Adena Friedman
Born 1969 · Age 56
American businesswoman; President, CEO and (since 2023) Chair of Nasdaq, Inc.; former CFO and managing director at The Carlyle Group. First woman to lead a global exchange.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Baltimore, Maryland
Born Adena Robinson Testa in metropolitan Baltimore to Michael D. Testa and Adena W. Testa.
High school graduation (approx.) – Roland Park Country School
Attended Roland Park Country School in Baltimore (graduation year estimated based on typical ages).
College internship for Congressman Al Gore (approx.)
Interned for Congressman Al Gore while in college (timing during college; year estimated).
Completed BA in Political Science, Williams College
Earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Williams College (approximate graduation year inferred from subsequent MBA in 1993).
Joined Nasdaq as unpaid MBA intern / business analyst
Started at Nasdaq immediately after graduating from Vanderbilt as an unpaid intern/business analyst, launching a long tenure at the exchange.
Earned MBA, Vanderbilt University (Owen)
Completed an MBA at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management (listed as MBA 1993).
Married Michael Cameron Friedman
Married Michael Cameron Friedman in a Presbyterian ceremony in Baltimore, Maryland (NYT wedding notice dated Aug 22, 1993).
Attended Owen conference episode (professional formative moment)
Observed the 1995 Owen Financial Markets Research Center conference where Bill Christie was critiqued by Merton Miller; cites it as formative in Nasdaq history knowledge.
Relaunched PORTAL product at Nasdaq (mid-1990s)
Led product plan to relaunch Nasdaq's PORTAL (restricted securities trading) by instituting a fee and turning it revenue-generating (described as mid-’90s).
Workstation 2 launch and capacity scale-up (mid-1990s)
In the 1990s Nasdaq marketed Workstation 2, built to handle 300 million trades; within days Nasdaq hit that volume—Friedman was involved in product management (estimated year mid-90s).
Nasdaq reorganized as shareholder-owned company
Nasdaq reorganized in 2000 into new business units and became a shareholder-owned, for-profit company; Friedman was on the management team during this era.
Oversaw acquisition: INET
As part of Nasdaq strategy, Friedman oversaw the acquisition of INET (year estimated based on acquisition timing referenced in sources).
Oversaw major acquisition: OMX / formation of Nasdaq OMX Group
Played a leading role in the complex 2007 transaction to acquire OMX (Nordic/Baltic exchanges) and create Nasdaq OMX Group—the company became the world’s largest exchange operator.
Oversaw acquisitions of Philadelphia and Boston stock exchanges
Instrumental in Nasdaq's acquisitions of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and the Boston Stock Exchange (acquisition timing mid-to-late 2000s).
Served as Nasdaq Chief Financial Officer (period)
At some point during her first Nasdaq tenure Friedman served as Chief Financial Officer (exact start year not specified; this entry places CFO role prior to 2011 departure).
Joined The Carlyle Group as CFO and Managing Director
Left Nasdaq to join private equity firm The Carlyle Group as Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director (tenure March 2011–June 2014).
Helped take The Carlyle Group public (Carlyle IPO)
Played a significant role in Carlyle's IPO in December 2012 while serving as the firm's CFO.
Returned to Nasdaq as President, Global Corporate & IT Solutions
Rejoined Nasdaq in May 2014 to lead technology, information and corporate businesses (over two-thirds of Nasdaq revenue).
Left Carlyle (end of tenure)
Ended role as Carlyle Group CFO/Managing Director in June 2014 (tenure listed as March 2011–June 2014).
Listed in Forbes '40 Most Powerful Women' (2015)
Forbes included Friedman among the 40 most powerful women in the world (Vanderbilt notes she was one spot behind Nancy Pelosi that year).
Served as Nasdaq President & Chief Operating Officer (2016)
Served as President and COO throughout 2016, overseeing all business segments and driving efficiency, product development and growth.
Named President and Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq (CEO)
Assumed role as President and CEO of Nasdaq on January 1, 2017, becoming the first woman to lead a global exchange.
Nasdaq acquisition of Quandl (oversee/execute)
Shortly after becoming CEO, Nasdaq acquired alternative-data provider Quandl (acquisition cited as happening in 2018).
Elected Class B Director, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Became a Class B director at the New York Fed in December 2018—the only exchange CEO to have served in that role.
Nasdaq launched AI market-surveillance platform
Led Nasdaq's 2019 launch of an AI platform to enhance market surveillance using deep learning and related techniques (expanded beyond Nasdaq to other exchanges and broker-dealers).
Earned black belt in taekwondo (by this time)
Had achieved a black belt in taekwondo by 2019; she credits training with making her more fearless in business (BBC profile).
Delivered TED Talk: 'What's the future of capitalism?'
Gave a TED talk in April 2019 discussing the future of capitalism and Nasdaq's role as an engine for capitalism.
Published Economist column: 'Ideas for modernizing capitalism'
Contributed a column to The Economist's The World in 2020 issue outlining ideas to modernize capitalism.
Appointed to FCLTGlobal board (approx./service noted)
Serves on the board of FCLTGlobal, a non-profit focused on long-term investing tools (press releases referencing appointments around 2020).
Featured in The New York Times 'Corner Office' during COVID-19
Profiled in NYT on March 23, 2020 about CEOs working from home during the pandemic; described business continuity plans and split teams.
Implemented Nasdaq listed-company board diversity disclosure requirements
Beginning December 2020 Nasdaq instituted listing requirements for companies to disclose standardized diversity statistics about their corporate boards.
Launched Nasdaq Data Link (cloud-based data platform)
Oversaw the 2021 launch of Nasdaq Data Link, a cloud-based platform providing financial and alternative data to the investing public.
Announced Nasdaq-AWS multi-year cloud partnership
In 2021 Nasdaq announced a multi-year collaboration with Amazon Web Services to build next-generation cloud-enabled infrastructure for capital markets.
Appointed Chair of Nasdaq's Board of Directors
In 2023 Friedman was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors at Nasdaq, in addition to her CEO role.
Forbes: Ranked 43rd on World's 100 Most Powerful Women
Forbes ranked Friedman 43rd on its 'World's 100 Most Powerful Women' list in 2023.
Fortune: Ranked 55th Most Powerful Women (2023)
Fortune magazine ranked Friedman 55th on its Most Powerful Women list in 2023.
Atlantic Council Distinguished Leadership Award (recipient)
Named as a recipient of The Atlantic Council's 2023 Distinguished Leadership Awards (recognized for leadership).
Reported total compensation from Nasdaq: $18.5M (2023)
Friedman's total compensation from Nasdaq in 2023 was reported as $18.5 million (CEO-to-median worker pay ratio 157:1).
Appeals court struck down Nasdaq board-diversity rule (ruling)
A U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the SEC exceeded its statutory authority in approving Nasdaq's board-diversity disclosure requirements, leading Nasdaq to withdraw the rule (ruling occurred about four years after 2020 implementation).
Honored by American Banker: Most Powerful Women in Banking (2024)
American Banker honored Friedman as one of The Most Powerful Women in Banking for 2024.
Public profile and thought leadership ongoing
Continues to speak widely (TED, Economist, Investopedia features) and to lead Nasdaq's transformation toward technology, data and cloud services for capital markets.
Nasdaq moves to erase board-diversity rules after court loss
After the appeals court ruling, Nasdaq moved in January 2025 to erase the board diversity requirements it had previously instituted.
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