Rodrigo Garcia, CTP®, AIF® is the deputy state treasurer and chief investment officer for Illinois State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs. He directs the treasury’s combined $32 billion investment portfolio, $300 billion in related banking operations and financial services, and a ~$4 billion agency budget and financial services unit. In this leadership role, Rodrigo leverages financial innovation, investment stewardship, corporate governance, stakeholder capitalism and equity, diversity, and inclusion to maximize investment returns and bolster the Illinois macro and micro economies. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University and is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP®), an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®), and holds SASB’s FSA credential.
Rodrigo was previously the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs and a member of the Illinois Cabinet, and has also worked for Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Rodrigo holds an undergraduate degree with a major in finance from Northeastern Illinois University, two post-graduate degrees, one with a focus in finance from the University of Illinois and one with a focus in public policy from Northwestern University, and has also completed a senior executives program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Rodrigo chairs the investment selection committee at Angeles Investors, serves on the executive committee and chairs the investment committee for the endowment at Northeastern Illinois University Foundation, serves on the investment committee for the endowment at Youth Guidance/Becoming a Man, serves as the treasurer on the board of directors for the Thirty Percent Investor Coalition and is the chairman emeritus of Student Veterans of America. He also serves on the advisory councils for the Private Directors Association, the Milken Institute’s Global Capital Markets group and the Aspen Institute’s Latinos in Society program. Rodrigo is a Fellow of the 2019 class of Aspen Global Finance Leaders, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and is a TEDx speaker.
He is a dedicated public servant, an investment platform innovator, an angel investor and an economic systems architect battling the many challenges afflicting communities in need.