Impact fund manager SDS Capital Group, has promoted Laura Baron to Chief Operations Officer. Previously serving as Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Baron has been essential to the company’s financial success, strategic growth, and operational excellence since joining SDS in 2009 as Vice President and Controller.
In her new role Ms. Baron will expand her leadership to oversee company-wide operations, ensuring the execution of SDS’s strategic initiatives and enhancing operational efficiency. Her experience in financial management, capital deployment, and operational infrastructure development positions her as a natural fit for this pivotal role.
“Laura has been a key driver of SDS’s financial and operational success,” said Deborah La Franchi, SDS Founder & CEO. “She has been instrumental in growing SDS into what it is today. As COO, she will help SDS continue to expand and impact our nation’s poorest communities.”
Throughout her tenure as CFO, Ms. Baron oversaw all aspects of the company’s financial management, including project analysis, accounting, regulatory compliance, and investor transparency. She also developed SDS’s proprietary operational infrastructure, which now effectively manages over $1.4 billion in assets through SDS-sponsored funds and SDS Advantage Services. Ms. Baron’s expertise in financial analysis and portfolio management, garnered from her previous roles at Ryland Homes, Wilshire Associates, and Trust Company of the West, has been a driving force behind SDS’s success.
Her dedication to community development extends beyond her work at SDS, where she actively participates in projects supporting public charter schools’ fiscal responsibility. Ms. Baron holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and a BA in Economics from UCLA.
SDS Capital Group is a platform of impact funds that focus on creating jobs and housing throughout the United States. Today, SDS has $1.4 billion in assets under management between five funds that have collectively created over 22,000 jobs and financed over 6,000 affordable and permanent supportive housing units.
