A changing of the guard is underway at the trading venue giants just in time for what is likely to be a new regulatory and investment environment next year.
Nasdaq and the CME Group are changing their executive line-ups just in time for what is likely to be a new regulatory and investing environment next year under the new Trump administration.
Nasdaq has announced that its board of directors has selected Adena Friedman to be the next president and CEO, and a new member of the board, effective January 1, 2017.
At the same time, the CME Group’s CEO Phupinder Gill has announced his retirement while the CME board is
expanding the role of Terry Duffy to chairman and CEO while appointing Bryan Durkin as president.
Friedman’s ascension means that Nasdaq CEO Bob Greifeld will move up to chairman of the board of directors, “after nearly 14 years leading the company,” officials say.
In addition, Nasdaq Chairman Borje Ekholm will step down from his post on December 31, 2016, but will remain on the board. Ekholm is not retiring as he was named president and CEO of Ericsson on Oct. 26, 2016 and he will start on January 16, 2017, officials say.
“Naming Adena CEO represents the successful conclusion of a rigorous, multi-year succession planning process,” Ekholm says in a prepared statement. “Adena is uniquely qualified for this role. For nearly two decades she has steadily risen through the leadership ranks, beginning as a Nasdaq intern.” She will have “a sharp focus on technology, all of which will drive the future of Nasdaq.”
Greifeld guided Nasdaq’s growth “from its humble beginnings as a single equities exchange with 200 employees, to a global technology leader with 4,400 employees in 26 countries,” Ekholm adds. Greifeld’s efforts resulted in “incredible client and shareholder value — increasing the company’s market capitalization from $600 million in 2003 to $11 billion today.”
Friedman, who joined Nasdaq in 1993, has held a variety of leadership roles, including head of data products, head of strategy, and chief
financial officer (CFO), officials say.
In 2011, Friedman left Nasdaq to work as the CFO for the private equity giant The Carlyle Group and helped with its initial public offering in 2012, officials say. She also ran the firm’s finance and IT organizations for three years.
By June 2014, Friedman rejoined Nasdaq as president, overseeing listing services, information services (data and index solutions), and technology solutions (market technology and corporate solutions), which account for more than half of Nasdaq’s profit, officials say.
Late last year, Friedman took on the additional role of chief operating officer (COO) of Nasdaq, and was tasked with identifying new growth opportunities and “finding ways to optimize the company’s product and service offerings. In that role, she had P&L responsibility and oversaw day-to-day operational business decisions,” officials say.
In Chicago, the CME Group’s CEO Phupinder Gill has informed the board of directors that he is retiring from the organization and its board on Dec. 31, 2016, officials say.
At the board’s request, Terry Duffy, who has been serving as executive chairman and president of CME Group since 2012, will also take on the role of CEO, officials say. In addition, Bryan Durkin, who is serving as chief commercial officer, has been named president of CME Group.
Gill, who has held the CEO post since 2012, will be ending a 28-year run with the company, which is now a collection of derivatives trading venues. During his time, Gill has served in many roles at the CME Group.
“It has been my greatest honor to have been a part of the transformation of CME Group,” Gill says in a prepared statement. “It is the right time for me to retire, and I am confident that Terry, Bryan, and the management team, along with the entire staff of CME, will continue to further advance our strategy and lead the company into the future.”
Gill will be working with Duffy, Durkin and the CME management team on the transition, in the remaining months of this year.
Gill helped the CME with global expansion, “developing a strong growth strategy, creating a strategic sales team structure and establishing a customer-focused orientation across the organization,” Duffy says in a prepared statement.
Duffy has served as chairman of the board of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and CME Holdings since April 2002, and as executive chairman since October 2006, officials say. He has led the company through its acquisitions of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), and through the CME’s initial public offering.
Durkin, who has served as CCO since 2014, also served as chief operating officer (COO) from 2007 to 2014, officials say. In these posts, he has overseen the company’s global operations, technology, product and business development, international growth and sales functions.
Most industry watchers are predicting that the Trump administration, backed by a Republican-dominated Senate and House of Representatives will likely chart a new course for regulatory reform, marking a new chapter after the Obama administration and its efforts to stabilize markets after the Great Recession.
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