CME Group CFO to take long-time CEO’s seat

Dive Brief:

CME Group CEO Terrence Duffy will step down from the post he’s held for a decade to serve as executive chairman and will be succeeded by CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick, the Chicago-based derivatives marketplace announced in a securities filing and press release Wednesday.
The C-suite revamp will be effective March 1 or the date the company files its 10-K, whichever is later, according to the filing. Duffy rose through the ranks, starting as a runner in the “hog pit” in 1980, joining the Board of Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1995, and he oversaw the move from floor-based to electronic trading. Fitzpatrick, who joined CME in 2006, has served as CFO since 2023.
"On behalf of the CME Group Board, I thank Terry for his tremendous leadership, not only as the longest running Chairman and CEO in our company's history, but also as the foremost champion of our business, our markets and the global futures industry," Charlie Carey, lead director of the CME Group Board of Directors, said in a statement in the release.

Dive Insight:

Fitzpatrick joins a growing cohort of CFOs who have been promoted to the CEO seat. Last year, CFO to CEO promotions reached their highest level in a decade, with more than 10% of sitting CEOs coming directly from a top finance seat, CFO Dive previously reported.

A 20-year veteran of CME, Fitzpatrick holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brown University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Prior to joining the CME, she worked for Credit Suisse and UBS in investment banking.

"It is my privilege to have been able to work with and learn from Terry over the last 20 years, and I am honored to have the opportunity to succeed him as CEO next March. I appreciate the confidence that he and the Board have placed in me,” she said in a statement in the release.

In her new role Fitzpatrick, 48, will receive an annual base salary of $1.2 million and her annual bonus “opportunity” will be 200% of her salary. Meanwhile, her long-term incentive opportunity will be 700% of her salary, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing.