(Previously Ranked 4) Well before derivatives became enmeshed in financial reform debates, officials of CME Group, parent of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, had been touting their business model as a solution to the counterparty risks in over-the-counter instruments.
Exchanges became “an educational tool,” demonstrating for legislators, regulators and the public “what works in the financial markets,” says Kevin Kometer, who as CIO since 2008 oversees a burgeoning international technology infrastructure that encompasses CME’s Globex electronic platform as well as the Chicago Board of Trade, Nymex and Comex.
Market conditions and risk-management strategies have favored these venues, and the technology has never faltered. CME set all-time records in May: Electronic volume averaged 14 million contracts per day, up 66 percent from the prior year and dwarfing traditional open outcry, which rose 29 percent, to 2 million per day.
CME is phasing in a new data center, developing technological capabilities such as hosting and co-location and “greening up” for sustainability, says Kometer, 46. “Data center design, construction and operating practices” are the project’s core focus, he adds, with the goal of maintaining reliability while reducing operating costs and consuming less electricity and water.
Return to the 2010 Tech 40 Index
