Sarah Youngwood’s Post

I was honored to join the Valley Women's Symposium last week. Valley is a Nasdaq listed innovative and very dynamic bank, recognized as one of the top regional banks. As an executive sponsor of Nasdaq's Women In Nasdaq - it was a special moment to connect with other women in finance and share my career journey. My advice touched on how to be intentional when approaching your career (are you being open-minded about your own success?), finding your own path (every experience, person you meet, sponsor, mentor, skillset can be a stepping stone!), and embracing your own definitions of success (make sure it is worth it!). My favorite moment was seeing the passion and energy from the audience during the event, and the engagement of the Senior Leadership Team. Congrats to Valley Bank on a fantastic event! 

I recently had the pleasure of participating in the annual Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) Summit – a global gathering focused on driving action around sustainability within the finance and accounting community.      My conversation with Jessica Fries focused on the capital markets and how Nasdaq's position at the intersection of technology and the financial system provides us with a unique perspective on how this ecosystem is evolving. The biggest takeaway from our session is that leveraging technology and embedding ESG and sustainability practices in every facet of operations will drive sustainability impact.     A few additional highlights from our discussion included:    ➡️ Among the most critical areas of focus and evolution is the growing demand for transparency and disclosure. There is an increasing need for ESG data sets that allow companies and investors to better understand performance, align investment strategies, and more deeply understand areas of risk and opportunity.  ➡️ There is a continued focus on leveraging our tools and technologies to help drive impact across our clients. We continue to launch new tools designed to help our clients conduct even better strategic analysis, expedite ESG decision making, and streamline their ESG reporting and disclosure practices.      ➡️ We continue to strive to minimize our environmental footprint in alignment with our science-based net-zero emissions targets and we are on track to achieve carbon neutrality for the sixth consecutive year. Through our partners at Puro.earth, we are at the forefront of this emerging market.      As Nasdaq and our clients navigate the complexity of an evolving ESG ecosystem, we are committed to advancing initiatives that can be upheld for the long-term and the groundwork we laid in recent years will help us do just that. I am confident that we will continue to build on our momentum to deliver an even greater impact for our clients and for communities around the world.

Over the last several weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting with Nasdaq team members and investors around the globe.     To start, I participated in the Mizuho Technology Conference and the Jefferies Global FinTech Conference where I discussed Nasdaq's ongoing commitment to leveraging technology to address our clients' most critical challenges and our continued focus on achieving financial excellence. In addition to the conferences, I was pleased to spend time with the investment community across the U.S. and Europe.     I also had the opportunity to visit Verafin in St. John’s (what a beautiful place and an impressive team!) where I joined leaders from across the business in discussions centered around the immediate priorities that are top of mind to drive Verafin’s continued growth and support of our customers. With the recent rollout of its AI-copilot, Verafin has demonstrated how innovation is at its core and how it will continue to unlock opportunities that will help us drive our business into the future.     As I reflect on this journey, I continue to be inspired by the entire team’s rigor to uphold the integrity across the financial system which is critical to the growth and safety of our global economy. These are key themes that are front of mind in any market today and I am proud that Nasdaq plays such a key role in driving this progress.

Nasdaq recently published its 2023 Sustainability Report. As Nasdaq and our clients navigate the complexity of the ESG ecosystem, our position at the intersection of technology and the financial system provides us with a unique perspective on how this ecosystem is evolving.      Within my role as Chief Financial Officer, I also act as Co-Chair of the Corporate ESG Steering Committee working closely with our Corporate ESG Strategy and Reporting team to advance initiatives that solidify our business resilience by reducing our environmental impact, increasing our social impact, and maintaining robust corporate governance practices.      For our clients, we are committed to being a strategic partner to them, minimizing complexity and friction in the development, execution, and reporting of their own ESG strategies, and helping to capitalize on emerging opportunities while better managing risks.       Combined, these actions help ensure we can deliver on our purpose to advance economic progress for all, while embracing impact.      Learn more about our strategic approach to sustainability and read the report findings here: https://lnkd.in/gAzMxu2V

As I’ve shared previously, spending time with Nasdaq’s stakeholders around the globe is always a highlight for me. Following our first quarter earnings last month, I had the pleasure to travel to the Middle East and India to meet with the Nasdaq team, investors, and clients. In Saudi Arabia and Dubai, Adena Friedman and I met with public and private sector leaders. The energy in the region and in our client base is palpable and it was inspiring to discuss the rapid advancement of the region’s economy and capital markets with our clients. I also spent time in Dubai with our team members in the region where we discussed the importance of our "One Nasdaq" strategy and how we can leverage our global team to best help our clients solve complex challenges. Our teams across the region share an incredibly collaborative spirit, a deep commitment to our culture, and a client-centric mindset. The following week, Adena, Bradley Peterson, Bryan Smith, Mollie O'Brien, and I traveled to India to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Nasdaq’s operations in the country. The Bangalore office marked Nasdaq’s first corporate presence in India, which has grown into an important global hub and a vital center of technology excellence across all of our divisions and expert teams. The celebrations were meaningful, and we also spent focused time with the teams, which was a great way to combine getting to know our team and continuing to appreciate our product innovation. The expertise in technology and the strong culture represented in Nasdaq's India offices makes me very excited about what the future will hold in this region, particularly as we continue to integrate AxiomSL and Calypso. Taken together, the conversations we had over the course of our journey reinforce the important role that Nasdaq continues to play as a trusted partner with mission-critical capabilities serving the global financial system. I look forward to continuing to engage in a two-way dialogue with our key internal and external stakeholders to gain valuable insights and continue the resiliency and growth of the economy in these regions and beyond.

After spending time across the US, Canada, and Europe with investors, I recently embarked on my first global office tour to connect with colleagues and the investment community across Europe. My journey took me to Stockholm, Vilnius, and London, as I celebrated my 4th month at Nasdaq. Throughout my visit, I hosted a series of town halls at each Nasdaq office location, met with our local Finance team members, and connected with members of our Employee Resource Group, Women In Nasdaq. Each of these sessions was deeply collaborative and filled with excitement. I learned more about the key strategic priorities within each country and across the broader region as we discussed how Nasdaq is poised to continue partnering with our clients to solve their biggest challenges. It was great to see first-hand the tremendous energy, innovation, and opportunity that drive our business forward! I want to thank our employees, clients, investors, and partners across Europe for such a successful and engaging trip. Meeting with all of you has been a highlight of my time at Nasdaq and I am already looking forward to my next trip!  

Yesterday, Nasdaq hosted its 2024 Investor Day. The theme throughout the day was all about our next phase of growth: scalable, profitable, and durable growth.    Over the past seven years, Nasdaq has been on a transformational journey, which has culminated in our position as a trusted and scaled technology partner. Today, Nasdaq has an exceptional financial profile coupled with an incredible track record of execution, and we are well positioned to deliver on our 2024 strategic priorities – Integrate, Innovate, and Accelerate. Across our three divisions, we have a more complete set of capabilities, solutions, and expertise that will continue to deliver for clients, drive growth, and unlock shareholder value.   I am extremely proud to be part of Nasdaq at such an important time in our journey as a financial technology powerhouse – and we’re only just getting started. I look forward to working alongside the entire Nasdaq team to continue to deliver value to our clients and our shareholders.     Find out more about Nasdaq’s Investor Day here: https://lnkd.in/gm6pA4xz

I truly enjoyed my time at MIT. The quality of the discussion with the students and the professors was extraordinary. Thank you Anne!