Stacey Cunningham has taken on the role of CEO from Thomas Farley. Her appointment means that both the New York Stock Excahnge and the NASDAQ Exchange will now be run by women.

She has said in the Financial Times that she “fell in love” with the trading floor during a summer internship while studying engineering at university and explained that  “The way you interact with your co-workers during stress – everyone knows not to take it personally, for the most part.
“On the floor you might in the heat of the moment be aggressively fighting over a trade, and at the end of the day go grab a beer together.”

There are no reports of any affirmative action plans since her appointment to alter the demographics of the male-dominated NYSE which employs just a single female broker.