WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CDC Development Solutions (CDS), a leading nonprofit focused on economic development and international corporate volunteerism serving emerging and frontier markets, announces the appointment of Deirdre White to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. White, who had been President and COO, becomes one of the youngest and one of the few women to lead a major development organization. She takes on the CEO responsibilities previously handled by Michael Levett, who will continue as Vice Chair of the Board as well as serve as Senior Director of the organization.
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"The company is both celebrating its 20th anniversary and laying the groundwork for the next 20 years and that makes this the ideal time to pass on the mantle of leadership," said Mr. Levett in making the announcement. "Deirdre's tenure has been marked by exceptional growth in terms of program, geographical and funding diversity as well as in the volume of initiatives, number of partnerships and, importantly, revenue. "
"Deirdre's transformational leadership and skillful management have been instrumental in making CDS the leading innovator in using market-driven solutions to serve small and medium size enterprises and create economic growth and economic opportunities in emerging markets," said Lew W. Cramer, the Chairman of CDS' Board of Directors. "In addition, she has brought the kind of financial stability that will prove instrumental in the organization's continued growth and success."
"This is a dynamic time for CDS," said Ms. White. "We are formally launching our Access to Finance practice, and forging partnerships that will revolutionize our Tourism and Hospitality Development programs. We are increasing the breadth and scope of our International Corporate Service and Volunteerism initiatives with new partners in a growing number of countries. And we are expanding our Supply Chain Development practice through new engagements in the extractives sector and with agribusiness."
"Each endeavor is guided by a CDS team of dedicated professionals who are driven by a single overriding mission: strengthening small and medium size enterprises and the institutions, governments, and industries that drive economic growth and create economic opportunities in emerging markets," Ms. White stated.
About Deirdre White
Ms. White's 20+ year career in international development has included work with the public, private, nonprofit and government sectors. She joined CDS – then Citizens Democracy Corps – in 2002 as Vice President of Business and Program Development. In 2008, she was promoted to President and COO, taking on responsibility for the organization's overall strategic direction and designing new development solutions based on industry needs and local realities.
Prior to joining the organization, Ms. White was a Senior Manager at Arthur D. Little, Inc. (ADL) and Director of CIS Operations for the Arthur D. Little School of Management. At ADL, she oversaw international development and educational initiatives funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Union's Technical Assistance to the CIS (TACIS) office and others. She led numerous post-privatization restructuring programs in the light and heavy manufacturing industries, and was an organizational development consultant to several large companies in the Eurasian oil & gas sector.
Ms. White began her career in development at Welt International, a niche consulting firm that focused on countertrade and other non-traditional forms of financing trade ventures. She moved on to the not-for-profit sector as Deputy Director and then Director of Russian Operations for the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX), where she oversaw more than one dozen exchange and professional training programs.
An alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, Ms. White is a fluent speaker of Russian and is conversant in French and Spanish. She is a resident of Maryland where she lives with her husband and four children.
About Michael Levett
Mr. Levett joined what was then Citizens Democracy Corps in 1994 as its President, and in the intervening years led the company's expansion into over eighty countries on five continents.
Prior to joining CDS, he developed and managed trade, cultural, and commercial ventures in the countries of the former Soviet Union and Central Europe. He then returned to Washington, D.C. to serve as the founding president of Business for Social Responsibility, today's leading business organization that develops and disseminates socially responsible corporate strategies to businesses of all sizes and industries and that links socially responsible practices and competitive companies.
Mr. Levett was also Vice President at two international film companies, Lucasfilm, Ltd. and Dino DeLaurentis Corp. He was a reporter for The Los Angeles Times, a White House Fellow, and a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University with a focus on environmental and regional planning issues.
He holds B.A. and J.D. degrees from UCLA. Mr. Levett is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA), a member of the Executive Committee of the Small Enterprise Assistance Funds, a member of the Bretton Woods Committee, and is a non-resident Fellow at Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.
About CDC Development Solutions
Now celebrating its 20th Anniversary, CDC Development Solutions is the leading provider of innovative, market-driven solutions that empower individuals, businesses, and governments in emerging markets to lead economies towards self-sustained growth and opportunity.
CDS was founded by White House initiative in 1990 as a clearinghouse for thousands of businessmen and women who were committed to volunteering their knowledge and expertise to economic and political reform in the countries of Central/Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union following the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the intervening years, the organization has diversified its activities, serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), local governments and civil society organizations in emerging markets in over 80 countries on five continents around the world.
The Washington, DC-based non-profit NGO is active in five practice areas. Global Citizenship and Volunteerism continues to be a cornerstone of the organization's work. CDS is a leading implementer of international corporate volunteerism (ICV) programs serving Fortune 100 companies such as IBM, Dow Corning, Novartis, and Deloitte. Its two MBA Volunteer divisions – MBAs Without Borders and the MBA Enterprise Corps (MBAEC)—recruit and place experienced MBA graduates from around the world. All programs support economic development in emerging and frontier markets by providing capacity building, technical assistance and consulting services to governments, NGOs and organizations that advance economic and social development.
Widely recognized for its innovation in Supply Chain Development, CDS provides business training, technical assistance and other capacity building tools that address critical market, financial, and technical constraints and enable SMEs to integrate their products and services into supply chains. Its signature Supplier Training Initiative™ has proven to be a highly effective and replicable tool for numerous industries, most recently in the agriculture and extractive industries.
Building on two decades of experience assisting businesses to obtain finance, CDS recently launched its Access to Finance practice. The A2F practice is multi-tiered with direct assistance to businesses in securing finance, investment training, and advisory services on the design and management of various SME lending and investment models.
Long active in Tourism Development, CDS has created three specialized approaches – Tourism Employment & Opportunities (TEMPO), Tourism Products Registry™ and Tourism Development Corps™ – to harness the power of tourism to drive economic development in emerging markets. Its programs extend from creating and promoting investment strategies to tourism route development and from supporting the export of handicrafts to supply chain development.
Whether supporting the small business sector in Iraq, linking local businesses to tsunami recovery efforts in Indonesia or providing smallholding farmers in Jamaica with hurricane-resistant technology, CDS' Stability and Economic Recovery programs support the resiliency of businesses, economies and institutions crucial to maintaining peace and driving economic recovery and growth.
For further information please contact Kate Ahern at 202-530-7663 or [email protected].
SOURCE CDC Development Solutions
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