CDC, the UK’s development finance institution (DFI), has appointed Diana Noble as its new Chief Executive Officer. Following the announcement of a new business plan in May, she will lead the company as it places an increased emphasis on the poorest regions of sub Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Noble has had a successful career in international investment and was most recently Executive Vice President at the Clinton Foundation Health Access Initiative. In this role she was responsible for teams supporting the government scale-up of access to HIV/AIDS treatment in 43 countries including much of sub Saharan Africa.
Before working with the Clinton Initiative, Diana Noble was a Partner at Schroder Ventures (later Permira) for 12 years. She later became founding CEO of eVentures, an investment company that backed promising internet businesses, before going on to become the founding MD of Reed Elsevier’s venture capital fund.
Richard Gillingwater (pictured), CDC’s Chairman said: “We are delighted to welcome Diana Noble to CDC. She has an impressive blend of development know-how, investment acumen and effective leadership. These are the vital skills we need at the helm of the re-invigorated CDC.”
Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP, the Secretary of State for International Development, says: “Diana Noble’s considerable expertise and passion will help CDC to reach its full potential. This is one of the most important and exciting jobs in the fight against poverty. Under her leadership, CDC has the chance to nurture thousands of promising businesses in the poorest parts of the world, helping people to pull themselves out of poverty and boosting economic growth.”
Noble says: “I passionately believe in the power of long-term, intelligent investment to boost business, grow economies and change lives. I have worked in international development for five years and believe that there is a critical role that investment capital can play in addition to aid to promote the growth of the private sector in the poorest countries. I am therefore looking forward to working alongside DFID and the CDC team to deepen the reach of CDC’s capital to where it is most needed. CDC has achieved so much in its sixty-three year history and I relish the opportunity to lead the organisation in this next important stage of its own development.”
The new business plan is the result of a review of CDC and its activities by the Secretary of State for International Development, Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP to ensure that CDC achieves the greatest possible demonstrable development impact. Under the new plan CDC will evolve into a more flexible, transparent and distinctive DFI focused on the poorest parts of the world, in particular sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.