Chris Crane co-founded Edify in September 2009 to impart Christian character and provide quality education to children living in poverty in Africa and Latin America and make loans to expand Christ-centered schools educating these children. Chris served as Edify’s first Chairman and CEO 2009-2017. He currently serves as Chair of the Edify Board Governance, Nominating, and Compensation Committee.
Chris served from 2002-2009 as President & CEO of Opportunity International Inc., the then world’s largest faith-based microfinance organization with 10,600 direct and indirect staff operating in 32 countries serving 1.5 million active clients. During Chris’ tenure, Opportunity’s revenues from private sources grew at a compound annual rate of 30%.
Chris acquired COMPS InfoSystems, Inc. in San Diego in 1992 and served as its President & CEO until he sold the company in February 2000. Under Chris’ leadership, COMPS grew from a small, print-based publishing firm with coverage of commercial real estate sales information in four Western states into an digital database publisher with 420 employees and coverage of the 50 top real estate markets nationwide. During his eight-year tenure, Chris oversaw the acquisition of 13 companies, two rounds of private equity and an initial public offering (IPO).
He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He studied economics, art appreciation and music appreciation for two years at the University of Vienna, Austria. In 1999, Chris was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in San Diego and in 2009 the Bob Buford Halftime Institute Achievement Award. Chris has been a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) since 1990.
