John Giegel – a Valuable Mentor and Board Member (by Jon Bishop)

I first met John Giegel in 2007 when he visited Envest’s table at a progressive fair in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Envest appealed to his sense of using market forces for social justice and economic empowerment. He asked all the right questions and offered excellent insights. The fit between John’s talents and Envest’s needs was obvious, and he joined the Envest board shortly thereafter.

John has served on the Envest Board continuously since then, including 13 years as Board President. John’s contributions to Envest have been invaluable in developing it into an organization that provides access to credit for over 15,000 people worldwide and has the ambition to continue expanding financial inclusion to low-income people.

Part of what has made John Giegel such a valuable member of our community was his impressive business background combined with strong social values. John founded the Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corporation (WBD) and directed it for 22 years until his retirement. WBD became the fifth largest business development finance corporation in the United States under John’s leadership. John has a passion for social justice and economic empowerment and believes that market forces can play a positive role in both when managed responsibly and ethically. He did graduate work in Latin America and has a passion for the region and the culture.

John Giegel at Envest’s 2015 annual meeting

When John joined the board back in 2007, Envest was in the process of putting together our first ever loan. The transaction had hit some conceptual and operational snags and was stalled as a result. John’s experience in finance was crucial to paving the way for the first transaction and a subsequent transaction supported by bank financing, both of which were key to initiating Envest’s operations. John served as a mentor to me in those early days, helping me think through problems and develop new strategies. He brought an entrepreneur’s understanding that mistakes and missteps are part of the process of creating something new and innovative.