During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Wednesday, pop legend Cher opened up…

1 day ago

11-year-old accidentally shot to death by 14-year-old brother with stolen gun

Authorities in Florida said an 11-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed by his 14-year-old…

1 day ago

16-year-old Ethiopian Hana Taylor Schlitz breaks sister’s record to become the youngest graduate from TWU

The famous Taylor Schlitz family is making headlines once more as the youngest of the…

2 days ago

Tahra Grant is reportedly the first Black woman to be Chief Comms Officer at a major Hollywood studio

Sony Pictures Entertainment has appointed Tahra Grant as its Chief Communications Officer. She replaces Robert…

2 days ago

How Ashley Fox quit her Wall Street job and built a startup to financially empower those Wall Street would never talk to

Meet Ashley M. Fox, the founder of Empify and the first in her family to…

2 days ago

‘It wasn’t worth it’ – Tyra Banks says the first time she drank alcohol was when she was 50

Tyra Banks, the iconic former host of Dancing With the Stars, has made a delightful…

2 days ago

Brazilian woman who wheeled dead uncle to bank to withdraw his money is being investigated for manslaughter

A Brazilian woman named Érika de Souza, 42, is under investigation for manslaughter after authorities…

2 days ago