Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) is slated to lose one of its key executives - Lee Shavel, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy, who announced his intent to leave the group and retire on March 31, 2016, according to a Nasdaq statement.
Mr. Shavel originally joined Nasdaq back in 2011 from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML). In this capacity he was tasked with a number of key roles operations its Accounting, Treasury, Corporate Strategy, Financial Planning & Analysis, Investor Relations, Risk Management , and Global Facilities.
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During his nearly five-year stint as CFO at Nasdaq however, Mr. Shavel helped strengthen the group’s invested capital framework, steering capital allocation decisions – he also was instrumental in helping reorganize the company's financial reporting and increased transparency. As a corollary, since Nasdaq added Mr. Shavel to its senior leadership team, the group’s total shareholder return has outpaced the S&P 500 by two-to-one.
As a result of the upcoming departure, Nasdaq will lean on Ron Hassen, its Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller, to serve as the interim CFO while the group looks to fill the role. Mr. Hassen has been a mainstay at Nasdaq for almost fifteen years and previously worked as its interim Chief Financial Officer.
According to Bob Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nasdaq, in a recent statement on the retirement: "We have been fortunate to have someone with Lee's talent and skills working for us. He has been instrumental in framing our capital allocation strategy and in helping investors understand the value of our company. We thank him for his valuable service to our organization and wish him well in the future."
"I have been honored to serve Nasdaq and am particularly gratified that the policies I've implemented have contributed to increased value for shareholders. Having accomplished much during my time here, I leave knowing that the company is in a strong financial position. I am excited to pursue the next chapter of my career which will apply my experience at the corporate board level," noted Mr. Shavel in an accompanying statement.
