Stacey Cunningham Takes The Reins At NYSE

Today, Stacey Cunningham becomes the first female president of the New York Stock Exchange and the second woman, just behind Nasdaq’s Adena Friedman, to head a major U.S. exchange.

The industry, the media and even Intercontinental Exchange call Cunningham’s ascension a feat for women and a seminal moment for diversity advocates.

John Jacobs, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Financial Markets and Policy, said Cunningham's appointment is fitting.

“She is smart, she looks down the road, she’s got vision and she’s really good at execution, which is the only way you get things done in an organization, so I was not surprised when she became COO at the NYSE and I’m just delighted to see her make CEO,” said Jacobs, who worked with both women throughout his 30-plus-year career at Nasdaq.

Résumé And Reputation

Cunningham started out as an NYSE intern in 1994. She rose to trading floor clerk in 1996 and, after a brief foray into culinary arts, held a number of leadership roles at Nasdaq. From there, she hopped to NYSE where, in 2015, she became COO.

“As our COO, Stacey Cunningham successfully managed our equities, equities derivatives and ETF businesses, distinguishing herself as a customer-focused leader who is respected across our industry,” Jeff Sprecher, chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, said in a news release.

Now, as the 67th president of the board, she’s drawing on all of her past experiences — even her culinary training.

“At the end, you need to be able to figure out what you need to adjust here and what you need to adjust there,” Jacobs said of the similarities between cooking and leading the NYSE. “I think that the time pressure, the fact that it’s both art and science, are both going to translate well to the higher pressure job of being CEO of the NYSE.”

The Fate Of The NYSE

Cunningham takes the reins at a tough juncture in financial history — a time when exchanges struggle to recruit new companies to the public markets.

Considering the challenges, Jacobs said the NYSE made the right choice in Cunningham.

“She’s what they need right now,” he said. “[...] They’re doing great with winning IPOs and listings and things like that, but there’s just not that big a pond to draw from, so those are systemic changes, and I think she has a great background from both the transaction side and the listing side to understand what changes she needs to help force for the industry in order to get companies choosing the public markets again.”

Cunningham told CNBC she intends to introduce new types of financial listings and stimulate international public offerings.

Jacobs said Cunningham is also equipped to compete with an expanding field of rivals.

“Trading has become very fragmented with lots of other venues just besides New York and Nasdaq and BATS to exchange from, and she knows that — that’s her bread and butter — so I think she’ll do great job at helping NYSE recapture even more market share." 

A Sign Of The Times

Cunningham earned her rise, and even if she wasn’t chosen for the express purpose of advancing diversity, she and Friedman proved the playing field, at least in finance, is leveling.

“It’s one of the industries that’s really turning into a meritocracy more than any other,” Jacobs said. “It doesn’t really matter as much where you went to school and what connections you have. That’ll help you with your first job, but that doesn’t make your career. This career is about performance.”

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