Dr. James Mwangi is managing director and chief executive of Equity Bank, a role he has held since 2004. Under his leadership, Equity Bank has transformed from a technically insolvent building society to the leading microfinance bank in Africa, converted into a fully regulated commercial bank, a publicly listed company and home to 42% of all bank accounts in Kenya. Prior to his current role, Dr. Mwangi served as the bank’s finance and strategy director for 12 years. His involvement in microfinance has been recognized through accolades and awards both globally and locally. He has served on the UN Advisory Group on Inclusive Financial Systems since April 2006. In 2007, he was appointed advisor to the United Nations Environmental Program on Commercialization of Microfinance in Africa. He served on the eight-member global roundtable team that discussed the role that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is playing in microfinance. In June 2007, Dr. Mwangi received the 2007 Global Vision Award in microfinance, alongside Nobel Peace Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus in recognition of microfinance as one of the “concepts of the future” that will change the world economy.