Term of Appointment: 05/05/2004 to present

Paul V. Applegarth was confirmed as the first Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on May 5, 2004. Throughout his distinguished career in the U.S. Government, the World Bank and the private sector, Mr. Applegarth has concentrated on development.

Prior to assuming his position, Mr. Applegarth was a Managing Director of Emerging Markets Partnership, an asset management firm that specialized in international private equity and debt investments in emerging markets.

He was also Chief Operating Officer of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund, an innovative public/private sector initiative sponsored by the British and European governments, which combined public sector monies with private sector funds and investment skills to develop infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa.

While at American Express/Lehman Brothers, he was responsible for several innovative equity and debt transactions. Mr. Applegarth served as the Chief Financial Officer of United Way of America as a key part of the management team that cleaned up the organization following a scandal. As a result of his efforts, The United Way of America returned to operating profitability and after the turn-around won Financial World magazine’s award as 1994 Charity of Choice.

His career in development reaches back to his service as an army officer in Vietnam, where he headed an advisory team working to establish schools and train medics in remote parts of the Mekong Delta. After returning from service and receiving his J.D. and M.B.A., he held various leadership positions at the World Bank for a nine-year period.

He is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, and earned an M.B.A. with High Distinction from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar. Mr. Applegarth was a White House Fellow in 1981-82.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation administers the Millennium Challenge Account, a groundbreaking initiative designed to reduce poverty by promoting sustainable growth in countries that rule justly, invest in their people, and promote economic freedom.