At Markets Media’s inaugural Women in Finance Awards, Stacey Cunningham won the award for Excellence in Exchanges 2015 when she was chief operating officer at the New York Stock Exchange.  She went on to become the 67th president of NYSE in May 2018 and the first woman to lead the exchange since it was founded in 1792. At the end of 2021 Cunningham was succeeded in that role by another woman, Lynn Martin. Cunningham joined private equity firm Advent International as an operating partner in October 2022 and remains on the NYSE board.

Markets Media’s 10th-annual Women in Finance Awards program will be held on Thursday, November 21, at the Hard Rock Hotel.

How did you feel about receiving the award 10 years ago?

It was an honor to have been recognized during the inaugural Women in Finance awards, especially given all the amazing women in the industry today.

At the time, I had just stepped into the role of chief operating officer of the NYSE Group and we were in the early stages of a multi-year rollout that would completely overhaul the trading technology powering all seven of NYSE’s equity and options exchanges.

It was incredibly rewarding to see the fruits of our labor battle tested during the extreme market volatility the industry faced in the spring of 2020. Our systems scaled seamlessly as the market smashed previous activity records without looking back. Fail safes like market-wide circuit breakers and trading floor remote redundancies were used live for the first time and everything worked flawlessly.

What are you most proud of in the decade since you won your award?

I am proud of how prepared for the unexpected we were at the NYSE and the entire industry should share that pride.

Decisions made around conference room tables, at industry roundtables, and in dialogue with regulators were suddenly brought to life on a national stage. Hypotheticals instantly became reality and the industry rose to the challenge.

How do you think finance has changed in the last 10 years?

No matter how technology advances, the industry will always be about people. When you are part of an ecosystem that allows for companies and individuals to plan for and invest in their future, it is undoubtedly about people.

What are your hopes for the next decade?

I hope over the next decade there is a concerted effort to focus on telling the story of the social good our capital markets serve. As our markets continue to evolve, I also hope we recognize they must continue to be a story of shared success.

What advice would you give to the next generation of women in finance?

My advice for all men and women in finance is to focus on how to set individuals on our teams up for success. They are not all the same and have different needs and communication styles.

My advice to the next generation is to know with confidence that when you are outnumbered and have a different perspective than most around you, it makes you more valuable, not less. Be curious, ask questions, use both your mind and your voice, and never forget the importance of what you are doing.