David Oser and Louise Moretto Named to Vitas Group Board of Directors

David Oser and Louise Moretto Named to Vitas Group Board of Directors

Silver Spring, Maryland  – Vitas Group today announced the appointment of David Oser, Chief Financial Officer of CRAFT3, and Louise Moretto, Managing Director of Investments at Grassroots Capital Management, to their Board of Directors.
 

“We are so pleased to welcome David and Louise to the Board of Vitas Group, where their significant leadership and banking experience will help to enhance our financial presence and the quality of our services,” said Vitas Group President and CEO Elissa McCarter-LaBorde. “Their service will greatly advance our work in financial inclusion in emerging economies and among vulnerable communities.”
 

David Oser in 2011 joined CRAFT3, a non-profit community development financial institution with a mission to strengthen economic, ecological and family resilience. Prior to CRAFT3, he served as Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer, Treasurer and Chief Economist for ShoreBank, where he was instrumental in growing the company from a $75 million bank operating in one Chicago neighborhood to a $2.5 billion leader in economic development with a global reach. There he also managed a high-performing $750 million fixed income portfolio and $1 billion in wholesale funding, and led various consulting assignments in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Eastern Europe. Oser also initiated and acted as portfolio manager for the Domini Social Bond Fund, where he grew the Fund to $66 million, including many socially responsible investments. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Carleton College in Northfield, MN, a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago, and completed the Banking and Financial Services Executive Program, Graduate School of Business Administration, at the University of Michigan.
 

Louise Moretto is the Managing Director Investments at Grassroots Capital Management, an impact investment firm specialized in global microfinance investments. She has over 20 years of experience in banking, social investing, and international development.  Prior to Grassroots Capital, Louise was a senior Vice President in the Global Social Investment Funds team at Deutsche Bank and the Senior Director of the Capital Markets Group at Women’s World Banking, a global microfinance network. Before her career shift into microfinance and social investments, Louise was a banker at JP Morgan Chase and National Westminster Bank. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s School of International Public Affairs and serves as an Advisor to the board of Project Zawadi, an educational non-profit operating in Tanzania. Louise has a Masters in Latin American Studies from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Vermont.
 

ABOUT VITAS GROUP
Vitas is a commercial holding company created by Global Communities (formerly CHF International) as a long-term vehicle for fulfilling Global Communities’ mission in micro-, small- and medium-enterprise finance. Vitas Group is 20 percent owned by Bamboo Finance, and currently operates subsidiaries in Lebanon, Romania and Jordan, and expects registration in Palestine to be finalized by the end of 2013. Learn more at www.vitasgroup.com  
 

ABOUT GLOBAL COMMUNITIES
Global Communities is an international non-profit organization founded in 1952 that works closely with communities worldwide to bring about sustainable changes that improve the lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable. Global Communities believes that the people who understand their needs best are the people of the community itself. Learn more at www.globalcommunities.org
 

Contact:                                            

Christina Washburn
301-587-4700 [email protected]
 

David Humphries
301-587-4700 [email protected]