David Francis

David Francis is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.

Separate from his work at the Council, Francis advises sports organizations, investors, companies, and governments on international growth where market expansion, geopolitics, government relations, and major sporting events intersect.

Francis spent nearly fifteen years at the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), leading international government relations across seven Olympic and Paralympic Games, including London, Paris, Tokyo, and Beijing during the pandemic. He advised USOPC leadership on geopolitical and reputational risk, engaging the International Olympic Committee, White House, and Congress on issues including athlete freedom of expression under Russia’s LGBTQI+ laws at the Sochi Games; athlete privacy, safety, and human rights concerns in China; and COVID-19 entry restrictions for athletes and staff.

He managed twelve presidential delegations to the Olympic Games across the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, coordinating the White House, State Department, host governments, and organizing committees. He was the first USOPC official embedded within a host-country US embassy and shepherded US federal guarantees for two winning bids: the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.

Francis is a former Paul, Weiss attorney. His work has been featured in the Sports Business Journal, on Bloomberg TV, and on Bloomberg Weekend.