Adena Friedman is to replace Robert Greifeld as president and CEO of Nasdaq, two years after she rejoined the group.
Greifeld, who has served as the head of the exchange for almost 14 years, will become chairman of the board, as its current chairman, Borje Ekholm, will leave at the end of the year to join Ericsson as its new president and CEO.
At 47, Friedman will serve as one of the youngest exchange CEOs, as well as becoming the first woman to run a global exchange group.
Friedman joined Nasdaq in 1993, serving in a number of leadership roles include head of data products, head of strategy and chief financial officer (CFO).
In 2011 she joined private equity firm The Carlyle Group, becoming CFO and helping lead its IPO. In June she rejoined Nasdaq as president, responsible for listing services, information services and technology. She most recently served as chief operating officer.
“Together, we will continue our journey from one of the earliest fintech companies, to a global leader whose technology powers more than 100 marketplaces around the world,” said Freidman on her appointment.
The replacement of Greifeld is the latest managerial shake-up at an exchange group, with rival CME Group announcing last week that its CEO Phupinder Gill will retire at the end of the year.
Under Greifeld’s leadership, he oversaw Nasdaq’s expansion into Europe with the acquisition of Nordic exchange group OMX and the launch of its interest rate derivatives exchange NLX, as well as the expansion of its US options business following the takeover of the International Securities Exchange (ISE) earlier this year.
It also bought US Treasuries trading platform eSpeed, and has expanded its data and technology services business.
“Our client franchise is expanding, our technology is uniquely differentiated, and our investments in the future successfully position us for years to come. As such, it is the right time to transition leadership of this company to its next phase of evolution, and I take great personal pride that the Board has selected Adena to lead Nasdaq,” added Greifeld.