Frances Reid

President & COO

I joined Root Capital from the CDC Group in London where I served as the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director for Investment Risk and Analytics from 2014 to 2019. In that role I chaired the Investment Committee, managed the investment decision-making process, and conducted “deep dives” into risk identification and management. I also headed the Analytics and Development Impact Teams to design and apply analytics tools across the organization and assess the impact investment program.

Before that, I spent 40 years working in finance at nearly all levels of management in both the private and public sectors, including as a program director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, CIO at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Senior Adviser to the Undersecretary of the US Treasury for International Affairs, and Managing Director at Lehman Brothers and COO of Lehman/American Express Global Asset Management. I have also worked as an international lawyer, focusing on cross-border investment and debt restructuring for a large US bank, and as a professor of political economy at a major US university. During my career, I have worked in Russia and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

As COO, my role is to oversee the day-to-day management of the organization and ensure that all staff and systems are operating effectively in support of our mission. What’s great to me about Root Capital is that we strive not just to create sustainable livelihoods for rural communities, but also to move the dial of the whole industry—acting as a thought leader and a practice leader to push the agricultural development sector forward. I also really like the fact that local staff are at the forefront of our efforts. My objective is to help support all of the staff who are taking Root to the next level of success and impact.