Our Board of Directors

Arc Finance's Board of Directors bring deep and varied experience with energy enterprises, microfinance, and investments in developing countries.

Nicola Armacost
Co-founder and Managing Director, Arc Finance
Co-Founder and Managing Director Nicola Armacost sits on Arc's board. Read Niki's bio on her staff page.

Nancy Barry (Chair)
Founder and President, Enterprise Solutions to Poverty
Nancy Barry launched Enterprise Solutions to Poverty (ESP) in 2006. ESP works with major corporations, emerging entrepreneurs, and leading business schools to build business models that engage low-income producers as suppliers, distributors, and consumers of products that build income and assets. Nancy is recognized as a global leader in building finance and enterprise systems that work for the majority. She was President of Women's World Banking from 1990 to 2006, expanding the WWB network to reach over 20 million low-income entrepreneurs and shaping microfinance worldwide. From 1975 to 1990, Nancy worked at the World Bank, pioneering small-enterprise programs and leading work on industry, trade, and finance. Nancy has a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She has received various awards, including recognition as one of Forbes magazine's 100 Most Powerful Women in the World in 2004 and 2005. She was also named in U.S. News and World Report's "America's 20 Best Leaders" in 2006.

Ron Kastner
Founder and CEO, Future Spectrum Ltd.
Ron Kastner is the founder and CEO of Future Spectrum Ltd., a UK company set up to develop and operate renewable energy sites throughout the UK. Future Spectrum currently has five wind farm sites in various stages of development in Central and Eastern Scotland, with a total of 75MW in planned generation. Prior to launching Future Spectrum, Ron was the founder and CEO of Capital Printing Systems, Inc., a New York-based financial printing company that supported the financial and legal community on financial transactions, printing and logistics. Ron built Capital Printing Systems into a $75 million per-year company and sold it in 2008. Ron is also actively involved in not-for-profit theater and has been a working producer of theater and film for over 20 years, with credits including productions of Gypsy, True West, and The Real Thing. Ron is a partner in three successful New York City restaurants, including Five Points, Cookshop and Hundred Acres. Ron has also been on the board of Karen Horney Clinic, a low cost mental health clinic in NYC for over 20 years.

Bhakti Mirchandani (Treasurer)
Bhakti Mirchandani is a Senior Vice President at One William Street Capital Management. Most recently, Bhakti served as Global Relationship Director at Barclays for multilaterals, non-profits, and government agencies focused on international development. Prior to joining Barclays, Bhakti served as Vice President of Unitus Capital, a firm that seeks to open global capital markets for the poor. Her work at Unitus included developing market entry strategies for Philippine microfinance and Indian affordable housing. Before joining Unitus, Bhakti worked in Corporate Strategy and Investment Management at Barclays Capital/Lehman Brothers, where she was also the firm's Microfinance Specialist. Her work included one of the first microfinance CLOs. Bhakti co-founded the Global Microentrepreneurship Awards (later incorporated into Citi, for which the U.N. presented her with an innovation award) and worked in Homebuilding Equity Research at Salomon Smith Barney. Bhakti holds a B.A. in Chemistry (cum laude) from Harvard College, an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she received the Dean's Award. Bhakti has co-chaired five microfinance investor and social enterprise conferences with an aggregate 1,700 participants and published numerous microfinance articles.

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Our Board of Directors