Adena T Friedman

Since becoming the first woman CEO to lead a global stock exchange in 2017, Friedman has been busy modernizing Nasdaq. Adena Friedman was Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy for The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. Friedman's responsibilities include identifying and developing strategic opportunities for the world's largest electronic stock market and overseeing its Data Products business unit. Friedman led NASDAQ through its September 2004 acquisition of Brut, LLC, which has enhanced NASDAQ's ability to trade NYSE-listed securities. More recently, Friedman led NASDAQ in its impending acquisition of the INET ECN, which will enhance NASDAQ's technology infrastructure, further improve NASDAQ's ability to trade NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX-listed stocks and tap new opportunities in other asset classes. Additionally, Friedman led the effort in 2004 to launch the NASDAQ Closing Cross, a very successful market innovation for NASDAQ. In September 2005, Friedman played a key role in efforts to purchase Carpenter Moore Insurance Services, which specializes in management liability. Friedman continuously identifies and evaluates new opportunities for NASDAQ to grow its presence in the financial community and better service traders, issuers and their shareholders. In her role as head of NASDAQ's Data Products area, Friedman is responsible for maintaining the integrity of all market data disseminated to the public, as well as creating new data products to serve the industry's information needs. Friedman serves as the senior administrator for NASDAQ in its capacity as the Exclusive Securities Information Processor for NASDAQ-listed securities. Friedman joined NASDAQ in 1993, where she has served in several roles, including marketing manager and product manager for NASDAQ's trading services and web applications. She subsequently served as Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President of NASDAQ Data Products prior to her current role. In 2019 Friedman joined the Board of the NY Federal Reserve and is the only Exchange CEO to ever have done this. Friedman earned an M.B.A., with honors, from Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, TN. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Williams College in Massachusetts.