Our Shareholders

Management

Jeffrey Lee – Chief Executive Officer

Jeffrey Lee had more than 30 years of commercial banking experience prior to assuming his role as CEO of Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda in February 2009.  His experience covers a wide spectrum of banking, ranging from branch banking to corporate banking to small business banking to project finance.  As CEO of Shinhan Bank America he led the integration of several branches as well as the expansion of the bank through mergers and acquisitions, growing assets three times over a four-and-a-half-year period to $950 million.  Previously as CEO of Premier Bank he led its expansion from one to several branches and grew total assets from $8.5 million to $136 million over a seven-year period.  During Mr. Lee’s tenure at Premier Business Week Magazine said Premier Bank was “…what a bank should be.”  Mr. Lee earned an MBA from the University of Southern California and also studied leadership at Denver Seminary.

Jeffrey has also been actively involved in Christian education and mission work throughout the world for more than 25 years.  He founded a mission mobilization ministry called Project BGAN (Bringing the Gospel to All Nations) in 2001, and writes and speaks on the topic of “Good Steward’s Financial Management.”  He is interested in transforming lives through a holistic approach, including microfinance, that is grounded in Christian values.

Faustin Zihiga – Chief Relationship Officer

Faustin Zihiga leads Urwego Opportunity Bank of Rwanda’s (UOB) Business Network Group.  He is responsible for UOB’s growth and expansion, as well as the strategy for overseeing a growing number of lending staff, field managers, and borrower and depositor client bases.  Previously, Faustin served as Managing Director of Urwego Community Banking S.A. where he worked as Director of Operations until 2002.  As Managing Director Faustin participated in the successful merger of Urwego Community Banking and Opportunity International Bank of Rwanda while managing 140 employees.  He has also worked with the Government of Rwanda as Program Director of the National Peace and Leadership Training Program at The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission.  In addition Faustin served with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communal Development, as well as with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in Kigali, Rwanda.  Faustin holds a masters degree in sustainable international development from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and an undergraduate degree in education from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.

Shelagh D. Kahonda – Chief Finance Officer

Kevin Rudahinduka – Chief Information Officer

Emmanuel Mugandura – Chief Risk Management Officer

Board Members

Mr. Francis Pelekamoyo (Chair) is a Malawian citizen with significant banking and business experience.  He currently chairs the boards of all of OI’s partners in Africa (Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Uganda).  He spent the majority of his career with the Reserve Bank in Malawi, where he worked over 25 years in various departments and was appointed as the Governor from 1991 to 1995.  After leaving the Reserve Bank, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Air Malawi for three years.  Then he turned down the offered position as Malawi’s finance minister to join Opportunity International in October 2003.  He holds a BSC degree in chemistry and economics from Chancellor College of the University of Malawi, a diploma in monetary economics from St. Andrews University of Scotland, and a diploma in monetary economics from University of Washington in the US.

Mr. Dale Dawson is a US citizen with a keen interest in Rwanda.  He serves on Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s Presidential Advisory Council and chairs the Opportunity International President’s Council in the US.  He has been involved with several education and development initiatives in Rwanda over the past few years.  He is the Founder & CEO of Bridge2Rwanda, an organization committed to creating tomorrow’s leaders by building schools and businesses in Rwanda.  In his business career, Dale has been a CPA, an investment banker, and an entrepreneur.  He was a partner at and National Director of the global accounting firm KPMG, head of investment banking at Stephens Inc (twice), and Chairman/CEO of TruckPro – the country’s largest independent distributor of commercial truck parts – which he sold to Auto Zone.  He holds a BBA in accounting and an MPA in tax/finance from the University of Texas, Austin.

Mr. Phil Smith is a US citizen and has been the Country Director for World Relief Rwanda since 2006.   For two years prior to joining World Relief he served as Executive Pastor of Walnut Hill Community church in the US.  Before this Phil spent 22 years with Pitney Bowes Inc., during which time his responsibilities included general management assignments as well as the overseeing and directing of the company’s financial services business units in Europe, Canada, and the US.  During this time, he also served as a member of World Relief’s Microfinance Advisory Council.  Phil holds a BA in business administration from Azusa Pacific University and in 2004 was inducted into the University’s Academic Hall of Honor.

Mr. Colin McCormack manages Opportunity International’s rollout of microfinance banks across sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring that the core components of Opportunity’s banking model are effectively transferred across borders.  Prior to joining Opportunity Colin held a number of senior positions with Barclays Bank including the Managing Director of Barclays Bank of Egypt (which, under his leadership, was voted “Egyptian Bank of the Year” in 2003), the Executive Director of Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe, and Director of Corporate Credit for Barclays Bank Plc, UK.  He most recently served as the Managing Director of dfcu Group, a Uganda-based commercial bank and development bank with $60 million in market capitalization and $200 million in assets.

Mr. Roger Morgan is regional director for Hope International in Africa and Eastern Europe.  Prior to working for HOPE, Roger held various European and corporate general management roles with Becton Dickinson.  He led the Global Healthcare Exchange in Europe as well as owned and managed Signet, a healthcare e-procurement consultancy.  Roger completed his postgraduate studies in medical microbiology at Westminster Medical School.  He attended the International Executive Program of INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.  Roger also completed coursework at Southern New Hampshire University’s Microenterprise Development Institute and IMA International’s Institute for Development Studies.

Bishop John Rucyahana is one of Rwanda’s most recognized leaders for promoting economic, educational, healthcare, environmental, and spiritual development in the wake of the 1994 genocide. He has been a supporter and encourager of UOB from the beginning.  Bishop John was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1979 in Uganda where he went as a refugee in 1964 following Rwanda’s political upheavals in the late 50s and early 60s.  Upon his return he established several projects to promote unity and reconciliation amidst development.  The projects include Sonrise Primary and Secondary Schools.  These institutions are Rwanda’s leading private primary and secondary schools.  They provide scholarships to Genocide orphans and other vulnerable children.  He also founded the Shyira Hospital and two community health centers, Bigogwe and Nyange, in the northern region of Rwanda.  Currently he chairs the boards of Hope Rwanda, Prison Fellowship Rwanda, and the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (where he is the President).  He holds a Masters of Divinity from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Dan Brose

Mr. Walter Suckan