Robert Christen
Professor of Practice, Public Administration and International Affairs
Degree
M.S., Ohio State University, 1984
Biography
After a long and distinguished career in the field of the design and development of banking services for low income populations in emerging economies, RobertChristen has joined the faculty of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He will teach courses on “Building Inclusive Financial Systems” and “Challenges of International Leadership and Management” drawing on his experience working with governments, international organizations, and financial institutions in more than 50 countries over the past 25 years.
Professor Christen most recently served for five years as the Director of the Financial Services for the Poor program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, charged with developing strategy, staffing, and programming for this new body of work within the organization. He worked with government and national leaders furthering the Foundation’s strategy to ensure that the poor have access to savings accounts, and that Financial Inclusion was a priority on the G20 Agenda. Previously, he worked for several years as Senior Advisor to the “Consultative Group to Assist the Poor” a technical secretariat housed at the World Bank supported by a consortium of 29 donor agencies, international organizations, and foundations that support the field of microfinance. Professor Christen got his start working for ACCION International where he founded a number of non-profit microfinance institutions in Latin America and served as their first Director of Technical Assistance.
Professor Christen founded the “Microfinance Information Exchange”, The Microfinance Management Institute, and the Boulder Institute of Microfinance; has participated in the success of a number of the most important microfinance programs in Latin America and elsewhere in a senior advisory capacity; and written and spoken extensively on a wide range of topics related to the provision of financial services to the poor including the financial management of microfinance institutions, their commercialization, regulation and supervision, emerging models of agricultural finance, the use of microfinance to achieve environmental objectives, and global trends in financial services for the poor.
In 2005 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from The Ohio State University CFAES Alumni Society for his leadership in the field of development finance. Currently Professor Christen is President of the Boulder Institute of Microfinance, a member of the Board of the Microfinance Enhancement Facility, and an advisor to a number of international and private organizations.
Research Interests
Design and management of financial products for low income clients; Performance standards, regulation and supervision for microfinance; Non-profit and international organization leadership and management.