Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) has appointed Adena Friedman as its newest Chief Operating Officer (COO) who joins the exchange with immediate effect, according to a Nasdaq statement.
Ms. Friedman steps into her new role as COO having already served as its President since 2014. In this capacity she has been responsible for overseeing the strategy and operations as well as financial responsibility for the group’s Listing Services, Information Services (Indexes and Data Products) and Technology Solutions.
In her newly defined role she will be assuming the mantle of responsibility of Nasdaq’s global business operations, whilst continuing to report to the group’s CEO, Bob Greifeld. More specifically, she will head P&L responsibility in conjunction with day-to-day operational business decisions and budget allocation.
Adina Friedman, President and COO, Nasdaq
Ms. Friedman originally came to Nasdaq from the Carlyle Group, where she worked as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Managing Director for nearly three years. Prior to this role, she was a mainstay at Nasdaq for a period of seventeen years, rising from the ranks of an intern up to such positions as Head of Strategy and Chief Financial Officer.
According to Mr. Greifeld, in a recent statement on the appointment: “This is a natural progression for Adena and Nasdaq, given the evolution of our organization into a global financial technology leader. As a company that competes on a global playing field every day, this appointment will enable us to achieve greater strategic alignment, collaboration and operational excellence across our businesses and organization."
"I am excited about the prospects ahead for Nasdaq, and the opportunity to lead all of our global businesses. We are at a pivotal point in our company's evolution, and decisions around how we best optimize our businesses and Leverage our collective strengths to better serve our clients will be vital to our long-term success," added Ms. Friedman in an accompanying statement.
Last week, Nasdaq made headlines after Borsa Istanbul went live on its platform, granting the Turkish exchange access to Nasdaq’s trading and clearing, settlement, market data management, index calculation, market surveillance, business intelligence and Risk Management capabilities.
