Johara Farhadieh serves as the Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer dedicating over 13 years of her career to the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI). She oversees a $25.0 billion-dollar defined benefit fund and a $6.0 billion-dollar defined contribution plan on behalf of 156,000 beneficiaries. In this position, Mrs. Farhadieh is responsible for leading ISBI including all investment operations, managing and executing ISBI’s investment policies, and assisting the Trustees in the strategic direction of ISBI. In addition, Mrs. Farhadieh also leads the continued effort of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within ISBI. Under Mrs. Farhadieh’s leadership, ISBI developed into one of the nation’s leading pension funds with key accomplishments including the restructuring of the defined benefit fund, as well as a full re-enrollment of the defined contribution plan. Most recently, the American Investment Council ranked ISBI’s private equity portfolio performance #1 amongst public pension funds for the second year in a row ending June 30, 2020. Mrs. Farhadieh continues to be recognized as a thought leader on institutional investing as well as, a strong advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the financial industry. Johara Farhadieh was the recipient of the 2021 P&I Excellence & Innovation award. She was also recognized by Trusted Insight as a 2020 All-Star Chief Investment Officer and was named in Crain’s Chicago Business 2018, 40 Under 40 list.