The Team

Details

Category: Yunus

Published on Sunday, 20 May 2012 23:11

Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Chairman

From 1983 – 2011, Prof. Yunus served as the Managing Director of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Prior to that, he was the Project Director of the project with the same name which led to the establishment of said bank. Before, he held different teaching positions at Chittagong University in Bangladesh and Tennessee, USA.

He won several awards, including the Nobel Peace Price in 2006 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. He is the author of Banker to the Poor and two books on Social Business Models. More information about Prof. Yunus can be found here.

  

Saskia Bruysten, Co-Founder and CEO  

Prior to YSB, Saskia was Co-CEO and Strategic Director of The Grameen Creative Lab (GCL), a company, which has the goal to promote social business, work with universities and inspire young people to join the social business movement. At GCL, she helped setting up social business joint ventures with corporate clients such as BASF, Otto and the adidas Group. Previously, Saskia worked for the Boston Consulting Group in their Munich and New York offices.

Saskia holds an MBA from European Business School, Oestrich-Winkel Germany and an MSc in International Relations from London School of Economics. She studied abroad in Argentina, the US and UK and worked in a number of countries including the US, UK, India, Bangladesh, Colombia, Haiti, Ghana and Albania. 

She was a speaker at events in over 15 countries and has served on the EU commission’s expert group on Social Business in 2011 led by Commissioners Barnier, Andor and Tajani. Saskia was named Generation CEO 2010 member, a prestigious network of woman in top management in Germany. She also served as an adjunct professor at HULT International Business School in London. Saskia holds German and Canadian citizenship.

Sophie Eisenmann, Co-Founder and CFO

Area of expertise at YSB: creating incubator structures for different countries, heading Social Business activities in Haiti and executing investments into Social Businesses, financial management of company

Prior to YSB, Sophie was the Director of the Grameen Creative Lab (GCL). She joined GCL in mid 2009. In the role as Director she was responsible for large Social Business country initiatives which GCL initiated, advised and implemented, in countries like Haiti, Colombia and Albania. Previously, Sophie worked as a strategy consultant for Siemens Management Consulting in Munich as well as financial analyst for GE Capital in London, Amsterdam and Munich. She lectured at universities in Milano, in Bogota and in Tirana on the topic of Social Business.

She holds an MBA from European Business School, Oestrich-Winkel Germany and a MBA in International Business from INSEAD. She studied abroad in Argentina, the US, Singapore and France and worked in a number of countries including the US, China, UK, Netherlands, Haiti, Bangladesh, Colombia and Dubai. She is founding member of Step-up, a network which helps disadvantaged young people in Germany to pursue their academic studies.

  

Alexis Rawlinson, Director and founding member of Yunus Social Business GmbH 

Areas of expertise at YSB: Coordination of social business activities in Albania, social business fund design and management, and business plan advisory. 

Prior to YSB, Alexis was responsible for social business fund development at the Grameen Creative Lab. He is a former management consultant at Oliver Wyman in the UK and France, and a former economist in the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Government of Mozambique. He has also founded and led a social business in the food industry in Germany. 

Alexis' early professional experiences include teaching in rural Uganda, management consulting at Roland Berger, journalism at The Economist, and working on international trade justice issues for the NGOs Oxfam International and the Trade & Poverty Forum. 

Alexis has a BA in Philosophy, Politics & Economics from Oxford University and an MA in Economics from Sciences Po Paris

 

Karen Hitschke, Director and Fund Manager

 Area of expertise: Extensive expertise and experience in fund structuring, investment processes and fundraising

Prior to YSB, she was the Chief Financial Officer at Affectis AG and an advisor to B-to-V (Business Angel Network) in Switzerland. Before that, Karen was an Investment Manager at Apax Partners and a consultant at McKinsey & Co. She holds an MBA from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, and a M.Sc. from the University of Constance. She studied abroad in the UK and Israel.

 

  Sylvain Franc de Ferrière, Program Director

Areas of expertise: heading Social Business activities in Africa and business plan advisory.

Prior to YSB, Sylvain has been living in Argentina, where he worked for Endeavor, and NGO dedicated to identifying and supporting high-impact entrepreneurs, as a consultant, and then as General Manager of one of the Endeavor entrepreneurs, an argentine fashion design business.

Previously, he worked as a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group in their Paris office.

Sylvain holds a M.Sc. in Mathematics form Imperial College in London and an M.Sc. in Management from HEC in Paris.             

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Christine Müller, Business Development Manager

Area of expertise at YSB: Human resource planning, accounting, proposals on Social Business, office management

Her early professional experiences include working with different consultancies in Germany and a NPO in the USA.

She gained a B.Sc. in General Management from EBS University of Business and Law and studied in Germany and the USA.

 

Claudine Francois, Country Director Haiti

Claudine Francois,  Haitian born with a degree in Business Administration Accounting, worked and lived in the US, Africa and Haiti.  Senior accounting professional with demonstrated expertise in general accounting, Internal Audit, Budgeting and Human Resources management functions. Worked in multinational companies in the US, Africa and Haiti. She served in different private sector and humanitarian clusters in Haiti. 18 years experience collaborating with senior management to conduct Human Resources strategic planning in order to support and further corporate goals. Claudine is a change agent, innovator and social business entrepreneur. Passionate about community development and tenacious in the pursuit of the goals. Visionary with the ability to translate that vision into specific action plans and inspire others to follow. Truly listens to the needs and concerns of others in order to find win-win solutions. 

 

Clementine Lalande, Head of Investments at Yunus Social Business Haiti

Areas of expertise at YSB: leading investment management activities and business plan advisory services in Haiti, developing social business joint ventures with corporate clients.

Prior to YSB, Clémentine was a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group in the Paris office, working with both private and non-profit clients, in more than 8 countries, in Europe and in the Middle-East. She also worked for the CEO of Action Contre la Faim, a French NGO fighting malnutrition, helping them on organization & development projects at Headquarters in Paris, and leading projects on the ground, in Ethiopia and Chad.

Clémentine studied Industrial Engineering at the Ecole Centrale in Paris, and Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen at the Technische Universität in Berlin.

 

Ipena Lucien, Senior Social Business Consultant Haiti

Area of expertise at YSB:  Create awareness on the social business concept through speeches , identify potential social business ideas, carry out due diligence.

Previous experiences include  working in the Non Profit and Private Sector in Haiti.

She gained a Management credentials at  the State University : Institut National d’ administration de Gestion et des Hautes Etudes Internationales ( INAGHEI) 

  

Philippe Lagrenade, Social Business Consultant Haiti

Area of expertise: Implementing Business Development projects, Business Management, networking, mentoring, business matchmaking, developing business plan, and training, in both private and NGO sectors

Philippe has been working as Manager, Consultant and Team Leader with different organizations in several projects involving business incubation, support of the local economy through promotion of local procurement / products, support SMEs, Micro-enterprises and start-ups.

He holds a bachelor degree in Accounting & Management at the Institut Universitaire Quisqueya-Amérique (INUQUA) in Partnership with the University of Québec at Montréal (UQAM), and also studied Linguistics for two years at the Faculté de Linguistique Appliquée (FLA) with the State University of Haiti (UEH).

 

Rebecca Augustin, Admin and Finance Assistant at YSB Haiti

She is an Admin/Finance assistant with 3 years NGO experience. Currently the is pursuing a major in Business Administration/Accounting at University Quisqueya.

 

 

 

 

Shkelzen Marku, Country Director Albania

Area of expertise: extensive expertise and experience in design, implementation and management of development projects and programmes, economic policy formulation and advocacy. 

Prior to YSB, Shkelzen was Executive Director of the Mountain area Development Agency (MADA) during almost six years, managing various large rural development programmes financed by mainly IFAD, OFID, DFID, EU and Government of Albania. Previously he worked a Director General of Agriculture and Rural Development Policies in the Ministry of Agriculture in Albania. He has worked as a development and management consultant in many countries for numerous programmes and project funded by international donors (such as World Bank, IFAD, FAO, UNDP, DfID, etc.) in Albania, Kosovo, Turkey, Azerbaijan  Armenia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lesotho, Zambia, etc.   

He holds a PhD in rural economic development policies ( AUT, Albania), a Master of Science degree in management of rural development policies (in CIHEAM-IAM, Montpelier, France) and Agriculture Engineering Diploma (in CNEARC, Montpelier, France). 

He is a co-founder and President of Partnership for Development Foundation, and a visiting professor at the Economic and Agribusiness Faculty of the Agriculture University of Tirana and at the Economic Faculty of the European University of Tirana.

 

Jola Foto, Communications & Event Manager Albania

Prior to YSB Albania, Jola was co-founder and Program Manager of the Public Bicycle System Ecovolis and Corporate Responsibility Coordinator at Opportunity International, Albania Branch.

Jola has experience in designing and developing projects, to help young people and other community groups, which have been implemented in collaboration with organizations such as British Council, Social Stimulating Alternative Program NGO, SOS Villages, World Vision etc.

She has also experience in the organization of social campaigns and various activities such as trainings, conferences, competitions, field activities, etc. Among the most important activities are: Regional Conferences - "The World Youth want: MDG 2015" and four sessions of "Forum of the Albanosphere"; Photo Competitions - "I show you my Tirana” and “Tirana on two Wheels", as well as many other local projects such as UrbanAKT, Social Design, Ecovolis Sunshine Program, etc.

Jola has a Master's degree in Public Relations, Politics & Institutional; Master in International Relations & Diplomacy and holds a Bachelor in Political Science. Jola has won second prize in the National Competition "Young Creative Entrepreneur" in 2008, organized by British Council.

 

Leonard Dalipi, Senior Business Consultant in Albania

Areas of expertise at YSB Albania: works closely with social businesses so they are successful in their business incubation phase, receive funding, achieve growth and make social impact in the long term.

Leonard's background is in finance. He worked as a financial controller for Raiffeisen Bank and ProCredit Bank in Kosovo, both of which are international European banks. In addition, as an MBA student in Colorado State University, he worked in a student start-up in the crowdfudning industry; a farmer cooperative project for a Haitian organization; and did research about venture capital, angel and crowdfunding investing for the Rocky Mountain Innosphere, an incubator in Colorado.

Furthermore, Leonard has done internships with two American businesses and an Institute in Washington D.C. He also worked for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Kosovo.

Leonard has received his MBA in Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise from Colorado State University prior to joining YSB and also holds a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and International Business from Graceland University, U.S.A.

Among other, hi is passionate in innovative and social impact entrepreneurship.

 

Ermira Repaj, Business Consultant at Yunus Social Business Albania

Areas of expertise at YSB:  Provide business consulting and/or “incubation” services such as business planning, preparing financial statements, training, coaching, etc ; Analyze specific social needs in Albania and identify opportunities for social business solutions; Identify and develop relationships with potential partners for social business opportunities.

Prior to YSB, Ermira was responsible for managing the Treasury Single Account in the Treasury Department, in the Ministry of Finance of Albania, demonstrating strong expertise in accounting and finance. From three years, she is also teaching as an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Economics of University of Tirana.

Ermira's early professional experiences include working as finance specialist in the National Albanian Agency for Homeless People; teaching as an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Economics of University of Shkodra: “Luigj Gurakuqi”. 

Ermira has a BA in Business Administration from University of Shkodra and a Msc. in Financial Management from University of Tirana and University of Modena& Reggio Emilia.

 

Rogério Oliveira, Country Director of  Yunus Social Business Brazil which will be launched in November, 2012

He has 12 years experience in leading teams in the areas product development, business units implementation and enterprise start-ups within companies such as Warner Bros, Johnson&Johnson, Nestle, UOL and BRMALLS.

He is the founder of Movimento Buena Onda - an accelerator for social businesses focused on creating happiness or social or environmental impact.  Rogério holds an MBA of HEC Montreal and teaches ‘Happiness as a Business Strategy’ at Perestroika, a Brazilian innovation school.

 

Teddy Sun, Social Business Consultant

Areas of expertise: social businesses in Bangladesh, consulting for social business entrepreneurs and international academic and corporate partnerships.

Prior to YSB, Teddy had spent 5 months working for the Social Business Team at the Yunus Centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh where she focused on existing social businesses such as Grameen Felissimo, Grameen Distribution, Grameen GC Eye Care Hospital, Grameen Caledonian Nursing College etc. She also took part in organising Social Business Day 2012.

Teddy found out about the social business world by accident while interning at the Grameen Bank. Prior to Bangladesh, Teddy was an investment banking analyst at RBC Capital Markets in London, UK.

Teddy holds s Bachelor of Arts degree in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge.

 

Allen Lee, Volunteer IT consultant

Area of expertise: Structuring of IT processes at YSB

Allen is a volunteer for Yunus Social Business. He is currently a network administrator at the United Nations Foundation in Washington, DC.

He has a Master’s degree in Information Systems and Bachelors in Information Systems and Marketing from the George Washington University.

Aside from industry certifications, Allen has 6 years of experience working in helpdesk in both non-profit organizations and huge consulting firms; and has transitioned his role to IT project management.

 

Jennifer Wittig, Social Business Consultant

Area of expertise: responsible for analyzing entrepreneurial business plans, leading the due diligence process, designing of operations and strategy for the Haiti Initiative

Prior to YSB, Jennifer worked as a Consultant for the Boston Consulting Group in Toronto, Canada. Jennifer's case experience at BCG was focused on strategy in both consumer goods and asset management. She also has experience consulting for local non-profits, focusing on evaluating social return on investment. 

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen's School of Business at Queen's University.

 

Yvonne Krywyj, Social Business Consultant

Areas of expertise: Growth strategies for social business, new business plan advisory, law.

Prior to joining YSB, Yvonne completed her MBA at IE Business School, where she also consulted for a social business startup in South Africa, co-founded an accelerator for SMEs and family businesses, and organized a social business plan competition.

Before obtaining her MBA, she worked as a lawyer for the United States government.

Yvonne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy and French from Duke University, a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from IE Business School.

 

Sandra Lee, Senior Social Business Advisor

Areas of expertise: formulation and execution of growth strategies, financial due diligence, global business development 

Prior to YSB, Sandra earned her MBA at INSEAD, where she focused on Corporate Finance and was Vice President of the Women in Business club.  Before business school, she worked in financial markets at Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Securities in New York.  Sandra has also worked in a strategic advisory role with several American non-profits, and a high-growth specialty food products company in Tokyo.  

Sandra holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature from the University of Chicago.