CME Group said on Wednesday that longtime Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy will step down from the chief executive role and become Executive Chairman on March 1, 2027. President and CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick will succeed him as CEO and join the CME Group Board of Directors at that time.
Duffy has led CME Group for more than 25 years, having been appointed Chairman in 2002. During his tenure the company transitioned from floor-based to electronic trading, became the first U.S. exchange to go public, and completed mergers with the Chicago Board of Trade and the New York Mercantile Exchange. CME Group traded an average daily volume of 28.1 million contracts last year and commands a market cap above $95 billion.
“Leading CME Group through more than 25 years of transformative growth has been among the highest honors of my life,” Duffy said.
Fitzpatrick joined CME Group in 2006 and previously worked as an investment banker at Credit Suisse and UBS. She has held a series of senior finance roles at the company, serving as Managing Director of Corporate Development and Treasurer, Deputy CFO, CFO and, since late 2024, President and CFO.
The transition gives CME Group roughly nine months for an internal handover, with Duffy remaining in the governance structure as Executive Chairman.
