Black and white portrait of a smiling woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing a sleeveless dress and a pearl necklace, outdoors with blurred trees in the background.

Lisette Cooper, PhD
Founder and CEO, Athena Capital

Lisette Cooper founded Athena Capital in 1993, and serves as CEO, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner. Athena has $6.7 billion in assets under management and serves family office clients with between $25 million to $500 million in assets. Athena is a pioneer in impact investing, with over $600 million in client assets invested, spanning all major asset classes and values-based strategies.

Prior to founding Athena, Dr. Cooper served as Manager of Consulting Services for MSCI Barra, and was a Senior Strategist at Merrill Lynch. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a Founding Member of the Chairman’s Council of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, an Alumni Council Member at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, a Member of the Board of Garrison Institute, and Expert in Residence at the Harvard Innovation Lab. She has a BA from Wesleyan, and a PhD from Harvard University.