CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, has appointed Professor Christopher Woodruff to its Board as a non-executive director.
Professor Woodruff, who will also chair CDC’s Development Impact Committee, replaces the outgoing non-executive director Sam Fankhauser.
Professor Woodruff is Professor of Development Economics and a Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford. He is the Scientific Coordinator for the DFID – CEPR joint research venture on Private Enterprise Development in Low Income Countries (PEDL) and directs the Firm Capabilities group at the International Growth Centre.
In addition to his position at Oxford, Professor Woodruff is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), a Senior Fellow of the Bureau of Research on Economic Analysis and Development (BREAD and a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
Sir Graham Wrigley, Chairman of CDC, said: “I am delighted to welcome Professor Woodruff to CDC. He has an unparalleled wealth of expertise in the field of development economics and will be a hugely valuable addition to the Board.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to offer my thanks to Sam Fankhauser for his dedication to CDC. He has been a fantastic non-exec director to the company over the last six years and his contributions have been invaluable.”
Professor Woodruff said: “CDC’s work has never been more important. I am excited to be joining the company as it continues to play such as vital role in supporting developing nations that are facing unprecedented economic, environmental and social challenges.”
Professor Woodruff’s is a world leading expert on the subject of enterprises in low-income countries, with noted work on returns to capital investments in microenterprises and the effect of formal registration on enterprise performance.
In addition to chairing the Development Impact Committee at CDC, Professor Woodruff will also sit on the Risk and Nominations committees.
