BRIGIT HELMS

Brigit Helms | Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Brigit Helms is the Chief Executive Officer of Unitus.  She will formally join the organization in January 2010, bringing with her over 25 years of experience developing innovative private sector solutions to address the severe global problems of financial exclusion and poverty.    

Prior to joining Unitus, Brigit was the head of Advisory Services with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Jakarta, where she was responsible for developing an aggressive five year country strategy to help 40 million Indonesians and facilitate $15 billion in investments.  In addition, she was responsible for leading the IFC’s operational and administrative functions in Indonesia, as well as managing fundraising activities netting over $20m for country strategy-related programs.

Immediately prior to joining the IFC, Brigit spent 10 years with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) as a member of the management team.  She has also worked at the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the U.S. Department of Commerce, and has done individual consulting assignments for a variety of organizations.
 
The author of the book, “Access for All: Building Inclusive Financial Systems,” Brigit holds a Ph.D. in and Agricultural Economics from Stanford University, as well as M.A.s from Stanford and Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, and a B.S. from the University of Santa Clara.