The Board of Directors of Nasdaq, Inc. has unanimously elected Adena T. Friedman to the role of Chair of the Board, effective January 1, 2023, in addition to her current position as Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Having served as President and CEO of Nasdaq and a member of the Board of Directors since January 2017, Adena T. Friedman will continue to drive forward the execution of Nasdaq’s long-term strategy and vision.

She will also lead the work to set the board agenda, leveraging her deep understanding of Nasdaq’s business and operations to identify key opportunities as well as risk mitigation strategies for the Board’s review.

Adena T. Friedman succeeds Michael R. Splinter, who has been elected Lead Independent Director, which means retaining significant responsibilities, including approving meeting agendas and schedules, overseeing CEO and Board performance evaluations, and calling meetings of the independent directors or the Board as appropriate.

“Board strongly supports the new strategic vision Adena has set out for Nasdaq”

Michael R. Splinter, Lead Independent Director at Nasdaq, said: “Adena is incredibly deserving of this appointment to Chair. As Nasdaq’s CEO, she has successfully led the company in a new strategic direction, accelerating Nasdaq’s evolution to a global technology company that serves the world’s financial markets. Under her leadership, the company has consistently delivered outstanding operational and financial performance and shareholder returns. The Board strongly supports the new strategic vision Adena has set out for Nasdaq. We believe that joining the CEO and Chair roles enables us to be even better placed to execute on Nasdaq’s vision to become the trusted fabric of the world’s financial system.”

Adena T. Friedman, CEO and incoming Chair, Nasdaq, commented: “I am honored to take on the additional responsibility as Chair of Nasdaq’s Board of Directors. I want to thank Mike for his significant contributions to Nasdaq and for the invaluable guidance he has provided to me. I look forward to the ongoing partnership with Mike and the rest of the Board as we continue to execute on our vision for the company.”

Nasdaq revamped business into 3 divisions

Under Adena Friedman’s leadership, Nasdaq has recently revamped its corporate structure with the reorganization of its business units into three divisions – Market Platforms, Capital Access Platforms, and Anti-Financial Crime – in order to align the company more closely to the foundational shifts driving the global financial system and evolving client needs.

Market Platforms will include Nasdaq’s North American and European Market Services, Market Infrastructure Technology, as well as two new growth pillars: Digital Assets and Carbon Markets.

Nasdaq’s Corporate Platforms and Investment Intelligence businesses will merge into Capital Access Platforms, with over 10,000 corporate clients and 5,000 clients across the investment management ecosystem.

Anti-Financial Crime will include fraud detection and anti-money laundering solution Verafin, which serves over 2,200 banks and credit unions, as well as Nasdaq’s market and trade surveillance products serving over 200 brokerage firms, regulators, and exchanges.