Who says bad news comes on Friday afternoons? Late last Friday, after months of speculation over who would take the helm of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), President Obama announced his intent to nominate Daniel W. Yohannes for chief executive officer of the MCC. This counts as good Friday afternoon news for supporters of the MCC and its innovative approach to development.

Yohannes comes to his new post with many of the expected credentials. Private sector experience? Check. Leadership qualities? Check. DC political insider? Hold up. Yohannes, a West Coast entrepreneur, banker and philanthropist emigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopia at the age of seventeen with $150 in his pocket. It’s not exactly the typical background for the head of a U.S. government agency, but I suspect it will go far in symbolizing and strengthening the goals and ideals of the MCC.

The White House released the following description of Yohannes:

Daniel W. Yohannes is President and CEO of M&R Investments, LLC, a privately-held investment firm specializing in real estate, financial institutions and the green energy sector. Previously, he served as Vice Chairman of U.S. Bank for the Commercial Banking Group, Consumer Banking Group and as Head of Integration for Community and Public Affairs. In this role, his responsibilities included leading the integration of U.S. Bank and Firstar, which resulted in the 6th largest bank in the country. From 1992 to 1999, Yohannes was President and CEO of U.S. Bank (formerly Colorado National Bank), where he grew the Colorado franchise from $2 billion to $9 billion in assets. From 1977 to 1992, he worked at Security Pacific Bank (now Bank of America), where he held a number of leadership roles. Yohannes is on the Board of the National Jewish Hospital and Research Center, the Denver Art Museum, the University of Colorado Medical School and Project C.U.R.E., which provides medical supplies to 110 countries. Yohannes holds a B.S. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and a M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.

In a Denver Post article from 2006, Yohannes was quoted as saying he was at the age “where you want to make a difference”. At the time, he was referring to his role as chairman of New Resource Bank, a San Francisco-based start up designed to work with businesses in clean energy. He said it was “not about a tiny little bank in San Francisco, but about thinking globally.” Well, it seems he’s turned his global sights even further and will soon be leading a U.S. development agency that has its sights on major global changes in poverty and economic opportunity. Readers of our blog will recall that just last week Senegal signed a $540 million five-year compact with the MCC, and is one of eleven sub-Saharan African countries who have compacts with the MCC, all of whom were deemed eligible for assistance because they performed well on rigorous criteria around good governance, economic policies and investments in areas like health and education.

My fingers are crossed that Yohannes’s confirmation process will go quickly so that he can start his new role as spokesman and leader of the MCC soon. And as our friends at the Center for Global Development say, Yohannes’ “private sector background and can-do leadership style should prove useful in…turning the promise of the (MCC) model into results.”

So, three cheers for the long-awaited announcement of an MCC CEO. And here’s hoping that someday soon we have similar good news that there is someone to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Al Kamen, who writes the Washington Post’s In the Loop column, has a few suggestions.

-Sarah Jane Staats