Experience & Approach

Investment experience. Institutional understanding.

My experience brings together development finance, fund investments and governance.

I have worked on debt and equity funds, financing structures and investment decisions, and served on fund boards and investment committees. These roles have given me an understanding of both the investment proposition and the institutional considerations that shape a decision.

Selected career experience

From fund investments to institutional decisions.

Development financePrivate-sector investments

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

A specialised agency of the United Nations.

Lead Investment Officer · Private Sector Operations · Rome

Leadership of a private-sector investment team at IFAD, with a focus on agricultural finance, agribusinesses, financial institutions and impact funds in emerging and frontier markets.

A remit combining investment assessment, commercial viability and development objectives, including the use of catalytic capital to address financing constraints.

Equity & fundsPolicy and strategy

KfW Development Bank

Head of Division · Global Equity & Funds Policy and Strategy

Leadership at the intersection of equity and fund investments, policy, strategy and fund structuring. This work connected institutional requirements with the practical considerations of investment teams.

International leadershipCountry management

Country management & international leadership

Principal Country Manager, Southeast Asia · Office Director, Addis Ababa

Country responsibilities for Myanmar and Vietnam, and leadership of KfW’s office for Ethiopia and the African Union. Earlier work included equity investments in Southeast Europe and the Caucasus, and venture capital and business angel financing.

These roles brought an international perspective on investment conditions, institutional partnerships and the realities of working across markets.

Selected previous mandates

First-hand responsibility in fund governance.

The following are previous board, investment committee and advisory board roles, rather than a list of current appointments.

Climate finance

Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF)

Chair of the Investment Committee

Financial inclusion

Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF)

Non-Executive Director
Chair of the Investment Committee

Agricultural finance

Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund (AATIF)

Investment Committee Member

Financial-sector equity

Balkan Financial Sector Equity Fund

Advisory Board Member

My approach

Understand the proposal. Then ask what it depends on.

I am interested in the decisions behind a structure: why this investment, which constraint is being addressed and what needs to be true for it to work.

I start with the documents and the economic logic, then consider the institutional setting and the interests of those involved. The aim is to identify the issues that could materially change a decision, rather than to add another layer of commentary.

That requires taking different perspectives seriously while remaining willing to disagree. I try to make concerns specific enough to discuss and the trade-offs clear enough to decide.

Klaus Pfeiffer in discussion at a professional event — Photograph © Jürgen Sendel

This is a personal website. References to IFAD, KfW and fund mandates describe professional experience and do not imply endorsement. This website does not represent IFAD or any former employer or fund.

If this experience is relevant to a question facing your fund, institution or committee, I would be pleased to discuss it.

Discuss a mandate