Adena Friedman is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq and is a member of its Board of Directors. As the first female CEO to lead a global stock exchange, she brings more than 20 years of industry leadership and expertise, and is credited with significantly shaping Nasdaq’s transformation into a leading global exchange and technology solutions company with operations across six continents.

Prior to being named CEO, Friedman served as President and Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for overseeing all of the company’s business segments with a focus on driving efficiency, product development, growth and expansion.

Previously, she served as Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, playing a critical role in taking the company public, before rejoining Nasdaq, which she originally joined as an intern.

Friedman has been a key member of Nasdaq's management team for over a decade, serving in a variety of roles, including head of the company's data products business, head of corporate strategy and Chief Financial Officer. She played an instrumental role in Nasdaq’s acquisition strategy, overseeing the acquisitions of INET, OMX, and the Philadelphia and Boston Exchanges. She originally joined Nasdaq in 1993 as an intern.

Friedman has served as a Class B director to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for several years. She was elected to the Board of Directors of FCLTGlobal, a non-profit organization that researches tools that encourage long-term investing, in January 2020. In 2023, Forbes named her to both their "50 Over 50" and "Power Women" lists.

Friedman earned a Master of Business Administration from Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Williams College in Massachusetts.

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