# Adena Friedman

> Adena Friedman is Nasdaq’s chair and chief executive officer. She joined the company as an intern in 1993, built experience in data products, corporate strategy and finance, and served as Carlyle’s CFO before returning to Nasdaq in 2014. CEO since 2017 and chair since 2023, she has overseen its expansion into financial software, including Verafin and Adenza.

- **Role:** Chair and Chief Executive Officer at Nasdaq
- **Organizations:** Nasdaq, The Carlyle Group (former CFO and managing director), Intuit (board director), Business Roundtable (board director and Technology Committee chair), Vanderbilt University (Board of Trust)
- **From:** Baltimore, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in Political Science, Williams College, MBA, Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management
- **Known for:** Became the first woman to lead a major U.S. stock exchange in 2017., Led Nasdaq’s Global Data Products business, which Carlyle’s 2011 appointment announcement described as a $250 million unit with 15% organic revenue CAGR from 2004 to 2009., Played a role in Nasdaq’s acquisitions of INET, OMX, and the Philadelphia and Boston exchanges.

## Career timeline

- **1993** — Joined Nasdaq as an intern after earning her MBA.
- **2000** — Began leading Nasdaq’s data products division.
- **2003** — Added corporate strategy responsibilities during Robert Greifeld’s tenure.
- **2009** — Became Nasdaq CFO.
- **2011** — Joined Carlyle as CFO and managing director.
- **2012** — Helped take Carlyle public in May.
- **2014** — Returned to Nasdaq as president in June.
- **2015** — Became president and COO in December.
- **2017** — Became Nasdaq CEO on January 1.
- **2020** — Joined Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust in July.
- **2021** — Nasdaq completed its acquisition of Verafin.
- **2023** — Became Nasdaq chair on January 1; Nasdaq completed the Adenza acquisition in November.
- **2024** — Elected to the Business Roundtable board in January.
- **2026** — Joined Intuit’s board effective August 1.

## Achievements

- Became the first woman to lead a major U.S. stock exchange in 2017.
- Led Nasdaq’s Global Data Products business, which Carlyle’s 2011 appointment announcement described as a $250 million unit with 15% organic revenue CAGR from 2004 to 2009.
- Played a role in Nasdaq’s acquisitions of INET, OMX, and the Philadelphia and Boston exchanges.
- Helped lead Carlyle’s May 2012 IPO as CFO.
- Oversaw Nasdaq’s expansion into financial software through Verafin and Adenza.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Nasdaq reported test tokenized collateral trades with Vanguard and Wellington Management using Nasdaq Calypso on the Canton Network; this was a company initiative, not a statement of personal execution by Friedman.
- **2026-08** — Joined Intuit’s board effective August 1, serving on its Audit and Risk and Nominating and Governance committees.
- **2026-01** — Published “What Will Endure: The Pillars of AI’s Economic Shift,” arguing for long-term capital, enterprise trust and changes to how work is organized.

## Links

- Website: https://www.nasdaq.com/about/our-people/adena-t-friedman
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adenatfriedman
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/adenatfriedman

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/adena-friedman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21