NetWorks to connect thought to practice in the financial services industry L iz Georgakopoulos, a well-known and well-respected executive in the finan- cial services industry, has been named executive director of NetWorks, an outreach of the Indiana State University School of Business. Georgakopoulos, who served in leadership roles with Conseco Insurance Group and the Citigroup enterprise before accepting the NetWorks position, said NetWorks is in a unique position to make a difference in the financial services industry. “There’s a need for someone to step in as a catalyst to bring all the thinking together, to look longer term at the implications of some of the new policies, some of the new processes and so forth that are being put in to address today’s issues,” she said. “And we know that there are going to continue to be significant issues as technology evolves, as globalization continues to evolve, as Gramm- Leach-Bliley begins to take hold in the mar- ketplace. There’s a need for someone who has not only objectivity, which we certainly do coming from an academic perspective, but also understands the urgency and has the ability to think about what some of the longer term, more appropriate solutions might be to continue to evolve and grow this industry into the future.” NetWorks was born out of a $20 million grant — the largest gift in Indiana State’s his- tory — from Lilly Endowment Inc. in October. The program’s goals include providing new directions in financial services for Indiana, the nation and the world. “Liz brings some very, very robust experi- ence precisely in the areas we know we want to develop programs around,” said Indiana State University President Lloyd W. Benjamin III. “She comes well prepared and will provide excellent leadership for NetWorks. She has worked for a number of very large corpora- tions and she has had a variety of different responsibilities. She was in a position of leadership and she had to chart new ter- ritory. She is very familiar with working locally, but thinking globally and that is what we were looking for in a NetWorks executive director.” NetWorks is designed to act as a “thought leader” for the financial services indus- try, explained Ronald F. Green, dean of the ISU School of Business. It has already sponsored a Financial Literacy Summit in which Indiana’s K-12 teachers met to discuss ways in which to better educate students at a young age about personal financial issues such as credit card debt, savings accounts, investments and creating personal budgets. Earlier this week, the first class of NetWorks Scholars arrived on the ISU cam- pus for orientation activities and to receive laptop computers, one of the perks of being part of the elite group of undergraduates on campus. NetWorks will be headquartered in Indianapolis. Prior to her position with NetWorks, Georgakopoulos served as president and chairperson of the Conseco Insurance Group and its seven member companies. Prior to that, she was an executive within the Citigroup enterprise. She served as senior vice president of business planning, as well as leader of the health business lines for Travelers Insurance Companies. She also held positions with Boston Consulting Group, a leading international strategy consulting firm, and First Interstate Bancorp. It was recently announced that Georgakopoulos is one of five former Conseco executives who have launched their own financial services consulting firm, Tactegy Consulting Group, of which she will serve as president. Georgakopoulos earned her Master’s of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School and an advanced bache- lor’s degree with honors from Occidental College. Georgakopoulos named NetWorks executive director Liz Georgakopoulos, NetWorks executive director, addresses a crowd during a reception at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis on Tuesday evening (above). Georgakopoulos (bot- tom left) visits with (from left) Gongaware Scholar Krystal Smith, freshman from Valparaiso, and members of the first class of NetWorks Scholars — Danielle Thompson of Terre Haute, Ashley Cameron of Rushville and Daniel Quintero of Seymour — following the presentation of laptop computers to the incoming freshmen scholars. Bruce McLaren, associate dean of the ISU School of Business, (bottom right) displays one of the laptop computers to be given to the scholars. Liz and Nicholas Georgakopoulos (top) visit with Tony George, president and chief executive officer of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis Tuesday evening. Lloyd W. Benjamin III (above), president of Indiana State University, welcomes guests to the NetWorks reception.