CDFI Fund Announces the Appointment of José Villar
to Serve as its Chief Operating Officer

March 30, 2009

Washington, DC - Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell today announced the appointment of José Villar to serve as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the CDFI Fund beginning Monday, March 30, 2009.

As the COO, Mr. Villar will serve as the Director’s principal executive on CDFI Fund operations and program processes. He will be primarily responsible for managing the day-to-day activities at the CDFI Fund and ensuring that operational infrastructure can support enhanced business practices. Mr. Villar will serve as the lead management executive in developing operating procedures, internal policies and controls, and implementing both short-term and long-range strategic plans.

"Jose brings a wealth of experience, specifically in the areas of internal operations and sound financial management best practices, to this new position at the CDFI Fund," said Director Gambrell. "I am very pleased he will be joining our team and I look forward to working closely with him on the many major initiatives underway that focus on benefiting our constituents with more efficiently and effectively run programs and operations."

Prior to the CDFI Fund, Mr. Villar held several positions within the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Most recently, Mr. Villar served as the Director of the Office of Financial Management where he was responsible for managing the budget, accounting and procurement functions, and travel services for all of Treasury’s 32 program offices. As Director, he led his team to provide exceptional service to their Treasury customers by implementing best practices related to financial management.

Mr. Villar also served as the Director of Business Operations for the HR Connect program office where he improved the program’s operations, reduced costs, instituted changes to fulfill Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements, and established policies and procedures for managing the business operations. HR Connect is the Treasury Department’s proprietary world-class human resource system.

In addition, Mr. Villar served at the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer organizations. At IRS, he led project teams of federal employees and contractors to provide expert knowledge of federal financial management and of various OMB Circulars.

Prior to working at the Treasury Department, Mr. Villar held several positions at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In recognition of his high achievements in the government throughout the years, Mr. Villar has received several management awards, such as the Vice-President’s Hammer Award and the Department of the Labor’s Exceptional Achievement Award. Mr. Villar holds Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and a Master’s degree in Commerce and Public Policy.

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