L Ray Moncrief

Ray Moncrief has held various positions at Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation since 1984, and is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He is also President and Chief Executive officer of Mountain Ventures, Inc., a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC), wholly owned by Kentucky Highlands. In addition, Ray is President and CEO of Southern Appalachian Management Company, LLC, the General Partner of the Southern Appalachian Fund, a New Markets Venture Capital Company, and Eclipse Management, LLC, the General Partner of Meritus Ventures, a Rural Business Investment Company. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA), was previously a member of the NASBIC Board of Governors, and is currently a member of the Boards of Directors of the Community Development Financial Institution Coalition, the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition, the National Consumer Cooperative Bank, and NCB Capital Impact. Ray is also a founding director and the founding Chairman of Appalachian Community Capital, Inc. In addition, he serves as a director on the boards of several portfolio companies. Over the years, Ray has provided thousands of hours of technical and managerial assistance to small businesses from startup through divestiture, including business turnarounds. He has also been an entrepreneur himself several times, gaining valuable experience that allows him to understand firsthand the challenges faced by small businesses. Ray's particular areas of expertise are cash management, fundraising, and contract negotiations. He is a nationally and internationally recognized speaker and writer on the use of equity as an economic development strategy, and has provided testimony to the U.S. Congress on various economic topics on multiple occasions. A founding member of CDVCA, Ray is regarded as one of the founders of a particular niche of venture capital known as community development venture capital. President George W. Bush appointed Ray to the Community Development Advisory Fund in 2008. He received Lifetime Achievement Awards from CDVCA in 2004, and from the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds in 2012. His educational background includes a bachelor's degree in accounting from Louisiana Tech University, graduate studies at Lamar University, and various professional education programs including Leadership Kentucky and Venture Capital Institute.