Meet the Team

Carter Crockett, PhD. – Partner

Carter’s background includes nearly 20 years of business experience, six while a scholar of management and entrepreneurship. He has held strategic-level marketing responsibility for a number of innovative companies in the following industries: automotive, consumer media, coffee, and information technology. In 2000, Carter left product management at Microsoft to become Co-Founder/President of Dealer Trade Group, a wholesale (B2B) marketplace for vehicles, which he led through successful launch. Carter has published in leading academic journals on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in the areas of business ethics and social entrepreneurship, and is intent on the practical application of new concepts and practical impact in these fields. Carter is a member of the newly formed Ethics Committee, responsible for crafting and implementing a national code of business ethics under Rwanda’s Private Sector Federation (PSF). He is also an invited speaker and an occasional judge of regional business plan competitions. Carter received his B.A. in Business & Economics from Westmont College in 1992 and in 2005 earned a Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship while teaching and conducting research at Robert Gordon University, Scotland.

Dano Jukanovich – Partner

With more than 18 years of experience, Dano has held responsibility for business development and finance for start-ups and established companies including AT&T Wireless before accepting the role of CEO for family-owned business Lifestyle Homes & Construction. Along the way, Dano has accrued experience in the following industries: military intelligence, residential homebuilding and financing, satellite communication, information technology, and wireless communication. His background includes five years of service as an Army Airborne Ranger and Senior Intelligence Officer for the United States Army prior to application of his leadership to a variety of companies. With his unique capacity for crafting strategy, marshaling finance and streamlining operations, Dano excels at ensuring organizational efficiency. Dano received his B.S. degree in Economics from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1993. As part of his military service, Dano lived in Seoul, Korea and learned Mandarin Chinese while studying in Beijing, China. He also earned his MBA degree with a specialty in Finance at Wharton. That same year, Dano earned a Master of Arts in International Economics & Asian Studies at the Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

Greg Urquhart – Partner

Greg contributes 19 years of sales, strategy and management experience, working in international settings and across a number of vertical markets, including six years working in East and Southern Africa. He held a variety of senior roles over 14 years with Microsoft, most recently serving as General Manager of the national partner organization, leading Microsoft’s sales, marketing and engagement efforts across the largest consulting and software development companies in the United States. Over the course of his career he has worked with organizations in sectors including: government, manufacturing, agri-processing, professional services, health-care and financial services. Greg has led diverse multi-national teams responsible for business planning, marketing, and sales, and prides himself on delivering optimal value for customers and strong business results for partners. Based in Paris for three years as the Director for Mid-size Enterprises, he oversaw strategy, sales, and marketing for this customer segment spanning Europe, Middle East, and Africa, delivering a connected sales and marketing process tailored to each diverse region. Results-oriented by nature, Greg has a passion for management excellence and people development, believing sound business planning and operational excellence are the keys to success. Greg graduated with honors from Westmont College, receiving his B.A. in Psychology & Business Economics, and attended the International Business Institute in Europe. While living and working in Paris, Greg developed a fluency in French as well.

Hunter Thompson - Director

Hunter brings 10 years of business management experience to Karisimbi Partners, with the majority of his tenure being focused on helping to develop and deliver strategic plans and drive operational efficiencies. Hunter has spent the last three years as a Senior Manager at the 6^th largest American banking institution, Capital One Bank, as a key member of the team charged with setting the Bank’s operational strategy, leading an enterprise-wide program aimed at customer experience improvement through error reduction, and establishing a new team responsible for change management implementation targeting increased operational efficiency. Prior to his work at Capital One, Hunter spent five years as a consultant and project team leader for Dominion Digital, a boutique management consulting firm working with clients in the Banking, Insurance, Credit Card, Pharmaceutical, and Non-Profit sectors. His ability to quickly understand complex environments, clearly articulate problems and propose a grounded set of solutions has helped business leaders to consistently achieve their strategic goals within agreed timeframes.

In addition to his consulting and management experience, Hunter has also worked for the United States government’s Department of Education and in higher education as a Financial Aid Officer at Wake Forest University. Hunter graduated With Honors from Wake Forest University with a Bachelors of Arts in both Economics and Political Science.

Jon Porter – Lead Consultant & Senior Investment Manager

With experience working in the developing world including Haiti and East Africa, Jon brings his highly analytical mindset to bear on behalf of clients to understand the inner workings of their business processes, identify critical cost drivers, and leverage available financial levers to best derive value and efficiency from an organization’s operations. Building on his previous consulting experience with Mercer Consulting, a top-10 global consulting firm, Jon is uniquely suited for the practical and high value work Karisimbi Partners delivers to its clients. He is skilled in the development of financial models and prides himself on thorough research and in depth assessment of critical variables, risks and opportunities to ensure clients receive objective, actionable business recommendations and strategies suited to their unique environment. Jon graduated from the University of Southern California with a BS in International Business and Global Development.

Debora Randall – Practice Lead – Pro-Poor Economic Development

Debora has been working in community economic development for the past 21 years and is committed to seeing poor people given the opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty and move beyond the provision of disabling handouts and subsidies. With experience spanning the inner city environments of the U.S., First Nations communities in the West and East of Canada, and South Pacific and Maori communities in New Zealand, she has spent the past seven years working in communities in Africa and Eastern Europe, specifically focused on Swaziland, Mozambique, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Partnering with governments and International NGOs, Debora focuses on how to get the most vulnerable to participate in the local and global economy. This work encompasses microfinance, value chain development, agricultural and market opportunities, and smallholder farming in difficult circumstances. She received a post graduate diploma in Community Economic Development from SFU in Canada in 2000, and earned a Masters in Management focused on Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation from Massey University in NZ in 2003. She is currently completing her Masters of Science in Agricultural Economics from SOAS in London, and is fluent in English, French and Portuguese.

Theophile Hakizimana - Value Chain Advisor / Operations Manager of Asili Natural Oils

Theophile is a proven leader with substantial experience accumulated through consulting, managing and providing leadership to Small and Medium Enterprises in Rwanda. He is a visionary who finds special pleasure in nurturing start-ups into successful companies. Former CEO of a successful agri-processing enterprise with exports to the European and U.S. markets, he leverages his expertise in regional supply chains and the Rwandan business environment to bring value to clients. He has been recruited on multiple occasions to turn around various businesses by providing strong management, financial and strategic support. As the Operations Manager of a new Karisimbi Partners investee company, Asili Natural Oils, Theo managed the organization of the entire supply chain from crop producers through to processing of product for the international market. Detailed tasks include managing operations across production processes, value chain management, business relations, supply chain coordination and human resource management. Theo holds a Bachelor’s degree in management and an MBA from Kampala International University.

Evary N. Murasa - Business Analyst

As a Rwandan that is passionate about transforming problems into business opportunities,
Evary focuses primarily on helping clients conduct market research and demand-driven analysis.  Prior to joining Karisimbi Partners, he co-founded Max Impact Consulting and managed a team with a reputation for providing critical market information for NGO’s and companies seeking to establish sustainable businesses in Rwanda.  He is multi-lingual, task oriented, proactive and motivated to see social and economic change. Despite his full workload as a Business Analyst supporting a number of client projects, Evary is nearing the completion of a Finance degree (with honors) at the School of Finance & Banking (SFB) and simultaneously earning a Kenyan CPA certification.  He served as Vice President of Student Parliament at SFB and currently serves as President of Generation Rwanda’s Student Government Association.

Jean-Claude Afrika – Administrative Assistant and Driver

Jean-Claude has worked for Karisimbi Business Partners for over three years in various administrative roles. He supports much of the day-to-day operations of the company from managing banking transactions to submitting tax and regulatory filings. His entrepreneurial spirit and broad range of talents have been invaluable to the Karisimbi Partners team. Beyond his day job, Jean Claude is also a University student, single parent and well-known local hip hop music artist.

Robert Bayigamba – Chairman EWSA & Vice Chairman East African Business Council (EABC)

Gary Edmonds – President, Breakthrough Partners

Peter Greer – President & CEO, Hope International

Eric Kacou – Co-Founder, Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners, LLC & Author of Entrepreneurial Solutions for Prosperity in BoP Markets

Rebecca Ruzibuka – Owner / Managing Director, Africa Development Consultants (ADC) Sarl

Andreas Widmer – Co-Founder S.E.VEN Fund