H. Michael Williams, MBA

Board of Governors

Former Athletic Director, University of California, Berkeley

Mike Williams, MBA, is an accomplished executive leader in the global financial marketplace, intercollegiate athletics arena, and non-profit sector, and has led numerous organizations to great success throughout his illustrious career.

Mike served as the University of California, Berkeley’s (Cal Athletics) Director of Intercollegiate Athletics (AD) from 2014-18. During his time at the helm for the Golden Bears, Mike was responsible for the oversight of 30 intercollegiate sports, $1 billion in sports facilities, and 1,200 coaches, staff, and student-athletes. Under Mike’s leadership, the program enjoyed landmark success, turning around its academic standing in football from worst to first in the Pac-12 Conference while simultaneously winning 11 team national championships, 21 Olympic medals, and sending an abundance of top round draft picks to numerous professional sports leagues including, but not limited to, the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and MLS. Additionally, Mike guided the Cal Athletics’ senior executive team as they established the two largest partnerships in school history – an $87 million/10-year apparel partnership with Under Armour and a multi-media rights deal with Learfield Sports that resulted in more than $100 million over 10 years. Mike also served as the chair for the Pac-12 Conference Athletics Director Council during the 2015-16 academic year.

He began his career at Data Resources, Inc and worked at Bank of America before joining Barclays Global Investors in 1993. He retired from Barclays Global Investors in 2009, remaining one of its most trusted leaders and serving as Vice-Chair of Capital Markets, having been responsible for more than $1 trillion in assets and 400 investment professionals during his tenure.

Mike is still active on the boards of BondBloxx, Health Career Connection, the UCSF Pediatric Cancer Council, the Spencer Foundation, and Berkeley Stiles Hall. He also sits on the advisory boards of Bronze Investments and the UCLA Anderson Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment, and Sports (UCLA MEMES).

He served as a trustee for the UC Berkeley Foundation (UCBF) from 2007-18 and Vice-Chair of the UCBF from 2013-15. He currently is an emeritus member of the University of California, Berkeley Executive Board of the College of Letters and Science.

Mike earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Berkeley in 1982 and his MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. He lives in Lafayette, California with his wife Jeanne, their three children, and two grandchildren.