Leadership

Eric Meissner is the Founder and Principal of ISLANTRAN, where he works with donor-advised fund sponsors, foundations, families, fund managers and other organizations to design and implement practical ways to deploy philanthropic capital through impact investing.

Before launching ISLANTRAN, Eric spent nearly a decade at ImpactAssets, where he built and scaled its Client Recommended Investment program, creating the infrastructure that enables donor-advised fund holders to recommend private impact investments. He ultimately led Investment Services, overseeing more than 1,000 active private investments and approximately 300 new transactions annually across private funds, direct investments, loans and other customized structures.

Earlier in his career, Eric managed a global portfolio of impact investments at the Grassroots Business Fund, investing debt and growth capital in businesses serving lower-income communities in emerging markets. He began his career in international humanitarian response and stabilization, working with the U.S. government and international organizations in conflict-affected environments including the Balkans, Africa, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Eric holds an MBA from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and a BA from Syracuse University. He holds the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) designation and the Donor-Advised Fund Certified Professional™ (DAFCP™) designation.