CME Group today announced that Chairman Emeritus Leo Melamed will retire from the CME Group Board of Directors at the conclusion of his current term in May 2018. Following his retirement, Melamed will serve as a consultant to the company for the next two years. After that time, Melamed will continue to retain his title as Chairman Emeritus.
"On behalf of the CME Group Board and Management Team, we sincerely thank Leo Melamed for his decades of service to our company and our industry," said CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy. "Leo's invention of financial futures and pioneering of electronic trading shaped the financial markets as we know them today, and his contributions will continue to have an impact in the future. We wish him well and look forward to working with him as a consultant."
"Bringing the CME Group from butter and eggs to a financial institution has been a work of love," said Melamed. "I offer my thanks to all the CME officials, board members, and employees over the years, without whose efforts it could not have been accomplished. I also want to thank Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy for his outstanding leadership, and wish him and the Board continued success."
Melamed is recognized as the founder of financial futures and introduced the International Monetary Market in 1972. He has served as Chairman Emeritus of CME Group since 1997 and as a board member since 1967. Melamed was CME Chairman of the Board from 1968 until 1976 and held various board leadership positions over the last three decades. He also played a leading role in the development of the CME Globex electronic trading system in 1992.
Melamed currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Melamed & Associates, a global consulting group, and as advisor to the National Futures Association, the International Advisory Council of the CSRC in China, and Leap Innovations. He serves on the board of overseers of the Becker Friedman Institute of the University of Chicago, and as a director of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Melamed is a published author of several books and the recipient of multiple awards around the world. He holds Doctor of Letters distinctions from the University of Illinois, Loyola University, DePaul University, the Tokyo based Waseda University, and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Sacred Heart University.
