Today we’d like to introduce you to Edward Crawford. He shares the story of he and his team with us below:
Edward is a mission-focused entrepreneur, public servant, Mission and Margin Evangelist and Investor. He is the Co-Founder and President of Coltala Holdings – a purpose-driven holding company and a voice in the “Mission and Margin” movement. As a business owner, he is responsible for a diversified group of local companies with impact. As a 23 years old Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, he founded and grew “CoopCafeSur” – a coffee cooperative to more than 300 coffee farmers. As a US Naval Intelligence Officer, he served with Special Operations Command South in Latin America and later served as Tribal and Political Adviser for SEAL Teams Two & Four, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan earning the Bronze Star.
Prior to founding Coltala Holdings, He was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs where he advised company founders and CEOs. He co-led national capital and acquisitions activities for InvestRes growing to over 400 employees and $1billion under management. He currently serves as a trustee on the Business School Council at Tulane University, is a Lifetime Member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Member of YPO (Young Presidents Organization) Dallas.
Edward is a TEDx speaker on Servant Leadership and has been highlighted in World View Magazine, Dallas Business Journal, Dallas Morning News, D CEO Magazine, and The Washington Post. Edward was a top 50 under 50 Diversity MBA Magazine winner, A Peace Corps Success Story, U.S Peace Corps, a MACVPAC 40 under 40 Business Leader, and selected as Peace Corps top 40 under 40 on the 40th anniversary of Peace Corps Founding.
Education:
MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management – MIT Sloan Leadership Fellow
MA, GMBA | Tulane University, Latin America Studies / Finance – Morton Aldrich Fellow | FLAS Fellow | Cowen Scholar
BA, |Texas Christian University / English Literature – TCU Lacrosse
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have chosen paths that have not been easy. My career started in the Peace Corps living in a $12 a month shack in Dominican Republic near Haiti. I set out to help the local towns people in a town called Los Blancos but I ended up learning more from the local people than I could ever teach them. In Afghanistan I lost good friends and comrades and felt the remorse of returning home alive when others much better than me didn’t come home. In business, I have had ups and downs and decided to leave a successful career at Goldman Sachs to be an entrepreneur. Covid took our business to the brink and was a very scary time. Ultimately, with a great partner and strong team Coltala has made it out on top and proud of the “mission and margin” ethos we seek to live each day and the lives we are impacting.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Coltala Holdings is a diversified holding company. What really sets us apart is our ethos. We believe that “People Build Businesses” and that a balance of “Mission and Margin” is the right way to grow a business. “Without Purpose the People Parish” and without a mission it is hard to make the margin. We lead with people through an operating system called (Coltala Enterprise System) CES and have successfully grown our companies in service to their employees, customers, and communities. Many people track only financial returns. We also track human impact.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a dreamer and an adventurous type, catching alligators in the swamp, writing poetry, playing the violin reading books and dreaming of fighting for our country, serving in the Peace Corps or starting a business that had true impact on the world. I don’t always take life so seriously and have a habit of joking around even in very serious times. I am a lover of music and nature and my happy places are the coffee mountains in Dominican Republic and the swamps of Natchitoches Paris Louisiana. I am a Saints fan, a jazz fan and love listening to my little brother, a Juilliard trained cellist play the cello.
My grandfather was an Austin Jew who escaped the Holocaust and came to the U.S. to live the American Dream. I honer his legacy by serving this country that gave him a new hope, freedom and a better life.
Contact Info:
- Website: Edwardjcrawford.com
Image Credits
1. Marriage to wife Mary Elizabeth (During Peace Corps Service) 2. Growing up catching Alligators in Louisiana -Nickname was Crawdaddy Crawford- Lots of time in the swamp 3. Team in Afghanistan 4. Return from Afghanistan with Mary, Son (Edward), Daughter (Caroline) 5. Graduation MIT – with my wife Mary. 6. Inauguration of Coffee Cooperative business in Peace Corps (200+ farmers) 7. Working with Tribes in Afghanistan 8. Speaking at Tulane 9. Family, Mary, Caroline, Edward Annabelle. 10. Coltala Team, Sara. White, Blaine Kaehr, Edward Crawford, Ralph Manning, Nathan Wilson, Melanie Barton 12. Bronze Star Medal Ceremony with Mary (Navy) 13. Family back in Miami.
