Meet the team

Chuck Slaughter: Founder and President

Chuck is a serial entrepreneur in both the business and social sectors. After earning a BA in Architecture and a Master’s in Public and Private Management from Yale, he founded TravelSmith and built it into the top brand in travel wear with over two million customers and $100 million in sales. In affiliation with private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, he participated in the acquisition and turnaround of several major apparel brands with combined sales over $2 billion, including Spiegel, Newport News, Norm Thompson and Express. Chuck also used his turnaround skills to help the HealthStore/CFW Shops, a struggling system of franchised drug shops serving the poor in Kenya. He founded Living Goods in 2007 to harness the power of micro-entrepreneurs to deliver life-changing products to the doorsteps of the poor. He serves on the boards of Three Day Blinds, The Initiative for Global Development, and The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and is a former board member of Spiegel Brands. He is a recipient of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and a Draper Richards Fellowship. He lives in California with his wife Molly and three rowdy boys – Cooper, Riley and Jackson.

Joe Speicher: Vice President, Operations

Joe began his career in the banking and finance sectors, first with Deutsche Bank in New York and then Cambridge Associates in Washington, DC. He then spent three years in the Peace Corps in the Philippines managing a range of micro-enterprise projects, including the implementation of a World Bank-funded project to create environmentally sustainable, village-based businesses. Joe earned his Masters in development economics from Columbia University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business and Management from Washington and Lee University. He has consulted for a number of international projects including the Economist Intelligence Unit’s “Microscope on Microfinance” report, TechnoServe, Tanzania’s coffee sector project, and Google.org’s East Africa business plan competition.

Molly Christiansen:  Director of Research & Partner Development

Molly brings over ten years of experience in public health, international development, and social enterprise to her work at Living Goods. She developed social impact assessments for Vision Spring and Hindustan Lever Limited’s Project Shakti while living in India, and conducted diligence on Acumen Fund’s health and water investments. Before graduate school, she directed community development programs for ProWorld in Peru and managed a rural sanitation program in Mexico. Molly earned an MBA and MPH from the University of Michigan, where she focused on market-based solutions for poverty alleviation and global health.  She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown University with a BA in Community Health.

Chris Murphy:  Director of Marketing & Development

Chris leads consumer marketing, corporate communications, and business development at Living Goods.  He is an accomplished marketing strategist with over ten years experience designing powerful brand strategies for Fortune 50 companies, national non-profits, and global causes. Chris’ brand insights provided the strategic backbone for some of the most powerful marketing campaigns of the past decade winning awards for both creativity (two Emmys) and effectiveness (five EFFIEs). After directing research and strategy on a project for The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chris caught the global health bug. Upon that project’s completion, he left his cushy advertising career to move to Kenya to develop a strategic communications capacity for Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest HIV/AIDS control program. Chris earned his BS in Marketing from the University of Minnesota and attended graduate school at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Arijit Basu:  Uganda Country Manager

Arijit leads and supports our entire ground operation in Uganda. He is a seasoned sales and marketing expert with over 25 years experience building global consumer brands throughout South Asia.  He launched Heinz ketchup in India, drove aggressive growth for Nestle’s “Well Baby Clinics,” managed supply chain logistics for GlaxoSmith Kline, oversaw nationwide sales for Henkel India, and launched Duracell Batteries in Eastern India and Nepal. Arijit’s last position before joining Living Goods was as Uganda General Manager of Fresh Dairy – the leading dairy brand in Uganda. He was charged with growing the Fresh Dairy business throughout Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Arijit is an alumnus of Lamartiniere School and St. Xaviers College, Calcutta University and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Sales & Marketing from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’s Rajendra Prasad Institute of Communication & Management.

Shaun Church:  Kenya Country Director

Shaun’s first career was in finance. He worked for Goldman Sachs in London and later managed his own hedge fund in San Francisco. Like many at Living Goods, he then made the leap from the private to the non-profit sector, and has focused on serving women and children in the developing world. He spent three years in India teaching street children and creating vocational training projects. Shaun then joined mothers2mothers in South Africa. At m2m, Shaun led the launch and scaling-up across Southern and East Africa of a peer counseling program preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Following this, he returned to the US where he worked for the Fistula Foundation, a leading funder of treatment for African women suffering from this devastating childbirth injury. Shaun earned a B.A. in Economics from Cambridge University.

Stella Ikila:  Uganda Business Manager

Stella oversees Living Goods company owned branches in Uganda. She has over 10 years experience in the private sector in Uganda. Stella worked in sales and marketing at DHL where she drove a 100% increase in sales to the NGO sector. She also worked at DFCU Bank in product development and supported opening of new branches. Prior to her corporate experience, Stella was an entrepreneur herself.  She co-owned and operated a supermarket  that sold many of the same consumer staples as Living Goods. Stella holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration (marketing major) and has just finished her Masters Degree in NGO Management. 

Ronald Musana:  Uganda Senior Business Officer

Ronald comes to Living Goods from MTN Uganda where he was a field team leader for a Grameen Foundation funded project of Community Knowledge Workers (CKWs) in eastern Uganda.  Ronald managed 65 CKWs who used mobile phones to empower communities to get health, business and agricultural information. Ronald began his career with local government as an intern with Lira district fisheries department educating fishermen on modern fishing methods and helping to form fish landing management units. Upon finishing university, Ronald served as Project Officer for KOKA on a UNICEF/Belgium Survival Fund funded project. Ronald earned a Post Graduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management, a Bachelors of Arts in Organizational Studies, and a Diploma in Education.  He is currently pursing a Masters in Management Studies.

Mike Pezone:  Partnership Development Manager

Mike specializes in designing and implementing market-based approaches to fight poverty and disease in the developing world.  Working and consulting for multi-laterals, NGOs and social enterprises in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia gives Mike an extensive understanding of market systems in under-developed and emerging economies.  He first worked overseas with microfinance institutions in the Philippines as a Business Advisor with the US Peace Corps. At the World Bank Private Sector Development Unit, Mike developed project design tools to promote inclusive business approaches.  In his most recent role, he led the formulation and implementation of the technology and innovation strategy for a USAID funded water and sanitation project. Mike earned a degree in economics from the University of California – San Diego and an MBA from Cornell with a focus on sustainable global enterprise.

Tamsin Chislett: Partner Development Manager

Tamsin brings top-tier consulting experience in strategy and operations to her Advisory Services role at Living Goods.  She began her career at the global management consulting firm Bain and Company, working on strategy and talent processes for a global consumer goods company.  She then joined Technoserve, supporting the start-up of the office in Zimbabwe and building the strategy for a coffee mill.  Most recently, Tamsin was an Acumen Fund Global Fellow working at GADC, a cotton ginnery in Northern Uganda.  At GADC she led the company to become the first Fairtrade cotton ginnery in East Africa, increased operational efficiency, obtained funding, and supported the company’s field work with smallholder farmers. Tamsin has a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University in the UK.

Sarah Bartlett: Communications Associate

Sarah  is a communications specialist focused on innovative businesses and the use of technology to develop African markets. Before joining Living Goods she spent five years as Communications Director of the mobile technology company Esoko in Accra, Ghana.  At Esoko, Sarah led field marketing initiatives to grow Esoko’s user base into 16 countries, led PR efforts, and oversaw research, grants and product testing. Before Esoko, Sarah served in the Peace Corps in Guinea as a small business development specialist, worked at Honeybee Robotics in New York, and contributed to small enterprise programs for artisans in Peru. She studied Social Anthropology at Berry College, speaks French, and has written for National Geographic, ICTUpdate, Jouvet and others.

Joe Muturi: East Africa Accounting Manager 

A graduate of The University of Nairobi’s School of Business, Joe started his career at Deloitte & Touche East Africa. At Deloitte he was involved in audit assignments cutting across various industries. After working as an auditor for three years he moved to Wananchi Group (Kenya) Limited as Head of Treasury and later served as a Senior Business Analyst in the same organization.  Wananchi Group is a triple play company offering cable TV and Internet services in East Africa and is the only cable company in sub-Saharan Africa. As Senior Business Analyst, Joe developed the budget model for Wananchi Group as well as reporting and business analysis dashboards. He brings with him a great deal of experience in auditing, business planning, budgeting, financial modeling and reporting, accounting and analysis.

Henry Byarugaba: Uganda Marketing Manager

Henry leads all of Living Goods’ marketing initiatives in Uganda, from SMS campaigns to brand building and product promotions.  He brings with him more than seven years experience in market research, media, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). After working with local radio stations, he went on to work at mobile operator Celtel Uganda as a Network faults coordinator. Following that he worked with Zain on Geo-marketing and research, and led the Celtel/Zain commercial network expansion. He later moved to Associated Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) – Uganda as a Business Relations Manager. Henry holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism & Mass Communication, a B.A. from Makerere University, Kampala and is currently pursuing a Postgraduate Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications.

Eric Otieno: Kenya Procurement Manager

Eric has extensive experience in logistics, purchasing and supply chain management. For over ten years, he’s worked in Humanitarian Organization Management and was the Supply Manager for ADRA International (Somalia, Sudan and Kenya), Logistics Coordinator for Medecins sans Frontiere and most recently the Program Logistics Manager for East African Countries at Handicap International. He continues to build a strong contact network through international and local memberships in the chartered institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) and the Kenya Institute of Suppliers Management  (KISM). Eric has degree from Eastern African Baraton University Logistics management and Computer Science and is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Supply Management. 

Mike Kedi: Uganda Procurement Manager

Mike brings ten years experience in procurement, logistics, inventory management and distribution to Living Goods. Before joining Living Goods, Mike worked with DHL, Norbrook Pharmaceuticals Worldwide, and Joint Medical Store – the largest private medical store in Uganda. As Head of Dispatch and Distribution for Joint Medical Store, Mike managed logistics for procuring, storing and selling over 2000 products, including pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical sundries, equipment and instruments, and laboratory supplies. Mike holds a diploma in Stores Management from Makerere University Business School, a bachelor’s degree in Procurement and Logistics Management. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Michael Rusoke: Uganda Health Training Officer

Michael joined Living Goods in February 2009 from the UK founded organization Mildmay International – an NGO that deals with the care, training and education of HIV infected and affected people. At Mildmay, Michael was a Health Training Officer focused on training staff and caregivers on how to effectively communicate with HIV infected and affected people with special attention given to disclosing HIV status to children and adolescents. Before Mildmay, Michael was a Child Development Officer with Compassion International, an organization helping orphans and vulnerable children in partnership with the Gaba Community Church.

Kennedy Alwala: Kenya Training and Monitoring Officer

Ken has a wealth of experience in entrepreneurship training and business development support. He’s worked for the last six years with youth and women in Kenya with both TechnoServe and Mercy Corps. Apart from training he has a keen interest in monitoring, evaluation and research and works with an ‘impact mindset’ – striving to ensure that decisions are data driven, progress is constantly measured and results can be proven.  He holds a B.ED Arts degree in Economics and Business studies from the University of Nairobi and a Diploma in Project Management from the Kenya Institute of Management. 

Betty Kyazike: Uganda Business Field Officer

As the Business Field Officer, Betty manages three major branches in Uganda. Betty is a midwife by profession and before Living Goods volunteered at Uganda’s government hospitals and owned a small drug shop of her own. She joined Living Goods as a Community Health Promoter in 2009. After exceling in sales and health at an individual level, she was promoted to take charge of the Tula branch as its Branch Manager, managing and training over 50 Community Health Promoters. To everyone’s delight the branch excelled month to month, so she was promoted once again to manage not just one branch but three. Best moment so far with Living Goods: this mother of three had the privilege to represent the organization at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York in 2011. 

Sharon Musiimenta: Mobile Platform Specialist

Sharon manages the mobile platform and mobile field deployment and training in Uganda. She is the office techie, bringing with her LAN, router and server expertise as well as a specialization in SQL databases. Though she started her career as the IT officer for the Uganda Law Society, she also has experience working in the humanitarian realm, as a field researcher for Humanitarian Care Uganda working with HIV/AIDS patients and on social media and website content for the UN as a local volunteer. Sharon has a Bachelor of Information Technology from Mbarara University of Science & Technology and speaks Runyakitara, Luganda, Rutoro, English, Kiswahili and German.

Cailey Gibson: Research and Administrative Associate

A graduate of Carleton College in Minnesota, Cailey received her bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Environmental Studies, and was awarded a national Morris K. Udall scholarship for environmental leadership. After graduation, Cailey worked for the William J. Clinton Foundation’s Climate Change Initiative on their building retrofit program. Eager to understand the challenges of global sustainable development firsthand, Cailey spent a year living and working in Mali as a Microfinance Technical Support Officer with Project Muso, a community development organization integrating microfinance, health, and education programs, before moving to San Francisco and joining the Living Goods team.

Ellen VorderBruegge: Training Consultant

Ellen served Freedom from Hunger for 20 years, most notably as Vice President for Programs and Innovations and a co-creator of Credit with Education, a strategy focused on women in very poor rural communities that integrates microfinance services with dialogue-based health and business education.  She was their principle visionary in the design of two dissemination models: Reach, a network of training franchises serving thousands of self-help savings groups in India and HealthKeepers, a social microfranchise of women offering health education and health-protection products in rural West African villages.  She spent over 5 years doing community-based health and education work in remote areas of Papua New Guinea.  Ellen has master degrees in medical technology, education and public health.