Pete Power (1969 - 2018) was the CEO of Angkor Mikroheranhvatho (Kampuchea) Co. (AMK), the largest

microfinance Microfinance consists of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses (SMEs) who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; saving ...

institution in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

in terms of borrower numbers. AMK currently provides credit to about 300,000 customers or 10% of the households in Cambodia. Power successfully led AMK and its 1,000 staff through the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

and subsequently embarked on a strategic transformation process to change AMK from a rural credit-only organization to a provider of a broad range of financial services, including

saving Saving is income not spent, or deferred Consumption (economics), consumption. In economics, a broader definition is any income not used for immediate consumption. Saving also involves reducing expenditures, such as recurring Cost, costs. Methods ...

credit Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt) ...

, money transfers, mobile banking, and various other innovative financial services.

Biography

Power grew up on a dairy farm in

Rathgormack Rathgormack or Rathgormac () is a village and parish in northern County Waterford, Ireland. Amenities The village has a pub, a shop, a newly made all-weather pitch, a recreational park, a national school and a Roman Catholic Church Rathgorma ...

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and attended Rockwell College high school. He was award the first Dermot Harris Memorial Scholarship to the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took ...

. Power earned a Bachelor of Science in International Relations and Philosophy from the University of Scranton, followed by an MA in European Integration from the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

. In 2002, Power co-founded a speciality consulting and software company, Claritee Group. Claritee focused on corporate performance management solutions. After building the company to over $3 million in revenue, Power left Claritee in 2005 and joined the NGO sector. Power worked as the Financial Systems Manager for

Concern Worldwide Concern Worldwide (often referred to as Concern) is Ireland's largest aid and humanitarian agency. Since its foundation in 1968 it has worked in 50 countries. According to its latest annual report, Concern helped 28.6 million of the world's poor ...

until 2009 when he became Chief Operating Officer at Prosperity Initiative, a private sector development NGO based in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. In 2010, Power joined AMK as CEO. Power was a longtime rugby player, having been associated with Blackthorn Rugby Club for over 20 years. Power was a regular conference speaker and media commentator on topics such as Microfinance, Business Technology, Globalization, and Project Management. Power was Chief Executive Officer of Gorta, where he led their merger with Self Help Africa in 2014. He died in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Pete Irish chief executives People from County Waterford University of Scranton alumni Microfinance people 1969 births 2018 deaths