Brad Cole
Chairperson
Brad Cole serves as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees. Brad was appointed to the Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund Board in January 2020.
Brad serves as executive director of the Illinois Municipal League (IML), which is the statewide association of all 1,295 cities, villages and towns in Illinois. Since 1913, IML’s mission has been to articulate, defend, maintain and promote the interests and concerns of Illinois communities. He began in this position in December 2014.
Brad previously served as Senior Vice President of Pepsi MidAmerica, a privately-owned soft drink bottling and distribution business servicing a five-state (AR, KY, MO, IL, TN) franchise territory. Prior to entering the private sector, he worked as Downstate Director for U.S. Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois. He was elected Mayor of the City of Carbondale, Illinois, for two four-year terms, which followed one four-year term on the city council. Before entering local government service, Brad was Deputy Chief of Staff to Illinois Governor George H. Ryan.
In addition to his position on the FPIF Board of Trustees, he also serves on the Police Officers' Pension Investment Fund Board of Trustees.
Brad is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, earning a bachelor’s degree with a double major in political science and biological sciences, and a master’s degree in legal studies from the SIU School of Law.