Biography | Adena Friedman — The New Year's Day a Woman First Ran a Major U.S. Exchange

1 January 2017 was an administrative date, not a ceremony date.

It was still the day the title changed.

Friedman became president and chief executive of Nasdaq, Inc. that morning under the November board action.

The public face of the exchange she now ran was already this corner.

Nasdaq MarketSite occupies the northwest base of 4 Times Square, at Broadway and 43rd Street.

The cylindrical LED tower had opened with the building's marketing center on 1 January 2000.

Bell events, listing celebrations, and live shots have used the studio ever since.

In 2017 the headquarters staff was still downtown.

The MarketSite lease was the brand address.

A 2018 proxy later told shareholders that 1 January 2017 closed a multi-year succession plan.

In April 2023 the board added the chair title to the same person.

The tower on this sidewalk is the place a visitor can stand without needing a badge.

It is not her office floor and not a residence.

Photo: Luca Marfè, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Portrait: Financial Times, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.