OCC announced today that, effective January 1, 2014, Craig S. Donohue will become its Executive Chairman, succeeding Wayne P. Luthringshausen, who will retire on December 31, 2013. Mr. Luthringshausen has served as OCC's Chairman since 1977.
OCC recently received regulatory approval for a rule change to separate the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, both of which are currently held by Mr. Luthringshausen. "Separating the Executive Chairman and CEO roles is proof of OCC's ongoing commitment to adopt best practices for corporate governance, and it ensures that we have an appropriate balance between our business interests and our risk control functions," said Gerard McGraw, OCC Director and Chair of the OCC Performance Committee. OCC previously announced Michael E. Cahill as CEO, also effective January 1, 2014.
In this new position of Executive Chairman, Mr. Donohue will be responsible for the control functions of OCC, including enterprise risk management, internal audit and compliance, as well as for external affairs, and for presiding at all meetings of the Board of Directors. Mr. Donohue has more than two decades of experience in global financial markets, having most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of CME Group from 2003 until May 2012. During his tenure as CEO of CME Group, Donohue led the successful completion of more than $20 billion in mergers and acquisitions, including CME's historic merger with the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) in 2007 and the acquisition of both the New York Mercantile Exchange and the Commodity Exchange Inc. (NYMEX and COMEX) in 2008.
"I am truly honored and greatly looking forward to the opportunity to serve as Executive Chairman of OCC—a world class clearing organization dedicated to providing stability and financial integrity to the marketplace," Mr. Donohue said. "I look forward to working closely with OCC's Board, CEO Mike Cahill, his outstanding management team and all of OCC's employees to continue delivering industry leading services to market participants, and the exchanges and trading platforms that OCC serves. I am also enthusiastic about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as OCC works collaboratively with regulators and market participants to ensure that central counterparty clearing organizations represent the strongest part of our overall financial markets infrastructure.
Korn/Ferry International's Board Services & CEO Succession Practice led this project on behalf of OCC.