Louis M. Pope (born 1947) is an American businessman and has worked as a micro-credit and business organizer in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Biography

Pope was raised in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering (1974) and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

(1975) from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

. In 1978 Pope formed US Synthetic, a company that manufactures diamond drill bits. Pope has a patent relating to this company's main product. The company was close to bankruptcy in 1985, but went on to become one of the fastest-growing companies in the US in the mid-90s. He was CEO from 1992, and it was bought by

Dover Corporation Dover Corporation is an American conglomerate manufacturer of industrial products. The Downers Grove, Illinois-based company was founded in 1955. As of 2021, Dover's business was divided into five segments: Engineered Products, Clean Energy a ...

in 2004. In January 2010, Pope retired from this position and moved close to Mombasa, Kenya to supervise his businesses there. In Kenya, Pope founded Yehu Microfinance in 1999, which focuses on giving small loans to women. He also operates Coast Coconut Farms, a coconut oil business initiative largely involving local Kenyan women. He has also served on the board of Deseret International and Choice Humanitarian. Pope has also been a donor to BYU and

Utah Valley University Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah, United States. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July ...

. He was named 2009 Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum's Ron King Social Entrepreneur of the Year. Pope is a

Latter-day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

. He and his wife Christine have five children. His father, Bill J Pope, was a chemist at BYU, founder of Megadiamond and president of US Synthetic. His mother Margaret taught religion at BYU for 25 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Louis American Latter Day Saints Brigham Young University alumni Living people Microfinance people People from Provo, Utah American emigrants to Kenya 1947 births