MicroVest is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Apel as Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer of the company.
Jean Gilson, Senior Vice President of Global Strategy at DAI Global, and current member of MicroVest’s Board, has been named Executive Chair of the Board and will support the firm’s senior management team. Co-Founder Gil Crawford remains a member of the MicroVest Board and will continue to serve as Chair of the Investment Committee.
“I have had the privilege of knowing Michael for three decades,” said Mr. Crawford. “He is someone who operates with a values-driven mindset, humility, and a deep appreciation for the communities impacted by his investments. We are fortunate to have him lead MicroVest into its next phase of growth.”
Prior to joining MicroVest, Mr. Apel spent more than 25 years with the Inter-American Development Bank’s private sector arm (IDB Invest) channeling impact investments into microfinance and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financial institutions across Latin America and the Caribbean. In his new role, Mr. Apel will oversee the day-to-day operations of MicroVest and focus on expanding the firm’s impact investing platform across new themes and sectors, mobilizing additional private capital to address the world’s development challenges.
MicroVest joined DAI in 2021 and today forms part of the asset management division of DAI Capital, a global investment advisory platform and subsidiary of DAI. DAI Capital is led by Gavin Wilson, former CEO of IFC Asset Management Company (AMC), and currently operates across asset management, investment advisory, and project finance verticals with a mission to facilitate the mobilization and strategic deployment of private capital across frontier and emerging markets.
“Mobilizing private capital to address the world’s development challenges has been at the heart of my career,” said Mr. Apel. “I’m delighted to be working alongside Gavin, Jean, Gil, and the rest of the team at MicroVest and DAI as we seek to realize the enormous potential for productive and purposeful investments in emerging economies.”
As Executive Chair of the Board, Ms. Gilson brings to her new role 35 years of experience in global development, policy, and banking across both developed and emerging markets. At DAI, she oversees corporate strategy development, planning, and execution; global brand and communications; and the incubation of corporate growth initiatives.
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