ACCION International was founded in 1961 to address the desperate poverty in Latin America's cities. Begun as a student-run volunteer effort in the shantytowns of Caracas, Venezuela, ACCION today is one of the premier microfinance organizations in the world, with a network of lending partners that spans Latin America, Africa, Asia and the United States. Over the last four decades, ACCION has built a tradition of developing innovative solutions to poverty.

About CEO
ACCION is taking the fight against poverty to the next level and is excited to announce that Michael Schlein will lead ACCION in this crucial effort as the new President and CEO. Schlein, President of International Franchise Management at Citigroup, brings 25 years of extensive international banking, management and public service experience to ACCION, whose mission is to help alleviate global poverty by providing microloans, financial services and business training to the world’s entrepreneurial poor. ACCION currently works with partner microfinance institutions in 23 countries, and last year helped reach over 3.7 million poor clients with small working-capital loans, savings accounts and other financial products.

As President of Citigroup‟s International Franchise Management unit, Mr. Schlein helped manage the bank‟s network of 100 Chief Country Officers, who were responsible for performance, regulatory relations, governance and reputational risk in their respective countries. In previous roles, Mr. Schlein oversaw Citi's Human Resources and Global Corporate Affairs. A member of Citigroup's Operating Committee, he also served as Executive Director of Citi‟s Business Practices Committee, and as a Director of Citibank, N.A., Poland‟s Bank Handlowy and Citibank Korea, Inc.