Adena Friedman
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Adena T. Friedman (born Adena Robinson Testa; 1969) is an American businesswoman. She currently serves as the President and CEO of
Nasdaq, Inc. Nasdaq, Inc. is an American multinational financial services corporation that owns and operates three stock exchanges in the United States: the namesake Nasdaq stock exchange (on which it is also listed), the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, and ...
She was formerly a managing director and CFO of
The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...
. Initially joining Nasdaq in 1993, she returned to Nasdaq from Carlyle in May 2014 as President of Global Corporate and information technology solutions. She was named the CEO of Nasdaq in January 2017, the first woman to lead a global exchange. ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' has repeatedly listed Friedman as one of the world's most powerful women on their annual ''Power Women'' list. She ranked 43rd in Forbes list of " World's 100 most powerful women" in 2023. She was ranked 55th on ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...
'''s list of Most Powerful Women in 2023.


Early life and education

Born Adena Robinson Testa and raised in metropolitan
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
, she is the daughter of Michael D. Testa, a managing director at T. Rowe Price, and Adena W. Testa, an attorney in the Baltimore law firm of Stewart, Plant & Blumenthal.New York Times: "Weddings; Adena R. Testa, Michael Friedman"
August 22, 1993
She attended Roland Park Country School. She earned a BA in political science from
Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...
and an MBA from Vanderbilt University's
Owen Graduate School of Management The Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1969, Owen offers six degrees: a standard 2-year Master of Business Administr ...
.


Career

After graduating from
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
, Friedman joined Nasdaq in 1993 as an unpaid intern. At Nasdaq, she served as the head of data products and as Chief Financial Officer, amongst others, and oversaw the acquisitions of INET, OMX, the
Philadelphia Stock Exchange Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX), now known as Nasdaq PHLX, is the first stock exchange established in the United States and the oldest stock exchange in the nation. The exchange is owned by Nasdaq, which acquired it in 2007 for $652 million, ...
and the
Boston Stock Exchange The Boston Stock Exchange (now NASDAQ BX, formerly ''BSE'') was a regional stock exchange formerly located in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1834, making it the third-oldest stock exchange in the United States. On October 2, 2007, NASDAQ ...
. She left Nasdaq in 2011 to join private investment firm
Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...
as Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director, a position she held until 2014. Friedman returned to Nasdaq as president and Chief Operating Officer. She became CEO in January 2017, replacing Robert Greifeld. According to Forbes ''Power Women'' list, Friedman sees Nasdaq as an "''engine for capitalism,''" and has advocated “''bringing companies back to the public market and making investing accessible.”'' As CEO, she is “''focused on diversifying Nasdaq into a technology company with a focus on growth opportunities, such as data research services.''” In April 2019, Friedman gave a TED talk titled “''What’s the future of capitalism?''.” She also participated in ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' magazine ''The World in 2020'' issue with a column titled "''Ideas for modernizing capitalism'',” predicting that “''the fight for the soul of the global economy will heat up''.” During the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, Friedman was featured on ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' Corner Office "''Logged On From the Laundry Room: How the C.E.O.s of Google, Pfizer and Slack Work From Home''" article, sharing perspectives of company CEOs working from home due to the pandemic. She shared her decision to split key personnel at the exchange to two teams to ensure work continuity and described her work from home routine during the crisis. The story included Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, among others. Beginning in December 2020, Friedman has led the Nasdaq to implement requirements that all companies listed on the index disclose standardized diversity statistics about their corporate boards. The initiative was struck down by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit four years later, which ruled that the
US Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market ma ...
had exceeded its statutory authority in approving these requirements, leading Nasdaq to withdraw the rule. In 2023, Friedman's total compensation from Nasdaq, Inc. was $18.5 million, representing a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 157-to-1. Friedman was honored by American Banker as one of The Most Powerful Women in Banking for 2024.


Boards

Friedman has served as a Class B director to the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the New York (state), State of New York, the 12 norther ...
since December 2018, the only Exchange CEO to ever have done this. She also serves on the board of FCLTGlobal, a non-profit organization that researches tools that encourage long-term investing.


Personal life

In 1993, she married Michael Cameron Friedman in a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
ceremony in
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
. Her husband is a retired lawyer. They have two sons. They live in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
. She has a black belt in
taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
, which she started studying after taking her sons to classes, and she has said has helped her become more fearless in business.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, Adena 1969 births Living people American chief financial officers Williams College alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Women chief financial officers The Carlyle Group people Federal Reserve Bank of New York