Last year under Adena Friedman, chair and CEO of Nasdaq, the company continued to build its financial technology business with a $10.5 billion acquisition and to push for diverse corporate leadership with the implementation of its board diversity rule for Nasdaq-listed companies.
With the November acquisition of Adenza, a risk management and regulatory reporting software provider, Nasdaq continued the fintech expansion that Friedman has championed since she took the CEO job in 2017. She called the Adenza deal "an important milestone in Nasdaq's ongoing transformation, accelerating our vision to become the trusted fabric of the financial system."
At the time of the Adenza deal, Friedman also announced a restructuring of Nasdaq into three divisions: additional listings business and index data; trading services for broker-dealers; and a new division for its fintech businesses, including Adenza and Verafin, an anti-financial-crime software provider acquired for $2.75 billion in 2021.
Nasdaq now generates about $1.5 billion in net annual revenue from its fintech division, but the fintech businesses are viewed as having the highest growth potential. In April, Verafin rolled out a generative AI feature to its customer base of 2,500 financial institutions.
Nasdaq's board diversity rule, first proposed by Friedman in 2020, took full effect at the end of last year. It requires all Nasdaq-listed companies to report on their boards' racial and gender diversity and to have at least two diverse directors on their boards, or explain why they do not.
"We're always listening to clients and investors, and diversity is an area where these stakeholders have been asking for greater transparency," Friedman said. She said that she is pleased that, in addition to Nasdaq-listed companies, hundreds of companies listed on other exchanges now also report on their board diversity. Lawyers for Nasdaq and the SEC, which approved Nasdaq's rule in 2021, are now defending it against a legal challenge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit by two conservative groups.
Friedman started her career at Nasdaq as an intern in 1993. Growing up, she had ambitions of becoming an astronaut or a pilot, she said, but ultimately her father, David Testa, the now-retired chief investment officer of T. Rowe Price, and her brother piqued her interest in finance and technology. "They helped me recognize the important role that markets have in unlocking the ambitions of so many people around the world — from entrepreneurs to investors to financial institutions," she said. "It's been this mission and this impact that has kept me interested in the world of finance."
Following her internship, Friedman went on to work on Nasdaq's management team for more than a decade, serving as head of its data products business, head of corporate strategy and chief financial officer. She also oversaw Nasdaq's acquisitions of INET in 2005, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and Boston Stock Exchange in 2007, and OMX in 2008.
From 2011 to 2014, she was managing director and chief financial officer at Carlyle Group, helping the company go public in 2012. She rejoined Nasdaq in 2014.
In addition to her CEO role, Friedman was appointed chair of Nasdaq's board of directors in 2023. Prior to being named CEO in 2017, she had worked as president and chief operating officer.
"I was very fortunate to have great leaders that fostered my curiosity, prioritized my growth and fueled my ambition," she said. "As a leader, I'm focused on doing the same for all our employees and for other women in the industry. I want Nasdaq to be a place where people can grow their careers and make a positive impact on our industry."
Outside of her Nasdaq roles, she serves as a Class B director for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a board member of the Business Roundtable and chair of its technology committee, and on the board of FCLTGlobal, a nonprofit that promotes long-horizon investment. She also sits on the Vanderbilt University Board of Trust.
If she could give her younger self some career advice, Friedman said, it would focus on two words: "constant curiosity."
"The world we operate in constantly evolves, so we need to be prepared to evolve with it. By identifying the culture, people and roles that will stretch you and help you build new skills and capabilities, you can position yourself to have real impact," she said. "Everyone's career path will be different, but if you focus on your goals and the problems you find most interesting, you'll craft a career path that's both compelling and fulfilling."
