A Global Community

Abhay is a Portfolio Manager based in India with primary responsibility for the Energy and Water Portfolios. Prior to Acumen, Abhay worked with Axis Private Equity which manages a USD 150 M fund focused on the infrastructure sector. At Axis PE, Abhay was leading the fund’s investment in Shalivahana, which is the largest biomass power producer in India and where he also acted as an observer on the Board. Additionally, he worked extensively on other areas of the social infrastructure sector including education, healthcare and logistics. His earlier experience includes working as a dealer in foreign exchange and derivatives for corporate clients at ICICI Bank treasury, and as a tax consultant with Arthur Andersen.

Abhay holds an MSc in Finance from London Business School. He is also a qualified Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary.

CONTACT

E:agarg@acumen.org

Catherine drives Acumen’s global expansion – setting strategy, building teams, fundraising and investing in new regions. She is also responsible for leading operational excellence across Acumen’s five regional offices.

Most recently, Catherine launched Acumen’s Latin America office, based in Bogota, Colombia.  Prior to that, she led our expansion into West Africa, where she built regional operations from scratch, established an investment pipeline, and made its first three investments.

Prior to this, Catherine helped build social enterprises in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, which included expanding HealthStores’ clinics in rural Kenya. She also acted as chief of staff to Acumen’s CEO.

Catherine holds a BA with Highest Honors from Princeton University, and an MPP from Harvard University, where she was a Reynolds Fellow. She is a Board Member of GADCO Cooperatief, an African food production company.

CONTACT

E:ccasey@acumen.org

Carla is a Communications Associate at Acumen where she is the storyteller of our work managing grant reporting, collateral development and partner and portfolio related content.  Carla joins Acumen from Vancouver, Canada where she spent almost four years as an Associate with Renewal2 and Renewal Partners; a Canadian impact investment fund focused on organic food and green consumer product companies.  Prior to her work at Renewal, Carla worked in business development for technology start-ups focused on energy efficiency and carbon reduction projects in Latin America. While in Vancouver, Carla was a co-founder of the Vancouver Greentech Exchange and chapter leader for the Vancouver +Acumen chapter.  Carla holds an Honours in Sustainability and an Undergraduate Business and Communications degree from Simon Fraser University.

CONTACT

T:646-747-3980
E:cculos@acumen.org

As Pakistan Portfolio Associate, Hammad Umer is responsible for managing existing investments and for originating and analyzing new opportunities in the Health and Education sectors. Hammad has over five years of investment banking and corporate banking experience. He has previously worked as an Analyst for the Investment Banking Division of KASB – a local affiliate of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. At KASB, Hammad was responsible for the origination and execution of M&A, DCM and corporate restructuring deals in a range of sectors including banking, real estate and pharmaceuticals.  He also had a short stint as Associate Portfolio Manager for The Resource Group before joining Acumen. Hammad holds a BSc.  (Hons.) in Economics from the University of London (International Programme) and is also the Karachi City Coordinator for Mensa Pakistan.

CONTACT

T:+92 21 584 6430 x 109
E:humer@acumen.org

Farrukh H. Khan is the Country Director & CEO of Acumen Pakistan and one of the leading independent business and financial advisors in the country.

With over 25 years of senior management and board level experience, Farrukh is the founding partner and former CEO of BMA Capital Management Limited. Under his stewardship, BMA established itself as the leading investment banking group in Pakistan and received several international awards, including the 2010 Euromoney award for the best investment bank in Pakistan.He has worked on many landmark transactions, including advising the Privatization Commission on the US$813 million GDR offering of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), which was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and successfully advising Etisalat on their $2.6 billion acquisition of PTCL, the largest M&A and foreign direct investment in the history of Pakistan. He has a deep understanding of business and investment environment in Pakistan and has worked with the senior most levels in companies and governments. He also has an excellent network and knowledge of business in the Middle East and South Asia

Before founding BMA he worked with American Express Bank in Pakistan and Deloitte in London. He has previously served as the President of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OICCI), Pakistan Chapter Chairman of the Young Presidents’ Organization and on various private and public sector boards. Farrukh qualified as a Chartered Accountant from the UK and read BA (Hons.) in Economics and Finance from the University of Manchester.

CONTACT

T:+44 (0) 7933 -616657
E:fkhan@acumen.org

Jessica is an Innovation Associate at Acumen working to scale Acumen’s leadership curriculum through +acumen chapters and online channels. Prior to joining Acumen, Jessica was an iCats Fellow at Driptech, a for-profit social venture that makes affordable drip irrigation for smallholder farmers, where she worked on building out the company’s international business operations in California and Pune, India. Jessica’s jump into the world of social enterprise was heavily influenced by the people she met while serving on the leadership committee of the NY+acumen volunteer chapter. Previously, Jessica was a market strategy analyst at U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management in New York where she focused on in-depth macroeconomic and investment strategy research. Jessica holds a BA in International Studies and Economics from Fairfield University and spent a year in Beijing, China on a Fulbright Scholarship researching the development of China’s environmental NGOs.

CONTACT

E:jmartin@acumen.org

Jacqui has been with Acumen since 2011, when she joined as the Executive Assistant to the CEO, Jacqueline Novogratz. In this role, Jacqui demonstrated exceptional capacity to build strong relationships both within and outside of Acumen, and she embodies the ability to work tirelessly to solve any challenge set in front of her. Building on her exceptional organization and execution skills, and a deep knowledge of Acumen’s work, Jacqui moved to Mumbai in 2014 to support the launch of our India Fellows Program. Prior to Acumen, Jacqui worked in the fast-paced Hollywood film industry where she worked for Wild West Pictures Productions and Creative Artists Agency.

CONTACT

E:jpapineau@acumen.org

Lynn joined Acumen in 2010, and is General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and a member of our Extended Leadership Team and Portfolio Leadership Team.  In such capacity, Lynn ensures that our programs are carried out in furtherance of our mission and in compliance with law, and advises on organizational strategy and board matters.  She leads the global legal function, and works across functions and geography to develop and implement organizational structure, policy and projects.  Her role involves protecting Acumen, while also enabling it to function with efficiency and creativity.  Prior to joining Acumen, Lynn had a short stint at a digital services company as in-house counsel; she spent the majority of her career at McDermott Will & Emery, where she was a partner in the corporate/transactional practice and supported the pro bono program of the New York office.  Lynn obtained a BA as an English major from the University of Pennsylvania, and a JD from Columbia Law School.

CONTACT

T:646-747-3955
E:lroland@acumen.org

Minayo is legal counsel based in the Acumen East Africa office in Nairobi, which currently manages investments in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia. She holds an MSc in Education for Sustainability from the London South Bank University and an LLB from the University of Nairobi. Prior to joining Acumen, Minayo was a senior associate at Anjarwalla & Khanna Advocates, a top tier corporate commercial law firm in Nairobi and also spent about a year and a half as a senior associate in its affiliate office, Adept Chambers, in Dar es Salaam Tanzania.

CONTACT

T:: +245 716 252 802
E:msagala@acumen.org

As Head of Talent Development Molly focuses on the culture, leadership and skill development of our team. She seeks creative ways to enhance our employee experience including identifying ways that allow each of us to connect with Acumen’s work and community, and live our organizational values to the fullest. Partnering closely with our colleagues in Leadership and across regional offices, Molly’s role is to unleash the potential of our internal team enabling them to excel in their demanding roles.

In 2004 Molly started at Acumen working closely with Jacqueline in the CEO’s Office before moving to the Business Development Team. During her time in New York she was responsible for building and engaging our partner community across the globe through a variety of fundraising and global events. In May 2010 Molly moved to India to lead each of our fundraising, talent development, media and community building efforts there. After a 6 month sabbatical she traveled to remote parts of Nagaland, Burma and Indonesia to better understand the development needs of communities there, With a Bachelor of Asian Studies from the University of New South Wales, Sydney; Molly has lived and worked across Asia, India, the US and Australia (her other motherland). Based in London but most comfortable in sandals, Molly is at her most energetic when getting her hands dirty to solve some of our most challenging problems – either within the team or broader community.

CONTACT

E:malexander@acumen.org

Sachindra is an experienced investor and has substantial experience in running and scaling organizations with a focus on the consumer products, processed foods and healthcare sectors. Prior to taking on his current role of Chief Investment Officer, Sachindra was Country Director and CEO of Acumen’s operations in India where he was responsible for the full gamut of Acumen’s activities, and represented Acumen on the boards of Ziqitza Healthcare, Orb Energy, Lifespring Hospitals and PVRI.

Prior to joining Acumen, Sachin was a Director in the India office of Navis Capital, an Asia-focused and sector agnostic private equity firm where he managed investments in the range of $15-50M through the full lifecycle of sourcing, due diligence, deal structuring, portfolio management and exit. He brings over 15 years experience, working in private equity, consulting and operations. Sachin began his career at Hindustan Unilever Ltd (the Indian subsidiary of Unilever) in Calcutta as an Area Sales Manager, where he did considerable work in rural markets and he then moved into consulting at McKinsey in Delhi, which included an assignment working for the American India Foundation. Sachin then spent a number of years at Piramal Healthcare, one of the leading pharmaceuticals companies in India, where he held various positions of increasing responsibility, including President – Strategy and Business Development and Business Head – Orthopedics. He has wide-ranging sector exposure in the investing space with a high degree of focus on healthcare, consumer products and processed foods.

Sachin holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics from St Stephen’s College in Delhi, a Masters Degree in Economics from Cambridge University and an M.Sc from the London School of Economics. He has MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

CONTACT

E:srudra@acumen.org

As Acumen’s Chief Innovation Officer, Sasha oversees Acumen’s work in Leadership and the spread of ideas. The encompasses Acumen’s Lean Data work, the Acumen Fellows Programs, +Acumen and other efforts to help Acumen change the way the world tackles poverty. In his previous role as Acumen’s as Director of Business Development, Sasha led global capital raising, including executing a successful $100M capital raise.

Sasha is also a noted speaker and blogger on generosity, philanthropy and social change, the author of the Manifesto for Nonprofit CEOs, and the creator of Generosity Day. His talks have been featured prominently on TED.com, the DO Lectures, SOCAP and other major conferences; he has been recognized as an Innovation Agent by Fast Company magazine; and he has been a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Stanford Social Innovation Review and other leading publications. Sasha also serves on the Executive Committee of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs.

Before Acumen, Sasha worked at GE Money to expand financial offerings to underserved communities globally; at IBM, spearheading the company’s corporate citizenship strategy and launching a leadership program for school administrators; and at the microfinance group of Bank Rakyat Indonesia. Sasha began his career at Booz | Allen | Hamilton consulting to telecommunications companies in Latin America and Europe.

Sasha holds a BA from Harvard College, a Masters in Public Administration in International Development from Harvard’s Kennedy School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

CONTACT

T:646-747-3861
E:sdichter@acumen.org
W:http://sashadichter.wordpress.com/
@sashadichter

Sushmita Bhandari joined Acumen in February 2010. Prior to joining Acumen, Sushmita worked as an Accountant at Universal Gem Traders.  She has BA in Economics from Hunter College, City University Of New York. She is currently pursuing her MBA in Finance at Saint Peter’s University, Jersey City, NJ.

CONTACT

T:646-747-3962
E:sbhandari@acumen.org

Veena Shetty joined Acumen as the Administrative Associate in the India Office in June 2012. Prior to Acumen, Veena worked with Intellectual Capital Advisory Services Pvt Ltd (Intellecap) for 3 years where she focused on Administrative and HR functions. At Acumen she is engaged in administrative and talent functions. Veena has received her Master’s in Commerce (Management) and Bachelor of Commerce from Mumbai University, she also holds a Diploma in NIIT.

CONTACT

T:+91 22 67401500
E:vshetty@acumen.org

Yusra has been Acumen Pakistan’s Counsel for over 5 years. Prior to joining, she worked with Mandviwalla & Zafar where she represented various banks and public/private sector companies on diverse deals which included setting up and licensing various Banks, Islamic banks, Microfinance banks as well as undertaking mergers and acquisitions. Yusra holds a BA Honors in Economics and Politics from SOAS (University of London), a CPE from BPP Law School, a BVC from Inns Court School of Law. Yusra is a Barrister-at-Law and a member of the Honorable Society of Lincolns Inn.

CONTACT

T:+92 21 583 4298 x 103
E:ygilani@acumen.org

Shuaib is Director of Portfolio at Acumen where he oversees our global investing process, management of our global investment committee, new investment origination, and portfolio management.

Prior to Acumen, Shuaib worked for two years in the Quantitative Alpha Generation Group at Citadel Investment Group, a hedge fund based in Chicago, where he focused on developing trading strategies utilizing fundamental company data. Prior to that, he was an Assistant Vice President at Merrill Lynch working on The Global Analytic and Thematic Research team. He holds a BA in Economics from New York University.

CONTACT

T:646-747-3856
E:ssiddiqui@acumen.org

Carlyle joined Acumen in March of 2013, and currently serves as President. Prior to joining Acumen, Carlyle spent seven years as President and CEO of Katun Corporation, a global, middle market, privately held company in the compatible consumables imaging space.  In that role Carlyle was responsible for all aspects of Katun’s business operations throughout the world. During her tenure with the Company, her key areas of focus were the development and execution of strategies designed to properly position Katun in a rapidly changing industry, to ensure sales execution around the world and to drive strong financial discipline throughout the organization. Prior to Katun, Carlyle was employed for nine years at IKON Office Solutions, a $4.7 billion publicly held office equipment distributor, before being acquired by Ricoh in 2008. She held positions as Senior Vice President of Operations, Vice President and Corporate Controller, and President of IKON France.

Carlyle is an MBA graduate from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, with a concentration in Latin American Economic Development. She is also a Six Sigma Green Belt.

CONTACT

T:646-747-3694
E:csinger@acumen.org

Erik is a Senior Associate on Acumen’s New York Portfolio Team, where he focuses on sourcing and executing early-stage global investments across predominantly agriculture, energy, healthcare and financial inclusion sectors. Erik also works with Acumen’s Chief Investment Officer on global portfolio management and capital allocation strategy.

Prior to joining the portfolio team at Acumen, Erik worked in Global Capital Markets and Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley. As a Senior Analyst in the Investment Banking Division, Erik worked with industrial clients on strategic transactions and capital raises. As an Analyst in the Global Capital Markets group, Erik focused on originating, structuring and executing acquisition financings across healthcare, technology, industrial and energy sectors. Since 2013, Erik has partnered with UnLtd Tamil Nadu as a volunteer consultant, acting as a business mentor for innovative social entrepreneurs in southern India. Erik graduated from Brown University with a BA in Business Economics & Entrepreneurship in 2010.

CONTACT

T:(646) 747-3855
E:eornitz@acumen.org

Prerna holds a cross-functional role, working on the Business Development, Communications and Talent teams. She supports local fund-raising, manages external communications, and assists in expanding Acumen’s community in India. She previously worked with the Strategy team at Magic Bus, an Indian sports-for development NGO, as part of AIF’s William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service. Prior to being awarded the Fellowship, Prerna worked as Foundation Relations Associate for Plan International in Washington DC. She has a  BA in International Relations with a focus on Politics, Economics, and Development from Brown University. While at Brown, Prerna co-led a student-run organization focused on refugee resettlement in Rhode Island.

CONTACT

E:pkhanna@acumen.org

Sophia works at Acumen as a Global Fellows Associate. She completed her Bachelors in Business Administration from NUST Business School in Islamabad in 2005. After working with a Evernew Concepts in Islamabad, she pursued her Masters in Marketing from Brunel University, UK, in 2010. Before joining Acumen, Sophia was working as a Commercial Trainee Officer with ICI, Pakistan’s largest chemicals company.

CONTACT

E:sahmed@acumen.org

Kimathi Ikiao joined the Acumen East Africa office in November 2013 as a Senior Portfolio Associate. He is responsible for the Agriculture and Affordable Housing sectors.

Kimathi joins Acumen with over 7 years of experience in the investment sphere.

His prior role was as a Senior Investment Analyst at the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC), overseeing the Corporation’s equity investments.

Kimathi began his career in the capital markets as an Intern at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, and later moved to Standard Investment Bank in Kenya as a Securities Dealer. Having developed an affinity to private equity and its role in development, Kimathi served a short stint with Centum Investment Company prior to pursuing his post-graduate studies.

Kimathi holds an MBA from The University of Tulsa. While pursuing his MBA, he served on the University’s Student Investment Fund as the fund’s secretary in 2007. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in International Business Administration from the United States International University and participates in the CFA^® program.

CONTACT

T:+245 716 252 802
E:kikiao@acumen.org

As a Portfolio Associate at Acumen, Santiago is focused on growing the Latin America portfolio and providing management support to existing portfolio companies. Prior to joining Acumen, Santiago worked for Endeavor where he was in charge of searching and selecting high impact entrepreneurs, as well as providing strategic and operational assessment for the portfolio companies. He previously worked in the real estate and oil & gas industries performing business development and strategic activities and evaluating new investment opportunities. Santiago holds BSc in Industrial Engineering from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia.

CONTACT

T:+(057) 3208005678
E:smelo@acumen.org

Farwah works at Acumen Pakistan as a Fellows Associate. She completed her Bachelors in Social Sciences with a major in Anthropology and Sociology from Lahore University of Management Sciences in 2013. Before joining Acumen Farwah was working on a sustainability and communications based project at Unilever Pakistan.

CONTACT

E:fshariff@acumen.org

Prior to joining Acumen, Avinash was working with TAO Education, a New Delhi based education technology start-up which he co-founded. As the head of business strategy and alliances, he spearheaded the financial planning and projections, market entry strategies and managed relationships with various stakeholders including potential investors, advisors and clients.

Earlier, Avinash was working with Citibank Corporate and Investment Banking team as a relationship manager for top MNC clients. He worked closely with Citi and client global teams on cross border transactions (FDI and M&A deals) as well as end to end servicing and advisory across the entire gamut of banking products.

Avinash holds a MBA from FMS, University of Delhi and a BE (Electronics and Communications) from NSIT, University of Delhi.

CONTACT

E:amishra@acumen.org

Festus started his career with Amex International Incorporated a contractor for the USAID in Ghana Trade & Investment Reform Programme, Increased Private Enterprise Performance (IPEP) Component Project as a Market Research and Business Development Assistant. He subsequently worked in an indigenous Ghanaian Financial Institution, HFC Bank as Credit Analyst with focus on Small and Medium Enterprises. Based on the experience from the development and financial institutions he joined GroFin Ghana a subsidiary of the GroFin Capital a Fund Manager for GroFin Africa Fund with a total fund size of USD150million. In GroFin he started as a Business Development Manager and later became a Portfolio Manager.

Until recently he was an Investment Officer with Investisseur & Partenaires a Paris based Fund Manager of I&P Afrique Entreprenuer Fund of Euro 55 Million in the Ghana Office.

Festus graduated from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Economics. He also has an Executive Masters in Business Administration from University of Ghana. Again he is studying to complete a professional course in Accounting and Auditing with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants, United Kingdom. With respect to languages he has a working knowledge in French.

CONTACT

E:famoyaw@acumen.org

Jhoomer joined Acumen in April 2014 as a Senior Portfolio Associate. She is focussed on developing Acumen’s Health and Housing portfolios in India.

Before joining Acumen, Jhoomer worked as a strategy consultant at Accenture Management Consulting, where she advised clients across public systems, health and development sector. Her work also involved financial value analysis to identify execution challenges and potential opportunities such as value chain improvement, cost restructuring, M&A and market expansion opportunities for global clients across various sectors.
Prior to Accenture, she worked briefly in an Indian I-Bank in the role of an M&A analyst.

Jhoomer has completed her B.Tech in Electronics Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Surat and has an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

CONTACT

E:jsinha@acumen.org

Amrita is Acumen’s global CFO, responsible for financial operations across our geographies, strategy, planning and reporting.

Prior to Acumen, Amrita was CFO of Katzenbach Partners, a dynamic management consulting firm and was instrumental in the merger integration of Katzenbach with Booz & Co.  In addition to her management role, she consulted with clients across a range of industries with a focus on strategy and planning.  Since then, she developed her own independent consulting practice with a focus on inspiring organizations in the social sector. Amrita has worked with Acumen in the past as a strategy consultant covering a range of topics such as clarifying Acumen’s business model, developing a multi-year operating plan and evaluating Acumen’s employee compensation plans.  Amrita has also worked with Management Leadership for Tomorrow, Edelman and other professional services firms.  Amrita received a BA in International Relations from The College of Wooster.

CONTACT

T:(646) 747-3687
E:abhandari@acumen.org

Tomoko joined Acumen in 2014 as a member of the +Acumen team. Tomoko was formerly a leader of the Tokyo +Acumen chapter, and she is now developing and expanding +Acumen courses and strengthening the network of volunteer chapters around the world.

Prior to joining Acumen, Tomoko worked on business development with Quipper, an education technology startup. Earlier in her career, Tomoko worked with GLOBIS, providing customized leadership development programs for Japanese corporations, and at Goldman Sachs Japan in equity research and institutional sales.

Tomoko holds a Master of Education degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Design and Environmental Analysis from Cornell University.

CONTACT

T:(646) 747-3859
E:tmatsukawa@acumen.org

Ajit joins Acumen from Ernst & Young, where he has served as Advisory Partner & Leader (Life Sciences) for the past six years. At EY, he was a strategic advisor to the leadership of some of the leading Indian and global life science and healthcare players with the focus being business transformation and growth. Prior to his time at E&Y, Ajit was President of Piramal Healthcare, one of the leading pharmaceuticals companies in India, where he built the international business from inception in 2002 to $300M by the end of 2008. Ajit held multiple leadership roles across strategy, M&A and business leadership. During his tenure at Accenture’s Strategic Services practice in UK and India, he led the development of one of the firm’s largest and most successful internal projects – the Offshore Development Centre in 2001, which has now grown to about 100,000 people across multiple cities in India. Ajit has worked in an advisory capacity to Acumen in the past, most recently participating in Regional Fellows selection panels in Mumbai.

Ajit holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Sciences from PSG College of Technology, India and a Masters of Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper School of Business).

CONTACT

E:amahadevan@acumen.org

Kasia joined Acumen’s Impact team in June 2014. Her work focuses on helping Acumen’s investee companies better understand their customers in order to improve business and social performance. She is heavily involved with Acumen’s Lean Data Initiative which is testing new, low-cost ways of communicating with customers often utilizing mobile technology.

Kasia graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA in 2014. Prior to that, she gained wide-ranging experience including various strategy consulting roles for both private-sector and government clients, working with start-ups in London, Jakarta, and Nairobi where she helped to launch M-KOPA, an Acumen portfolio company which finances mini solar home systems. She is a Fulbright Scholar, holds a First Class degree in Economics and Management from Oxford University, and in her spare time, enjoys snowboarding, hiking and triathlons.

CONTACT

E:kstochniol@acumen.org

Jo is Acumen’s Head of Business Development – West Coast where she leads the organization’s partner engagement and fundraising strategy.

Prior to Acumen, Jo provided technological and business modelling support to early stage sustainability ventures as the Director of Business Development at Singlebrook Technology. Jo started her career as the Director of Programs and subsequently the Executive Director of StartingBloc, a social innovators training institute, which has supported over 1,000 fellows from 70 countries, including 30 early stage start-up entrepreneurs. She then joined TerraCycle, an innovative recycling company as the Global Vice President of Business Development and oversaw their partnership development in twenty-two markets.

Based on her commitment to social innovation and sustainable business, Jo is a recipient of the Sundance Eco-Warrior Award, is a Social Venture Network fellow and has been featured in the New York Times and Fast Company among other leading publications.

Jo holds a BA from Middlebury College and is currently pursuing a Masters in Sustainability at the University of Cambridge.

CONTACT

E:jopot@acumen.org

Emily joined Acumen’s Business Development team in July 2014, where she provides analysis and insight to our global fundraising efforts to expand and cultivate our network of dedicated supporters. Prior to joining Acumen, she taught English in Marseille, France, and spent three years working on systems upgrade projects and customer relationship management database administration at Interaudi Bank in New York. She holds a BA from Columbia University in Francophone Studies and Sustainable Development. In her spare time, Emily is also a volunteer SAT tutor and indoor rock climber.

CONTACT

E:ewilson@acumen.org

Priyanka is a Senior Associate at Acumen working on the Strategic Partnerships team to create synergies between large corporations and Acumen’s work.

Prior to joining Acumen, Priyanka was at Catchafire, a for-profit social venture that works to match professionals with nonprofits on meaningful skills based volunteering projects in order to build capacity for non profit organizations. While at Catchafire, Priyanka’s roles ranged from leading the Account Management team to setting up some of Catchafire’s first corporate partnership engagements, with corporations such as Merck, Viacom, and GLG. Previously, Priyanka was an Associate at Sanford C. Bernstein’s Private Wealth Management group. Priyanka has also worked as an entrepreneur, launching her own event planning company, catering to the niche market of South Asian weddings.

Priyanka holds an MBA from NYU Stern as well as a BS in Industrial Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.

CONTACT

E:pbhasin@acumen.org

Amy is a Senior Innovation Associate building online courses to educate social change leaders and inspire new approaches to tackling poverty.  She is passionate about using emerging technologies and design to help people all over the world learn in new ways.

Most recently, Amy was an education technology project manager for an innovation lab at the Stanford School of Medicine where she built online courses.  She also spent four years managing international education programs funded by the US Department of State that trained teachers from over 50 developing countries. Amy completed a Fulbright grant in rural Malaysia and implemented a mobile health education program in rural Peru. She holds an MA in Learning, Design and Technology from Stanford University and a BA in English from Bowdoin College.

CONTACT

E:aahearn@acumen.org

Christine joined Acumen in October, 2014 as an Office Administrator. Her primary responsibilities include facilities and building management as well as Information Technology support.  Prior to joining Acumen, Christine worked for the National Basketball Association where she was responsible for facilities and office services management.  Christine was an integral part of streamlining processes and incorporating efficiency solutions and is excited to bring her experience and knowledge to the Acumen team. Through community service and volunteer work, Christine is passionate about making a difference in the lives of others.  She supports philanthropic organizations that foster youth development and wellness.

Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Adelphi University and enjoys running half and full marathons.

CONTACT

E:cray@acumen.org

Anthony (“Tony”) has a proven, performance-driven background with extensive financial, marketing and quality management experience in various industries. Prior to joining the Acumen team, his professional experience includes senior level positions with Siemens Financial Services as Head of Platforms, Region Americas, Bank of America as a Quality and Change Delivery Executive for the Consumer and Small Business Bank, Quest Diagnostics, IKON Office Solutions (now Ricoh USA), Unisys Corporation, Public Financial Management, Inc., the State of Delaware, the National Basketball Association, and an assignment with the U.S. Department of Commerce as a Commercial Officer in Zurich, Switzerland. Tony graduated from The Haverford School and the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Economics with a concentration in international finance from the Wharton School. He lives in Exton, Pennsylvania, USA.

CONTACT

T:(646) 747-3961
E:abelfiglio@acumen.org

Saba joined Acumen in July 2014. Prior to joining Acumen, Saba completed her master’s degree in accounting from Hunter College, City University of New York and interned with Viacom MTV Networks as an Accounting Intern. She holds a Bachelor of Accounting from Queens College, City University of New York.

CONTACT

T:+1 (646) 747-3685
E:smohsin@acumen.org

Justus is the Post Investment Manager at Acumen where his current role is focused on delivering leadership and technical support to Acumen’s investees. He was an Acumen Global Fellow in 2014 where he worked with Gulu Agricultural Development Company (GADC), a company that provides market access to smallholder farmers in northern Uganda. Justus has helped build and scale businesses in the US, Dominican Republic, Ghana, India and Uganda. He has worked as a Senior Financial Analyst at Merrill Lynch and as a Global Securities Technician at the Northern Trust Company. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Kansas and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is also a CFA Charterholder.

CONTACT

E:jkilian@acumen.org

Alanna joined Acumen in June 2015, managing scheduling, logistical and communications needs for the CEO and President. Prior to Acumen, Alanna worked as a coordinator for a global humanitarian NGO and interned in the communications department at The Rockefeller Foundation. She has lived in England, Nigeria, Venezuela and China, where she cultivated a passion for international economic development. Alanna holds a Bachelor of Science in Business & Political Economy from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

CONTACT

E:amiyajima@acumen.org

Throughout his career, Lawrence Riungu has actively sought out opportunities to launch and build new initiatives and businesses, including both within existing corporate organizations and through stand-alone entities. In the process, he has developed a passion for and significant experience in business model design and change management to meet evolving customer needs and competitive business environments.

Lawrence comes to Acumen with 15 years’ experience in the financial and operational aspects of a broad range of industries including real estate and geothermal energy development, ICT (mobile commerce), energy commodity trading, electric power utilities, oil and gas pipelines, insurance and mining. He also brings with him a unique mix of local and international business experience and strong capabilities in evaluating and solving business problems. Immediately prior to joining Acumen, Lawrence was the Kenya Country Manager for BizCorps, a non-profit program that connects recent MBA graduates with SME entrepreneurs in emerging markets. In the past, Lawrence has worked in investment roles at Centum Investment Company, East Africa’s largest publicly traded investment company and has also worked as an investment banker at JPMorgan Chase in New York and First Africa Capital in Nairobi.

Lawrence earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and holds a dual Bachelor of Arts (A.B) degree in Economics and Computer Science from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

CONTACT

E:lriungu@acumen.org

As the Senior Business Associate for East Africa, Loise holds a cross-functional role working on the Business Development, Communications and Talent teams. She was previously the Executive Officer of the Federation of Women Entrepreneur Associations, the umbrella body of women entrepreneur associations in Kenya leading policy advocacy, capacity building, strategic business development and entrepreneur mentorship for an enabling business environment for women. Just prior to joining Acumen, Loise was training business member organizations in East Africa on how to engage government for policy change. Loise holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Kenyatta University and a MBA from United States International University-Africa.

Prior to joining Acumen, Beatrice served as the President of AIESEC from 2012-14 in Rwanda, where she worked with university students in Kigali and Huye to develop their leadership potential through exchange programmes and experiential learning activities.  She also served as a public relations officer at the University of Rwanda’s College of Business and Economic (then School of Finance and Banking).  Originally from Kenya, Beatrice is interested in leadership development for youth, women’s development and being a positive change agent.  As the Administrative Associate, Beatrice champions the operational needs of the East Africa team and provides executive support to the East Africa Director.

Martin joined Acumen in October 2014 as a short term associate on the portfolio team, and in July 2015 joined full-time as a Portfolio Analyst. In this role, Martin supports the East Africa portfolio team in sourcing pipeline and doing due diligence on potential investments.  Prior to joining Acumen, Martin was pursuing his master’s degree in economics at the University of Nairobi. Martin has interned at the UN office in Nairobi. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Nairobi.

LiAnn serves as Acumen’s Social Media and Content Marketing Senior Associate, driving engagement and awareness in the digital space. LiAnn joins Acumen from Los Angeles, where she worked in Digital Marketing at United Way of Greater Los Angeles focusing on communications and building a robust social media strategy to bring stories to life. Prior to United Way, LiAnn worked in digital advertising and at social enterprise start-up, InVenture, conducting fieldwork in India to build new partnerships with microfinance and NGO stakeholders. LiAnn holds a BA in International Development Studies from UCLA and is a Board Member for StartingBloc.

CONTACT

E:lishizuka@acumen.org

Nishant joined Acumen in August 2015 and focuses on the Agriculture and Education portfolios in India as a Portfolio Associate.

Prior to joining Acumen, Nishant worked at Intellectual Capital Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd. (Intellecap), a boutique investment bank focused on raising capital for social enterprises, for two years. At Intellecap, Nishant focused on financial services with additional focus on microfinance, housing finance and payment services.

Nishant has received a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Mumbai. He is also a qualified Chartered Accountant and has passed the CFA® Level 1 Examination conducted by the CFA Institute, USA.

CONTACT

E:nadvani@acumen.org

Patrick brings a wealth of experience in private equity, project financing, project cycle management, and a practical understanding of how resources can best flow to those who need them most. Over the last 15 years, he has worked with various projects and entrepreneurs to deliver practical financial and social value and added innovative solutions to their businesses across Africa. Patrick joins us from the Uganda Development Bank where he was the Director of Development Finance a position that allowed him to oversee the development and improvement of credit, risk management and customer service at the largest government owned bank in Uganda. Prior to that, he was a Partner at Pearl Capital Partner a fund manager that focuses on investments in the Agribusiness value chain in East and southern Africa. In the past, Patrick was the Chief Investment Officer of the African Agricultural Capital and also worked at the international fund manager Actis where he was responsible for the administration of the $100 million Actis Agribusiness Fund. He began his banking career at the East African development Bank where he worked for 5 years in Uganda and Kenya in various capacities. Patrick holds an MBA and MA in Banking and Finance as well as an honors degree in Economics.

CONTACT

E:poketa@acumen.org

Serena joined Acumen in 2015 as the Global Talent Associate. Serena manages the tools and processes that enable Acumen to attract and engage great talent. Serena supports the Talent team by assisting in employee engagement, recruitment, onboarding, compensation and talent development processes. She also works closely with other colleagues around the world to enhance and preserve Acumen’s culture.

Prior to joining the Talent team, Serena worked at Educate!, an organization that tackles poverty in sub-Saharan Africa through education development. In her role at Educate!, Serena was responsible for supporting the Operations and Talent functions. Her time at Educate! enhanced the importance of Talent.

Serena holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Global Interdisciplinary Studies from Villanova University. She is also a proud alumni of Choate Rosemary Hall.

CONTACT

E:sgrewal@acumen.org

Teri works as Acumen’s Financial Planning & Analysis Manager, managing Acumen’s financial resources with the aim of maximizing the impact of every dollar contributed to the organization. Before coming to Acumen, Teri worked in corporate finance for SolarCity and in financial operations for Teach For America. Teri has an MBA from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Georgia.

CONTACT

E:tnorton@acumen.org

Batool has been with Acumen since 2008, starting with Acumen Pakistan where she led business development, strengthened Acumen’s local presence and built a community of supporters.  She then joined Acumen in New York, and served a number of business development roles, ultimately serving as the Director of Business Development, leading the organization’s global fundraising strategy.  In September, 2014, Batool became the head of our Global Fellows program, overseeing the recruitment, training, and mentorship of our Global Fellows.

Batool has keynoted at TiE Karachi on the role of social entrepreneurship in Pakistan and has co-written a knowledge paper on low-cost, affordable housing in Pakistan, The Challenges of Expanding Saiban, Scaling Affordable Housing. She also helped launch the first TEDxKarachi 2010 along with TED Fellows in Pakistan.

Before Acumen, Batool worked in lending at TD Bank and in Marketing at HSBC. She has experience consulting in microfinance. Batool holds a BA from Rutgers University, and a Masters of International Affairs in Economic Development from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.

CONTACT

T:646-747-3969
E:bhassan@acumen.org

Afshin Ghassmi joined the Acumen East Africa office in September 2010 and his primary focus is to build Acumen’s portfolio in Tanzania across all priority sectors. In addition, Afshin works on the agriculture and low cost housing portfolios, looking at new opportunities across the rest of East Africa. Before joining the Acumen, Afshin worked as a Junior Investment Manager for DEG (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH) in their East Africa regional office. He holds a Master of Science in Economic Analysis from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.

CONTACT

T:+245 716 252 802
E:aghassmi@acumen.org

As West Africa Director, Godfrey Mwindaare is responsible for all West Africa related investments, operations and business development activities. Additionally, as part of the Portfolio Leadership Team, he is jointly responsible for the global portfolio of Acumen with special focus on the new West Africa investments.

Prior to this role, Godfrey was Chief Investment Officer in the African Development Bank, based in Tunisia, with specific responsibility for the Extractive Industry in the Bank’s 53 member states in Africa. He also worked with Standard Bank in South Africa and Tanzania as Senior Manager (Strategy and Special Projects) and Head of Retail and Business Banking and Barclays Capital in London as an investment banker in the Mining & Metals Team. He has over a decade of experience in investment banking, commercial banking and development finance.  Godfrey has a First Class Honours degree in Mining Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology in Ghana and an MBA from the University of Hull Business School in the UK, specializing in financial management. He is also an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK).

CONTACT

T:+233 208991606
E:gmwindaare@acumen.org

Duncan Onyango joined Acumen as Director of East Africa in September 2012. He has been a long supporter of Acumen and informally served as an advisor to the East Africa team over the years, as well as being actively involved in the Fellows Program.

Duncan most recently served as the Group Chief Finance Officer of Rift Valley Railways, where he led the structuring of a $287M debt and equity capital investment in the rail sector. He began his career with over ten years at Abbey National, a major international bank in London, gaining cross-functional business experience in both the retail and corporate arms of Abbey, including serving as the bank’s Head of Training & Management Development for the Wealth Management Division. Building on that experience, Duncan moved into consulting at Strategic Workforce Limited in London, before returning to East Africa where he founded Quantum Africa in 2006, working with many small businesses and entrepreneurs. He has expertise in strategic & business planning, organizational alignment and business transformation. Duncan holds an honors degree in Computing and Retail Management from Oxford University.

CONTACT

T:+245 716 252 802
E:donyango@acumen.org

Jo-Ann is the lead architect of Acumen’s community.  She is working to create a step change in terms of awareness and engagement for Acumen through its online presence and +acumen volunteer chapters.

Before Acumen, Jo-Ann built a marketing analytics team and developed and new marketing strategies for a $1 billion apparel distributor. Jo-Ann has also worked at strategy consulting firm Marakon Associates in New York and Singapore. She began her career at the Monetary Authority (Central Bank) of Singapore. Jo-Ann received a BA in Economics and an MS in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa.

CONTACT

E:jtan@acumen.org

Prior to Acumen, Jacqueline founded and directed The Philanthropy Workshop and The Next Generation Leadership programs at the Rockefeller Foundation. She also co-founded Duterimbere, a micro-finance institution in Rwanda. She began her career in international banking with Chase Manhattan Bank. Jacqueline currently sits on the advisory boards of Sonen Capital and the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative. She serves on the Aspen Institute Board of Trustees and the board of IDEO.org, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council for Sustainable Development.

CONTACT

E:lcamacho@acumen.org
@jnovogratz

Kitty joined Acumen with over 3 years of financial services experience from Barclays Ghana, where she gained cross-functional experience in operations, credit and retail banking. Most recently, she was responsible for managing Barclay’s Prestige Wealth Management unit. Prior to Barclays, Kitty held administrative roles at Chrisa Hotel and Falsyd Foundation School in Ghana. Kitty has a BA in Management and Psychology from the University of Ghana.

CONTACT

T:+233 206301682
E:kokyere@acumen.org

Karuna joined Acumen in July 2012 to grow and manage the Health Portfolio and also to develop the Housing Portfolio in India.  Karuna has two years of investing experience with the $175M Aditya Birla private equity fund and $600M Milestone Capital real estate fund. She has also spent four years with the Aditya Birla Group and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in textiles, cement and pharmaceuticals businesses across finance and M&A roles. Karuna earned her post graduation in management from the India School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. She is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.

CONTACT

T:+91 22 67401510
E:kjain@acumen.org

Manoj joined Acumen as the Global Accountant in Acumen’s India office in September 2008. Before joining the India office, he worked in a temporary position at the Acumen New York office for four months. Prior to Acumen, Manoj managed finance and taxation matters in a chartered accountant firm and also owned an accounting firm. Manoj has 17 years of accounting experience. He holds a BA in Accounting, a BA in Law and an MBA in Finance. Manoj has also completed his Chartered Accountant Exam (Intermediate) from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

CONTACT

T:+91 22 6740 1509
E:mvastari@acumen.org

Sean is a Portfolio Associate Director in Acumen’s New York office where he focuses on sourcing new investment opportunities, executing investment transactions, and developing global portfolio partnerships with co-investors and other strategic partners.  Sean is currently the relationship manager for d.light design, an energy investee, and is also responsible for managing a loan guarantee facility in partnership with USAID.  Since joining Acumen in 2010, Sean has worked on five transactions totally $4.3 million of invested capital.  In 2011, Sean spent 7 months in Accra, Ghana helping to set-up Acumen’s West Africa office and building its investment portfolio there.  Before joining Acumen, Sean worked as an investment banking analyst in the Financial Institutions Group at Merrill Lynch where he focused on Asset Managers and Depository Institutions.  After completing the analyst program, Sean spent two months volunteering and traveling in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa.  Sean graduated from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis in 2005 with a BSBA in Finance, Accounting and International Business.

CONTACT

T:646-747-3967
E:smoore@acumen.org

Rohit joined Acumen’s New York office in 2011. As an Impact Associate, Rohit supports Acumen’s efforts to better understand and measure the social impact of our patient capital investing. He is responsible for the design and implementation of Acumen’s new impact measurement and evaluation systems, and works closely with the Portfolio Team to collect social impact data and generate insights from Acumen’s investees. Prior to this role, Rohit worked as an Analyst on Acumen’s Global Portfolio and Business Development Teams.

Prior to joining the Business Development team in 2011, Rohit was an intern with Acumen’s Fellows Program. He has also worked for the International Water Association in The Hague, and on urban environmental issues for ISLES, INC in Trenton, New Jersey. Rohit received an A.B. in Public Policy from Princeton University at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where he conducted field research in India on inequality in urban water and sanitation delivery.

CONTACT

E:rgawande@acumen.org

As Director of Impact for Acumen, Tom heads the organization’s work to understand the how and why of both creating, and improving, social performance through patient capital investing. Prior to Acumen Tom worked for the UK Department for International Development (DFID), first as Country Economist in Nigeria and subsequently leading its Wealth Creation and Climate Change team in Ethiopia. Tom has also worked as a diplomat for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and as an Economic Advisor to various UK Government departments. He began his career working at Credit Suisse pricing derivatives.

Tom holds a BSc (Hons.) in Econometrics from Nottingham University and a MSc (Distinction) in Development Economics from the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

CONTACT

E:tadams@acumen.org

As Senior Associate for Finance & Operations in Pakistan, Syed Umair Hussain is responsible for coordinating all aspects of financial management, accounting, book-keeping, Treasury management, Investment Accounting and Office administration. He was also actively involved in HR issues of Acumen Pakistan. Before joining Acumen, S. Umair Hussain worked as an Accounts Officer at Interglobe Commerce Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd, a large oil storage facilities and pipeline construction company, where he was responsible for various accounting and finance matters, including costing and Internal Audit of oil refineries projects. He has also worked as Assistant Accountant at Callmate Telips (Pvt) Ltd, a private telecom company in Pakistan. Umair holds an MBA in Finance and Accounts from Preston Institute of Management Science and Technology and is currently pursuing his ACMA from the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan.

CONTACT

T:+92 21 3584 6430 32 x 101
E:uhussain@acumen.org

Yasmina Zaidman is the Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships at Acumen, where she is responsible for Acumen’s external communications and leads its efforts to engage with strategic corporate partners who share Acumen Fund’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurial approaches to tackling poverty. She initiated and managed the Water Portfolio at Acumen Fund, and has worked in the arenas of international development, corporate sustainability and social entrepreneurship for the past 16 years. She received a BA from Vassar College and her MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business with a certificate in Public Management.

CONTACT

T:646-747-3974
E:yzaidman@acumen.org
@yasminajz

Saima has been working joined the Acumen, Pakistan office in April 2009, and is currently managing the Pakistan Fellows Program.  Saima is responsible for recruitment, training and coaching of Fellows with an aim towards building the next generation of social change leaders for Pakistan.  Prior to this, Saima served as Business Manager, where she was mainly focused on developing and managing Acumen’s Health and Education Portfolio. Before joining Acumen, Saima worked as CEO and Managing Partner of The Review Private Limited, a company formed to acquire and run a test prep franchise, The Princeton Review. Before making this entrepreneurial shift, Saima worked for six years in the financial sector; her last assignment was at Global Securities, a brokerage firm, where she worked as Senior Associate, Corporate Finance. Saima holds an MBA from Lahore University of Management Sciences.

CONTACT

E:sirtiza@acumen.org

Noor joined Acumen in 2007. Since joining Noor has been working on the growth of Acumen’s Agriculture Portfolio. He co-leads Acumen’s efforts in the Agriculture sector globally and is responsible for leading our Agriculture work in Pakistan. In addition to his work in Agriculture, Noor also leads Acumen Pakistan’s Energy and Water Portfolios. Before joining Acumen, Noor served as a consultant for the World Bank, where he studied the socio-economic impact of environmental degradation in the province of Punjab. Previously, he worked as a business development consultant for a number of multinationals and private enterprises. He handled projects involving feasibility studies and financial projection analyses. He also worked as Manager Business Development and Manager Projects at Microtech Industries, an engineering and telecom multinational. Immediately after graduation he had also served as a Research Analyst with Dr. Salman Shah (a renowned Finance expert and Pakistan’s ex-Finance Advisor for the Federal Government) on a number of research papers for PILDAT (Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency). He holds a Bachelor degree with Honors, in Economics and Computer Sciences from Lahore University of Management Sciences.

CONTACT

T:+92 42 3586 1240
E:snoorullah@acumen.org

Prince is based in the West Africa office and is focused on the development of investments for Acumen across the region. He also supports the West Africa Director in managing investments across portfolios and business development.

Before joining Acumen, Prince worked for a boutique investment banking firm in Accra, Ghana, where he set up and led the corporate finance team to execute transactions across various industries. Prior to that, he spent 7 years at First Atlantic Bank Limited where he worked in various roles including equity research, investment management, corporate finance, strategy and corporate development and where he was a key member of the team that transformed the equity trading desk into one of the top three equity trading businesses in Ghana. He was also involved in some of the key M&A and other advisory transactions executed by the bank.

Prince holds a Masters in Finance and Management from the Cranfield University School of Management where he was a Chevening Scholar and a Bachelor of Science in Administration from the University of Ghana Business School. Prince is an Authorized Dealing Officer of the Ghana Stock Exchange.

CONTACT

E:pakpesey@acumen.org

Ambika joined Acumen’s London Business Development team in early 2013, prior to which she spent most of the past decade training and working in the Biomedical Research field. Having been awarded a PhD in Obstetrics & Gynecology from the University of Western Australia in 2011, Ambika relocated to London and worked as a Post-doctoral Research Associate in Maternal Health at St. Thomas’ Hospital with King’s College London. While still very enthusiastic about the healthcare sector, Ambika pursued her growing interest in international development, operations and business development, and worked for management consultants Alcimed in 2012. She has had varied exposure to social enterprises and working with communities in that space globally. While doing her PhD, she co-founded an NGO iNUT-Who? (if Not U Then Who?) to spread awareness, empower and fundraise for charities, social enterprises and individual causes, all of which paved her way to the impact investment world of Acumen. Ambika is also on the Executive Committee of London+Acumen, one of Acumen’s 22 volunteer-led chapters worldwide, and the first +Acumen chapter in Europe, leading their annual flagship DIGNITY Photography event to educate and spread awareness of the importance of dignity, not dependence, in changing the way the world tackles poverty. Ambika completed her BSc and MSc (Hon) degrees from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. 

CONTACT

T:+44 20 7961 2522
E:asampat@acumen.org

As the Talent Senior Associate, Meghan manages the systems and tools that enable Acumen to attract, engage, and develop our global team.  Working closely with Talent and other colleagues around the world, Meghan champions the employee experience, ensuring that the recruitment, onboarding, compensation, talent development and performance management processes match our values and empower the organization to fulfill its mission.

Meghan’s career began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, working on enterprise development and citizen participation initiatives.   Upon returning to the States, Meghan facilitated loans and created a financial literacy program for Grameen America, the U.S. affiliate of Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank.

Just prior to joining Acumen in 2013, she completed her MBA at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, where she co-taught a social impact consulting course in India and launched a secondary business unit for Soluciones Comunitarias, a Guatemalan social enterprise.  Meghan also holds a BA from American University in Public Communication and Political Science, and is fluent in Spanish.

CONTACT

E:mcurran@acumen.org

Virgilio joined Acumen as Director of Latin America in September 2013. He is responsible for all Latin America related investments, operations and business development activities.

Before joining Acumen, he was the Executive Director of the non-profit Social Investment Bank (Banca de Inversión Social), which has helped lead the development of the impact investing space in Colombia. Prior to that, he was the Founding Director of Invest in Bogota, a public-private partnership that promotes foreign direct investment to the Greater Bogota region. In 2009, Invest in Bogota was ranked as the top non-OECD investment promotion agency in the world by the IFC. Virgilio also headed the privatization unit at the Colombian Ministry of Finance and was an advisor on local economic development for the Bogota Planning Department. He has worked in private equity with FondElec Group, as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton in Brazil and as a financial analyst at Citibank Spain. He holds a B.A. in Government from Harvard College, an M.S. from the MIT Sloan School of Management and an M.A. in Economics from NYU.

CONTACT

E:vbarco@acumen.org

Lindsay manages strategic relationship management, communications and events for Jacqueline Novogratz. She initially joined Acumen in January 2014 as the Executive Assistant to the CEO. Prior to Acumen, Lindsay worked for the U.S. House of Representatives and volunteered with resettled refugees in Washington, D.C. She has also lived and worked in Australia and Japan, volunteering with the Asylum Seekers Centre of New South Wales and working for the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme. Lindsay holds a BA in Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs from Miami University.

CONTACT

T:(646) 747-3850
E:lcamacho@acumen.org

Saleem has over 30 years of experience as Personal Secretary in different organizations. Prior to joining Acumen Pakistan he has worked as Assistant Vice President, Corporate Secretarial to CEO of BMA Capital Management Limited for 18 years. He was also hold the additional charge of Head of Administration at BMA Capital. Saleem was responsible for all types of secretarial job and supervision of Administration Department at BMA Capital.

Saleem holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Karachi, Pakistan.

CONTACT

E:saleemahmed@acumen.org

As Pakistan Portfolio Associate, Khubaib Siddiqui is responsible for managing existing investments and supporting portfolio growth in the Energy sector. Khubaib has over two years of experience in capital markets and corporate and investment banking. He has previously worked as an Equity Trader in the Treasury and Capital Markets Group of United Bank Limited where he was responsible for managing a short-term equity trading portfolio. He has also had a brief stint as a Relationship Manager in the Corporate and Investment Banking Group of Habib Bank Limited. Khubaib holds an MA in Economics from Duke University and a BSc (Hons.) in Economics from Lahore University of Management Sciences.

CONTACT

E:ksiddiqui@acumen.org

Bavidra started his career as a Social Strategy Consultant with JWT, helping Fortune 500’s create shared value by aligning social impact with overarching business strategy. In 2011, Bavidra was selected as an Acumen Global Fellow where he was placed with d.light design in Shenzhen and New Delhi, working on brand development, product launches and new product innovation.  Upon completion of the Global Fellowship Bavidra Co-Founded a technology start-up in San Francisco that built mobile products for sustainable urban mobility. He holds a BA(h) in Sociology for Queen’s University and an MA from Kingston University.

CONTACT

E:bmohan@acumen.org

Rosie joins Acumen from Unilever where she worked in Research & Development in the Foods Business for a period of 9 years across several geographies including Europe, Africa and North America. Prior to working in the FMCG corporate sector, Rosie had an academic career spanning more than a decade in medical research (Public Health & Nutrition). Additionally, Rosie is a certified life coach, passionate about helping people discover and leverage their dependable strengths at work and in their personal lives. She is a consummate connector and networker, persuasive communicator and open to self-discovery and new experiences.

The essence of what working at Acumen means for me is captured in the words of the Holy Scriptures “To him whom much is given, much is required – Luke 12:48”.

CONTACT

T:+245 716 252 802
E:rlore@acumen.org

As the East Africa Fellows Associate, Joy manages the program administration, recruitment and selection, business development and communications for East Africa Fellows Program, as well as supports +Acumen and the Global Fellows Programs locally. Previously, Joy has worked with the Kenya Institute of Management in training and administration, in Kenya and Rwanda. She holds a Bachelor of Education (Arts) degree, and is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Development Studies.

CONTACT

E:jgikandi@acumen.org

As a Portfolio Analyst, Ruqayya is responsible for developing and managing Acumen’s investment portfolio across the microfinance, education and housing sectors. Prior to this role, Ruqayya supported the recruitment and selection process for the Acumen Pakistan Fellows Program. Before joining Acumen, Ruqayya held internships at Engro Foods Limited, Barclays Bank PLC, GlaxoSmithKline and BRAC.

Ruqayya graduated with a BSc in Economics from Duke University in May 2013.

CONTACT

E:rdiwan@acumen.org

Ron joined the global operations team in May 2014 as Data and Systems Manager to help ensure that our technology initiatives support Acumen’s mission and business model. He works with all global team members so that technology processes and data management can improve the way Acumen does its global work.

He has over 20 years of technology-related experience from marketing, support, analysis, and development work with government, education, finance, and technology organizations in the New York area. Some of the teams Ron has worked with are from: The City of New York – Office of Payroll Administration, Columbia University, RailWorks Corporation, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and IBM. He has served as a Regional Director of a national alumni board for the University of Notre Dame.

Ron received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. in Finance from St. John’s University. He also studied in a part-time evening program for Information and Digital Resource Management at Columbia University.

CONTACT

T:(646) 747-3688
E:rjoe@acumen.org

Prior to joining Acumen in June 2014, Ashley worked at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York where she conducted research on Cuba’s energy landscape and Brazil’s foreign policy strategy in Africa. Her passion for international development and social entrepreneurship began during her experiences in East Africa where she learned the importance of local ownership in development efforts. In 2007, while in high school, she partnered with a women’s cooperative and created a non-profit organization to build a school in Arusha, Tanzania. During college, Ashley spent time in Uganda studying international development and the impact of decentralization on citizen participation. She volunteered at a local human rights organization and wrote her undergraduate thesis on transnational advocacy networks and their role in enforcing international norms. Ashley received her B.A. in Sociology from Colorado College and enjoys hiking and skiing.

CONTACT

T:(646) 747-3852
E:aspeyer@acumen.org

Eleanor Murphy joined the Acumen team in 2014 and works as the Associate Director of Business Development. She is involved in extending our community of supporters, increasing fundraising efforts and cultivating committed partners across the US.  Prior to joining Acumen, Eleanor spent 8 years in the financial services industry at established financial institutions including Eaton Vance Management in Boston, MA and more recently with Alps Distributors in Denver, CO.   She was responsible for creating and implementing strategic plans to manage multi-territory client relationships and ultimately increase awareness of differing product lines.  Most recently she received a Master’s degree in Humanitarian Studies through the NOHA network in Dublin, Ireland and also holds a bachelors degree in International Relations from Boston University.

CONTACT

E:emurphy@acumen.org

Jian joined +Acumen in June 2014 to build strategic partnerships and scale the reach of +Acumen courses.  In this role, she creates partnership models to engage diverse stakeholders such as corporations, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations.

Prior to Acumen, Jian was a Fixed Income Specialist at Bloomberg L.P and a member of the NY+Acumen chapter.  Her earlier professional roles include marketing and free-lance journalism, and also working in Peru on monitoring and evaluation surveys and interviews with small-scale farmers.

She is a proud alum from University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she majored in International Studies and Chinese Literature.

CONTACT

E:jzheng@acumen.org

Shruti joined Acumen in October 2014 and focuses on the Energy and Water portfolios in India.

Prior to joining Acumen, Shruti worked at the International Finance Corporation, the private sector investing arm of the World Bank Group, for 2.5 years, evaluating and managing investments in the manufacturing, agribusiness and service sectors in South Asia. Before IFC, she worked as an equity research analyst at J.P. Morgan, on the TMT (Technology, Media & Telecom) team, covering European technology hardware stocks.

Shruti holds a B.Tech + M.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras where she specialized in communication systems.

CONTACT

E:ssrivastava@acumen.org

Prior to joining Acumen, Esha worked at the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington, DC. She focused on researching and writing about global development and security issues and working to develop cross-sector responses to these challenges– partnering with governments, foundations, corporations, and NGOs. Esha holds a BA in International and Area Studies from the University of Oklahoma, graduating magna cum laude and with honors. She spent time in Turkey during and following her undergraduate studies, first studying at Bogazici University in Istanbul and later working at Baskent University in Antalya.

CONTACT

E:emufti@acumen.org

Prior to joining Acumen, Julian worked extensively in the field of international development, focusing on health and nutrition in developing contexts in both the public, private and not for profit sector in throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.  He has led business development, program implementation, government relations and international research projects.  He has also worked on areas of health and nutrition, micro-credit and extreme poverty alleviation as well as refugee issues

Julian most recently led GAIN’s programs focusing on school aged and children and adolescent girls, reaching more than 3 million children and girls.  In this role, he led the development of a new strategy and new department, as well as numerous global partnerships.  Prior to joining GAIN, he was with Tetra Pak where he led programs with partners and customers as well as Government to develop products for consumers of various socio-economic groups in emerging markets.  Initially based in West Africa he led the relationship between Tetra Pak and customers as well as regional governments. As part of this role, he served as the technical advisor on school nutrition to the Government of Nigeria working closely with the federal and regional governments while overseeing the government department on school feeding and liaising with the executive branch.

Julian has a master’s degree (MPhil) in international development from the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex, UK and a BA in Political Science from Mount Allison University in Canada.

CONTACT

E:jwolfson@acumen.org

Nancy first joined the Acumen finance team in July 2009 and returned to Acumen in January 2014 following a year-long sabbatical in India. Nancy is responsible for overseeing Acumen’s annual audit and tax filings and supporting the portfolio team in a finance capacity around systematizing the current accounting processes and procedures to better leverage the resources of the finance team.

Prior to her time at Acumen, she worked in Product Controllers for the Equity Derivatives team at Goldman Sachs and  Lehman Brothers. At Och Ziff Capital Management, she worked for a hedge fund for the Portfolio Finance team supporting the front office operationally with Repo/Stock Loan lending.

Nancy holds a MBA in Finance from NYU and a BSBA from Bucknell University where she majored in Accounting and minored in Art.

CONTACT

T:1 (646) 747-3853
E:nleon@acumen.org

Venu’s work focuses on assessing and optimizing the social impact of Acumen investees in our Latin America and global portfolio, and finding rigorous, cost-effective ways to do this. Venu also leads Acumen’s effort to synthesize learning and insights from our work.

Venu started her career as management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she worked on strategic challenges faced by clients across the private, public and development sectors. She transitioned to PRADAN, a grassroots non-profit in India that focuses on livelihood generation and helped define its first proactive global fundraising approach.

Just before joining Acumen, she completed a master’s degree in public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mathematics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

CONTACT

T:+1 (646) 747-3692
E:vaggarwal@acumen.org

“We are enabling a world where all of humanity reaches its full potential, is happy.”  Naeem Zamindar is a results-driven leader with experience in venture capital, entrepreneurship, finance, operations, general management, in public and private companies. He is inspired to create a happier world and has a great track record of envisioning the future, transformational leadership, leveraging innovation and technology, and fostering collaborations to enable others to consistently deliver strong business results. As the Pakistan Country Director of Acumen, he is excited about the opportunity to invest and build social enterprises/entrepreneurs that will bring about a transformative change in the way the world tackles poverty. 

Previously, as the CEO of Wateen, he turned around Pakistan’s leading communications and cloud services provider, where he restructured and refocused the company, and invested in high growth areas such as mobile financial services.  He was on the founding team of Mobilink, which has become one of the most successful companies in Pakistan.  He left Mobilink to go do his MBA at INSEAD where his team won the European Business Plan Competition and started his venture funded social networking startup (Facebook before its time).  His company became a casualty of the dotcom bust in the year 2000 after which he moved to the Silicon Valley to become a venture capitalist with Intel Capital, to invest and build successful expotential growth innovative companies.   He returned to Pakistan in early 2004 to startup a successful non-profit venture called the Art of Living, an organization enabling the self-actualization of human potential for happiness.  After the Art of Living started getting momentum and did not require his full time attention, he returned to Mobilink to lead the Strategy, Program Management Office and Business Development functions.  He was a part of the team that massively scaled mobile users from around 2 million to 32 million within 5 years and started up and launched the broadband business division.

He is actively involved in the development of entrepreneurship as the current President of The Indus Entrepreneurs Lahore chapter and sits on the Advisory Board’s of The Center for Entrepreneurial Development, the business incubators Plan9 and Nest I/O, the leadership development organization AIESEC,  and the Punjab Vocational Training Council.

CONTACT

T:+92-21-3584-6430 x102
E:nzamindar@acumen.org

As Associate Director of External Communications, Carolyn is responsible for driving and overseeing all of Acumen’s storytelling, media engagement and global communications across all channels. Working closely in collaboration with every department in every office, she develops strategic opportunities to capture the breadth and depth of Acumen’s efforts and transform how our audiences experience and understand the organization’s work to increase awareness and deepen its impact worldwide. 

Carolyn joined Acumen with more than 12 years of international media and communications experience. She began her career as an editor at Vanity Fair before leaving to become a Senior Editor at British import The Week, a newsweekly that paved the way for digital aggregators. She also freelanced for The New York Times T magazine, Rolling Stone and New York, and assisted literary icon and renowned gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson on what would become his final book. Initially drawn to journalism because of her passion for public service, Carolyn spent time volunteering with a family-run children’s center in Tanzania and returned from Africa to employ her experience into the world of international development. She went on to work as Communications Officer of the Revenue Watch Institute, an organization founded by George Soros’ Open Society that helps developing nations use their natural resource wealth to finance their development and, prior to Acumen, was the Associate Director of Communications for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, a $55 million nonprofit founded by Evelyn Lauder.

CONTACT

E:cbielfeldt@acumen.org

Asad Jafri joins the Portfolio team as Associate in the Karachi office where he oversees investments in Housing, Education and Microfinance.

Prior to joining Acumen, Asad was a Senior Analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York, where he performed portfolio analysis of an investment fund exceeding $1 billion in capital investments. Prior to that, he was a Senior Associate at Deloitte in New York, where he worked on a variety of client projects in the areas of corporate finance, business valuation, restructuring, management and risk consulting. Asad completed his Bachelors in business degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, completing a dual major in Finance and Entrepreneurship.

CONTACT

T:+92 (21) 35846430-32
E:ajafri@acumen.org

Mary has over eight years’ experience in financial management, administration, project management, budgeting and human resource management. She started her finance career by working at Farmer’s Choice Ltd for five years and was part of the team that implemented the ERP for the company. She later moved to the non-profit sector at One World International where she handled implementation of a mobile content project. She joins Acumen from the Rockefeller Foundation Africa Regional Office where she worked for five years in finance and administration managing the implementation of financial, administrative and human resource systems. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business Administration from United States International University (USIU) and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Prior to joining Acumen, Dennis was a Senior Investment Analyst at Grassroots Business Fund (GBF), where he was involved in sourcing, conducting due diligence and managing portfolio clients. He has also worked as a business associate at Transglobal Consultants where he helped Small and Growing businesses with working capital planning and management. Dennis holds an MBA, Finance option from United States International University – Africa (USIU-A).

At Acumen, Dennis identifies, cultivates and manages a pipeline of investment opportunities providing critical services to the poor. He also supports Acumen’s post investment efforts to add significant value to investee companies.

CONTACT

E:dotieno@acumen.org

Sky joined Acumen in 2015 as a Senior Associate for Special Projects, supporting initiatives driven by the CEO and Communications team. Prior to Acumen, Sky worked as an Operational Communications Specialist at the State Department in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, where he advised and deployed with teams managing programs in several countries on the use of technology and media campaigns to mitigate conflict. Additionally, Sky facilitated partnerships between leading international technology and communications companies and networks of activists in Myanmar, Honduras, and Nigeria. Sky holds a BA from Wesleyan University, where he majored in Government with a concentration on political theory. 

CONTACT

E:sstallbaumer@acumen.org

As a Senior Portfolio Associate in Pakistan office, Osman Anwar is responsible for managing existing investments and supporting portfolio growth in the Agriculture and Water sectors.

Osman joins Acumen with over six years of experience in commercial, corporate and investment banking. He has managed a diversified portfolio of clients in pharmaceutical, energy, textiles, commodities, food processing and automobile sectors. He has worked in deal origination, client coverage and risk management teams across some of the leading financial institutions in Pakistan including Standard Chartered, Allied Bank Limited and Habib Bank Limited.

Osman holds an MBA from Institute of Business Administration, Karachi and a BE (Mechatronics) from CEME at National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad.

CONTACT

E:oanwar@acumen.org

Kat comes to Acumen from international development charity, SolarAid where she created and grew the research and impact measurement activities to be a resource for the off-grid energy sector, now housing some of the most comprehensive data on energy access in rural Africa. SolarAid won the 2015 UK Social Enterprise Award for proving impact and was a finalist for the Best Practice in Research Award by PEGNet in 2013. She brings to Acumen the three years of data and learning from this work and a number of funded large-scale research projects being delivered throughout Africa. Kat chairs the impact working group at the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association and led the development of the sector’s harmonised impact metrics framework, being adopted by IRIS.

Kat was recognised as Recharge 4040 Young Leader in Renewable Energy, was a finalist for the 2014 Red magazine Women of the Year award and launched the 2015 UNESCO International Year of Light alongside HRH Duke of York.

Kat acts as a Research Advisor to the United Nations Capital Development Fund, previously created and led the monitoring and evaluation system at social enterprise Riders for Health and worked in M&E and programme management for the United Nations World Food Programme in Malawi. She has a BSc in Economics and International Development from the University in Bath and an MSc in Development Policy, Process and Practice from the University of Reading.

CONTACT

E:kharrison@acumen.org
@Sunrise_Kat

Zachary joined the Post-Investment team at Acumen in 2015.  As the Post-Investment Associate, he is responsible for building Acumen’s Post Investment support to Acumen’s companies.  He facilitates the delivery of technical and leadership support to investee companies. Zach leads the development of Acumen’s investee community through online and in-person interactions.

Prior to joining Acumen, Zachary worked at Axiom Law, where he worked on developing and implementing innovative solutions to the operational challenges faced by global banks, with a particular focus on creating technological and process-based solutions to enable clients to negotiate and analyze large volumes of contracts. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Yale University.

CONTACT

E:zforeman@acumen.org

Prior to joining Acumen, Genet worked as an associate in the Energy & Infrastructure Group at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Genet also worked as a Law Fellow at the Center for Communication Leadership & Policy at the University of Southern California, where she contributed to a report on human trafficking online.

Genet obtained a JD from Vanderbilt University Law School, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. Genet earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film & Television Production and a Master of Arts in Arts & Humanities in Education from New York University.

CONTACT

E:gberhane@acumen.org

Marica’s journey with Acumen began in 2009 when she joined a group in Vancouver that launched the Vancouver+Acumen Chapter and set up Vancouver’s first social enterprise case competition for undergraduate and graduate business students. 

Inspired by her work as a volunteer, Marica left her role as Operations Manager at skoah and joined start-up social enterprise, Wedu in Thailand to design and launch South East Asia’s first mentorship and leadership development program for young women. Connecting with her young mentor, and other inspiring individuals affirmed her commitment to working full-time in social change.

Marica believes in the powerful blend of education and community to drive change. She joined Acumen in New York in 2015 where she is growing the +Acumen community through the online courses and global chapter networks.

Marica holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia.

CONTACT

E:mrizzo@acumen.org