James Gutierrez is founder of Progreso Financiero, a micro-lender to the U.S. Hispanic community. Founded in 2005, Progreso has made over 275,000 loans through 85 locations in California and Texas with the goal of helping more than 1 million families enter the financial mainstream. A member of the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council, he helped draft a 2010 law designed to increase the availability of affordable small loans in California. A frequent speaker at industry and government regulatory conferences, he serves on the boards of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Association for Enterprise Opportunity, among others. A venture partner of Great Oaks Ventures and partner of Insikt Ventures, he Gutierrez has invested in more than 20 companies. In 2009, he was invited to the White House as a leading young entrepreneur, and in 2010 BusinessWeek named him one of America's most promising social entrepreneurs. Gutierrez holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.A. in economics from Yale University.
Global Conference 2013
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, philanthropist Bill Gates and Strive Masiyiwa of Econet Wireless discuss advancing prosperity in Africa.