MicroVest Capital Management : The MicroVest Team

Gil Crawford (Chief Executive Officer)

Mr. Crawford is Chief Executive Officer of MicroVest Capital Management, responsible for leading the company'€™s investment operations and strategy. As MicroVest's CEO, he led the launch of MicroVest I, LP, the first commercial private equity vehicle focused on microfinance in North America. He has over 20 years experience with microfinance institutions and capital markets, and has worked extensively in Latin America and Africa, as well as in Asia. Before helping to found MicroVest Capital Management, Mr. Crawford worked for the Latin American Financial Markets Division at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and focused on investments in microfinance institutions. Prior to joining IFC, Mr. Crawford created and ran Seed Capital Development Fund, a US based non-profit firm, involved in creating financial instruments and attracting funds to capitalize microfinance institutions, primarily in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Specific projects included: Latin American Challenge Investment Fund (LA-CIF), a US$ 20 million loan fund for microfinance institutions in Latin America; DEVCAP, a shared return mutual fund whose total assets reached over US$ 27 million dollars. Mr. Crawford has also been a Member of ProFund's Investment Committee and alternate member to the Board of Directors for many years. Prior to creating Seed Capital, Mr. Crawford was the Assistant Project Director for Africa Venture Capital Project, designed to create risk capital firms in Africa.

Mr. Crawford received his bank training at Chase Manhattan Bank in the mid-80s after working in Africa for the Red Cross and State Department. He graduated from SAIS at Johns Hopkins University in 1983 and Bates College in 1980.

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Candace Smith (Chief Financial Officer)

Ms. Smith is responsible for oversight of finance and administration functions for MicroVest Capital Management and funds and facilities managed by the Company. Ms. Smith has over 20 years of experience in development finance. As an independent consultant she has advised clients such as the Inter-American Development Bank, Calvert Social Investment Foundation, and Corporacion para el Financiamiento de Infraestructura, among others, on due diligence, credit evaluation and other matters. As Chief Operating Officer for Triodos PV Partners, she oversaw a $50 million joint business development and equity investment program to promote solar electric service enterprises in developing countries. Previously, Ms. Smith served as Senior Credit Officer and Portfolio Officer at the Inter-American Investment Corporation, with responsibility for developing and maintaining corporate credit risk guidelines and oversight of a US$400 million portfolio of project loans and equity investments throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Smith also served as Investment Officer with the IIC, structuring private sector project financing in a number of different industry sectors. Smith began her career in finance as a corporate lending officer with the former Continental Illinois National Bank.

She holds a Masters in International Management from The American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird) at Glendale, AZ and a dual major Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms. Smith is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Portuguese.

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Michael Edberg (Director of Investments)

Mr. Edberg joined MicroVest in December 2008 after 13 years at the International Finance Corporation, most recently as a Senior Investment Officer in the Financial Markets Department. Mr. Edberg has particular expertise in structuring equity investments, quasi-equity and corporate finance transactions.  Since 2001, he was responsible for leading investment teams developing new investments in micro and small business financial institutions in Southern Europe, Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.   

 For the seven years ended December 2008, Mr. Edberg invested US$160 million over 30 assets in 15 countries.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Government and International Relations from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a Master’s of Business Administration degree in International Business - Finance from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.  He is also CFA charterholder. 

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Cecelia Beirne (Portfolio Manager)

Ms. Beirne supports MicroVest's Business Development and Investment Teams in the areas of risk management, financial transparancy, and compliance matters. Ms. Beirne has two decades of finance experience, most recently as Vice President at Financial Security Assurance Inc. where she managed a $6 billion portfolio of mortgage backed securities (with responsibilities including monitoring of performance trends, projecting losses for reserve analyses, and conducting due diligence of loan servicing operations), and previously as a senior manager at Deloitte and Touche. Prior to a career in finance, Ms. Beirne was a secondary school mathematics teacher.

Ms. Beirne completed the Boulder Microfinance Training Course in Turin, Italy in 2006, and has volunteered on projects in India and the Dominican Republic. She is active in professional organizations having served on the board of the Financial Women's Association (managing their mentoring and scholarship programs for young women) and is an active member of Women Advancing Microfinance.

Ms Beirne received an MBA from Baruch College of the City University of New York, an MA in Mathematics Education from San Francisco State College and a BA in Mathematics from Hunter College.

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Douglas Young (Senior Investment Officer)

Mr. Young is the Senior Investment Officer for our Latin America team. He is responsible for senior leadership on due diligence teams and overall portfolio management for Latin America. Mr. has over ten years of experience in auditing and microfinance, including three years as a senior manager with the Ernst & Young Capital Markets Group in Santiago, Chile, where he managed Chilean cross-border transactions in the energy and banking sectors. Mr. Young also worked for Arthur Andersen in Baltimore auditing publicly-traded healthcare, broadcasting and technology firms.

Mr. Young received an MBA from the University of California - Berkeley, Haas School of Business. While pursuing his graduate studies, he initiated a student-led microfinance speaker series and won the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship's Best MBA Paper in 2005. Mr. Young also studied at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. Mr. Young is a Certified Public Accountant and earned his Bachelor's degree in Accounting at Loyola College in Maryland where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He is fluent in English and Spanish.

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Radoil Mitov (Senior Investment Associate)

Radoil Mitov is a Senior Investment Associate on MicroVest’s Europe and Asia team. Most recently Mr. Mitov served as Deputy General Manager of a $20 million microfinance institution in Romania, where he participated in funding negotiations and daily supervision of administration. Mr. Mitov has expertise in portfolio management, financial modeling, equity valuation, and negotiating loan and guaranty agreements. As Credit Manager with CHF International Mr. Mitov was responsible for portfolio management and provided strategic guidance to MFIs in Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and Romania. Prior to this position Mr. Mitov oversaw the performance and reporting of over $100 million in assets of 12 MFIs in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia.

Mr. Mitov earned an MBA in International Finance and an MA in International Trade and Investment Policy from the George Washington University, Washington, DC. where the International Business Department selected him to receive its “Best Graduate Student” award. He holds a BS in Business Administration from American University.

Mr. Mitov is fluent in English and Bulgarian.

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Santiago M. Arias (Junior Investment Associate)

Mr. Arias is a Junior Investment Associate responsible for supporting the MicroVest Latin America Investment team. He participates in financial analysis of MFI market potential, current portfolio and country risk. He has extensive experience in commercial banking and financial markets in Latin America and Spain. While with a large microfinance institution in Spain he structured and commercialized microfinance and remittance-related products. At AIG Investments in Chile, he created banking-specific financial models to forecast earnings and analyze industry trends. Mr. Arias worked as a consultant with ManattJones Global Strategies assisting Fortune 500 companies in entering Latin American markets. He has also engaged in development projects in his native country of Ecuador with both the United Nations Development Programme and Samsung Corporation.

Mr. Arias holds a Master's degree in International Finance and Economics from SAIS at John Hopkins University and a Graduate Diploma in International Relations from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Argentina. He holds a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and Political Science from Butler University and participated in study abroad programs at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Yonsei University in South Korea.

Mr. Arias is a native Spanish speaker and is also fluent in English and Portuguese.

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Andreas Eichin (Investment Associate)

Mr. Eichin is an Investment Associate on MicroVest's Latin America team. He brings to MicroVest a strong background in microfinance, most recently eight years with Frontier Finance International as the U.S. Representative for Procredit Holding and IPC. Mr. Eichin served as the liaison between U.S. capital markets and the financing needs of Procredit Holding AG. He actively participated in writing financial sector studies, business plans and banking license petitions which contributed to the establishment of new, full-fledged microfinance banks in several Latin American countries. He is fluent in applying valuation techniques to microfinance institutions.

Mr. Eichin holds a Masters of Arts in Economics from Albert-Ludwig University, Germany and a Master of Science in Finance from the George Washington University, Washington, DC.

Mr. Eichin is a native German speaker and is also fluent in English and Spanish.

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Iris Korovesi (Investment Associate)

Ms. Korovesi is an Investment Associate, responsible for business development, analysis, structuring of investments, and portfolio management on the MicroVest Investment team for Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. Prior to MicroVest she worked with Accion International, conducting research on the microfinance industry in West Africa and Latin America. She also spent three months in India at the Center of Microfinance Research, analyzing staff incentive schemes in Indian MFIs.

Ms. Korovesi completed her M. A. in Law and Diplomacy with a focus on international business and development economics at the Fletcher School, Tufts University. Ms. Korovesi received her bachelor degree in operational research and marketing from Athens University of Economics and Business.

Her native language is Greek and she is fluent in English. Ms. Korovesi is also proficient in German, Italian and French.

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Sharini Kulasinghe (Investment Analyst)

Ms. Kulasinghe is an Investment Associate for Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. She brings experience in emerging markets from her work as an Associate at Seed Capital Development Fund (SCDF), one of MicroVest's founders. Prior to her work with SCDF, Ms. Kulasinghe worked with Banyan Global, a micro-enterprise consultancy in New York, conducting a global survey on women's access to credit. Her previous positions in Sri Lanka include work at the Institute of Policy Studies, an economic research institute and John Keells Stockbrokers.

Ms. Kulasinghe earned a Master of Science degree in Global Finance from New School University, where she focused on emerging markets. She holds a bachelor's degree in History from Bard College.

Ms. Kulasinghe is fluent in both English and Sinhalese.

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Varun Parmar (Junior Investment Analyst)

Mr. Parmar is a Junior Investment Associate supporting the Eastern European/Asia team. He supports the team with portfolio management and maintains ongoing client relations. He actively participates in due diligence on potential investments in Europe and Asia, particularly India. While attending the University of North Carolina Mr. Parmar was an Investment Analyst with the UNC Endowment’s Student-run Fund, developing VaR models to measure portfolio risk. Prior to this he worked as a Summer Associate with Good Capital, a socially responsible venture capital management firm in San Francisco and then as an Investment Analyst Intern with HIP Investor, a sustainability-focused hedge fund in San Francisco. Mr. Parmar also has experience as a technology consultant to a leading investment bank, building credit risk management systems.

Mr. Parmar earned his MBA, cum laude, Beta Gamma Sigma from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, majoring in Investment Management and Sustainable Enterprise.

Mr. Parmar is fluent in English, Hindi, Punjabi and German.

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Chris Laurent (Business Development Officer)

Mr. Laurent serves as the point person and officer for MicroVest’s business development activity.  Prior to transitioning to the Business Development Team, he worked on MicroVest’s Investment Team for 18 months, focused on the Central American and Mexican regions.  Mr. Laurent brings with him over 14 years of finance-related experience in international and domestic settings, working most recently in rural Bolivia to develop the strategic and operations functions of a small microfinance institution.  Prior to entering the microfinance sector, Mr. Laurent served for six years as Vice President of Finance and Administration with Everdream Corporation in Silicon Valley – a $125 million technology company recently purchased by Dell.  There he led all finance, accounting, HR, and administration operations and served on the senior management team.  Previously, he served over three years as Vice President with FleetBoston Capital in various capacities, working as a Business Development Officer, an Underwriter, and a member of the Credit Committee.  Mr. Laurent worked as a Senior In-Charge Auditor with Arthur Andersen for four years, where he was responsible for the audits of three international, SEC corporations and for several M&A due diligence projects.  

Mr. Laurent earned his Masters in Accounting and B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a Certified Public Accountant, and speaks Spanish.

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David Wedick (Business Development Associate)

David Wedick is responsible for assisting the Business Development Officer with strategic planning for MicroVest. He actively participates in financial modeling and research of market potential. He brings to MicroVest seven years of financial experience with a focus on mobile banking, health solutions and microfinance. Mr. Wedick has specific experience in Tanzania initiating a successful micro-loan and business training program to over 300 clients, yielding impressive repayment statistics and clear socio-economic benefits. His oversight responsibilities included vocational training, environmental education and a mobile school library program. Prior to his time in Tanzania, Mr. Wedick spent four years with JPMorgan as an Equity Research Analyst, where he developed complex financial models for investment analysis.

Mr. Wedick holds a Masters degree in Economics & Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh. He is fluent in English and speaks conversational Swahili.

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Susan Blake (Director of Human Resources)

Ms. Blake is Director of Human Resources for MicroVest Capital Management, LLC.  Ms. Blake joined MicroVest in 2005 with 25 years experience in Business Administration, including 10 years as a Human Resources Specialist, 5 years as Marketing Director for a law firm and 10 years as Chief Operating Officer of a $32 million national retail management firm specializing in Business Development and Reorganization.  Ms. Blake holds a B.S. degree in Architecture, a B.A. degree in Dance and a Masters of Business Administration.

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Monica Slovik (Executive Assistant to the CEO)

Ms. Slovik is an alumna of Dickinson College and holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Business & Management and Spanish.  She spent a year living and studying in Malaga, Spain, and completed a semester internship under the direction of a local Spanish consulting firm.  She also received an award in the undergraduate competition for the Central Pennsylvania College Venture Challenge and served as a tutor for students in micro-, macro-, and managerial economics.

Prior to joining MicroVest, Ms. Slovik was the Marketing Coordinator for a homeland security business solutions firm in Washington DC.  She has experience in management, business development, and event planning.

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Tiffany Yep (Finance and Administrative Associate)

Ms. Yep supports the Chief Financial Officer through the accounting of all financial transactions for the company and funds under management in addition to servicing portfolio investments and facilitating administrative operations. She recently completed Masters in Latin American Development at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Prior to working at MicroVest, Ms.Yep completed a fellowship at CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) where she conducted research on pro-poor MFIs. She continued this research through the POWG (Poverty Outreach Working Group). She has also studied abroad in Peru and Chile during her professional studies.

Ms. Yep received a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is fluent in Spanish.

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