Margo Markopoulos

Margo Markopoulos has served as the Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce, Office of Trade and Investment since 2015, and as Export Program Director since 2012.  Bringing over 20 years of international experience to her position, Margo leads the Department’s strategies to increase Illinois’ exports and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the State.   In her capacity as Office Director, Margo manages Illinois’ regional foreign offices, located in six countries and the Illinois State Trade and Export Promotion (ISTEP) program, which assists hundreds of companies annually to expand globally through exports.

Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Margo worked in the Governor’s Office of Consular Affairs, where she worked closely with the Chicago Diplomatic Corps and planned gubernatorial trade missions for several Illinois Governors, including the State of Illinois’ historic humanitarian mission to Cuba in 1999, which brought the first sitting U.S. Governor to the island in over four decades.