IMET Staff

Sofia Anastopoulos

Executive Director

Sofia Anastopoulos, CFA is the Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer for IMET. She is responsible for all aspects of IMET operations and investment activity. Sofia has spent the past 15 plus years working with public sector entities in best practices in investment management. She started her public sector career with the Government Finance Officers Association, where she was responsible for the GFOA's treasury and investment management initiatives, including staffing its TIM committee, the committee that identifies and promotes best practices in treasury and investment management. She also served as editor of the GFOA TIM Newsletter which focuses on issues relevant to public sector investors, and as instructor for the GFOA and regional associations. While at GFOA, Sofia wrote Elected Officials' Guide Investing, 2nd edition, Introduction to Broker-Dealers for State and Local Governments, 2nd edition, and Introduction to Investment Advisers for State and Local Governments and numerous articles. After GFOA, she worked for an investment management firm with a primary focus on public entities, before founding Public Funds Consulting, where she advised public sector entities in investment management best practices.

She wants to ensure best practices continue to be implemented and enhanced at IMET and that the IMET legacy of competitive risk-adjusted returns and great service to participants continues strong. Sofia is a graduate of Northwestern University and received an MBA from DePaul University in Chicago. She holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), the standard in portfolio management, and is a member of the CFA Institute, the Chicago CFA Society, Women in Public Finance, the GFOA, the IGFOA, the Illinois Municipal Treasurers Association, the Illinois City and County Managers Association, and the Illinois County Treasurers Association. She enjoys being active at the local level for these various groups.

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Ethan Lord

Associate Director

Ethan Lord joins IMET from Madison County where he worked in Business Services in the Employment and Training Department. Ethan used his team-building and collaboration skills, working with the private sector and development agencies and departments, to develop a stronger workforce for a nine county area in the southwest part of the state.

Ethan was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree from Eureka College (where he also played football and was a two-year team captain for the Red Devils).  Ethan and his wife, Sierra, live in Edwardsville where they make a home for their blended family that includes Ethan’s daughter, Eva, and his stepson, Kyren. In his free time (what little that there is), Ethan combines his artistic talents and love of athletics, into a hobby of creating custom sneakers, and he consults on developing training programs for sports teams.

As our Associate Director, Ethan will work alongside Executive Director, Sofia Anastopoulos, to help Illinois public entities invest their funds prudently and efficiently. Sofia shared "I am very excited about working with Ethan. He has a great attitude and his enthusiasm for helping the public sector is contagious! As the pandemic recedes, we will hit the ground running, attending conferences and gatherings, and meeting with finance and treasury professionals to inform them of IMET.”