Faculty Spotlight – Bob Christen

Bob Christen
Professor of Practice, PAIA

Bob Christen joined the Maxwell faculty in 2011, after a very distinguished career in the field of the    design and development of banking services for low income populations in emerging economies.  He   teaches the core MA IR course, “Challenges of International Leadership and Management”, as well as “Social Policy: Financing the Poor” and “Development Finance”.  He is an exceptional resource for students interested in micro-finance, impact investment, and development.  He has a strong network of professional associates drawing on his experience working with governments, international organizations, and financial institutions in more than 50 countries over the past 25 years.

Professor Christen also founded the “Microfinance Information Exchange”, The Microfinance Management Institute, and the Boulder Institute of Microfinance. The  Boulder Institute of Microfinance moved to Syracuse with Bob when he joined the faculty, and has provided a number of students an avenue in which to further explore the work in this field.  Bob 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.