William J. Brodsky is an American businessman working as a director of the

Securities Investor Protection Corporation The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC ) is a federally mandated, non-profit, member-funded, United States government corporation created under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) of 1970 that mandates membership of most ...

, executive chairman of the

Chicago Board Options Exchange Cboe Global Markets, Inc. is an American company that owns the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the stock exchange operator BATS Global Markets. History Founded by the Chicago Board of Trade in 1973 and member-owned for several decades, the ...

, and chairman of the

World Federation of Exchanges The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), formerly the ''Federation Internationale des Bourses de Valeurs'' (FIBV), or International Federation of Stock Exchanges, is the trade association of publicly regulated stock, futures, and options exchan ...

Education

Brodsky earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Syracuse University College of Law The Syracuse University College of Law is the law school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. It is one of only four law schools in upstate New York. Syracuse was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1923 and is a charter member ...

. He was a member of the

Phi Epsilon Pi Phi Epsilon Pi () fraternity, active between 1904 and 1970 and now dormant, with a predominantly Jewish membership, was founded in New York City and eventually opened at least 48 chapters on college campuses across the United States and one in Ca ...

fraternity. Brodsky was advised and influenced by Syracuse law school professor Michael O. Sawyer. He later established the Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics at Syracuse's

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 1 ...

. While at Syracuse Law School, Brodsky defeated future

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

for class president by a single vote. To date, Brodsky is the only person to ever beat Biden in a non-primary election.

Career

Brodsky joined Model, Roland & Co. in 1968. Brodsky began career as a securities lawyer at the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known ...

in 1974, and in 1976 became its head of options trading. He formally held the positions of the

executive vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

at the

from 1979 until 1982. In 1982, he joined

Chicago Mercantile Exchange The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (often called "the Chicago Merc", or "the Merc") is an American derivatives marketplace based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board ...

(CME) in as executive vice president and

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

. He was the president and CEO of the CME from 1985 until 1997. He is a member of the

Committee on Capital Markets Regulation The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research organization financed by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Background Thirty-six leaders from the financial sector, in ...

and previously served as chairman of the International Options Markets Association (2006–2008). From 1997 to 2013, he was the chairman and CEO of the Chicago Board Options Exchange. In July 2019, Brodsky was named chairman of Navy Pier Inc., a non-profit corporation that oversees the

Navy Pier Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of shops, restaura ...

. In January 2022, President

(and former class president rival) nominated Brodsky to serve as a director of the

. After confirmation by the United States Senate, Brodsky started in this position on May 31, 2022.

Personal life

He is married to Joan (

Née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

: Breier), whom he met while they were students at Syracuse. Two of their sons worked for Biden as interns on Capitol Hill and the families remain close.

References

Living people Syracuse University College of Law alumni American chief executives of financial services companies 1944 births {{US-CEO-stub