Nasdaq OMX today announced longtime senior executive John L. Jacobs will retire after more than 30 years of leadership and service to the company.
Effective January 2, 2015, Mr. Jacobs will retire from his position as Executive Vice President of Global Information Services, comprising the company's data products and index services businesses. Mr. Jacobs has agreed to serve as a strategic advisor to the company through 2015. The company has begun an internal and external search for his successor.
"It is rare to have the opportunity during your career to work with someone of John's character and caliber," commented Bob Greifeld, CEO, NASDAQ OMX. "We have been incredibly fortunate to be the beneficiary of his leadership, countless contributions and dedication—much of which has indelibly influenced the company NASDAQ OMX is today. What is more remarkable is the untiring energy and passion for the business and the industry he has shown for the last three decades. We thank him and his family today for his service to this organization."
Mr. Jacobs joined the company in 1983 as a business analyst and served in a variety of roles over the years, including leading NASDAQ's first IPO sales force and the company's first customer service teams when NASDAQ was still part of the National Association of Securities Dealers. In 1999, he created and launched one of the first Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), the NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking StockSM (QQQ), one of the most successful and widely-traded financial products in history. In 2001, he was named Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Index Services. Under his direction as CMO, a position he held for more than a decade, he is credited with leading many of the initiatives that helped NASDAQ become a globally-recognized brand. In his role as EVP of Information Services, a position he continues to hold today, he built the company's index business from its infancy to its current position, generating more than $100 million in annual revenue.
"My decision to retire was not an easy one," said Jacobs. "This is more than a company with a powerful brand and a solid business; it is one that is made up of great people who come together every day to do truly innovative things. It has been an amazing personal and professional journey, and I feel fortunate to have been a part of it all."
Through Jacobs' career with NASDAQ OMX, the organization evolved from a single U.S. cash equities market, to a global technology business, consisting of 26 exchanges and various business and technology solutions operating across the world.
More recently, under Mr. Jacobs' leadership, the company's global index business has grown to encompass multiple asset classes that support more than 7,000 products worth over $1 trillion in notional value. Today, NASDAQ OMX Global Indexes offer more than 41,000 indexes, and the companies that make up these indexes represent more than 98% of the global equity investable marketplace. In addition, he has managed the strategic direction for Global Data Products, which delivers an array of historical and real-time market data solutions to institutions, individual investors and media.