Speaker 1: I was looking for waitressing jobs back in the mid nineties,
Speaker 1: and nobody would hire me because I didn't have waitressing experience.
Speaker 1: And I got an internship on the floor of the
Speaker 1: New York Stock Exchange, and within about fifteen minutes on
Speaker 1: that trading floor, I knew really quickly that it was
Speaker 1: a pivotal moment for me and that I was suddenly
Speaker 1: found what I was passionate about and what I really enjoyed.
Speaker 1: I loved the energy, I loved the pace. I loved
Speaker 1: how how much was happening so quickly, and so it
Speaker 1: was really an interesting you know, I knew at that
Speaker 1: point in time, if that's what I wanted to do
Speaker 1: with my career. That is Stacy Cunningham, and she has
Speaker 1: what is one of the most powerful icons of the
Speaker 1: American economy, the New York Stock Exchange, in the Exchange's
Speaker 1: entire history. She is the first woman in that job.
Speaker 1: I am Sharon Bowen, and this is Seneca's one Dred
Speaker 1: Women to hear. We are bringing you one hundred of
Speaker 1: the world's most inspiring in history making women you need
Speaker 1: to hear. Stacy Cunningham became President of the New York
Speaker 1: Stock Exchange in two thousand eighteen, haven't worked there since
Speaker 1: two thousand twelve. Before that, she was at NASDAK and
Speaker 1: Bank of America. She even took a little career break
Speaker 1: to study at culinary school and work as a chef.
Speaker 1: Like many leaders, during the past year, Stacy has had
Speaker 1: to face down the challenges of COVID nineteen. She won
Speaker 1: phrase for a hailing of the pandemic. She's also been
Speaker 1: commended for helping New York Stock Exchange listed companies become
Speaker 1: more diverse. Listen and learn why Stacy Cunningham is one
Speaker 1: of Seneca's on Women to Hear. Thank you so much,
Speaker 1: Stacy for joining us today. Thanks your and I'm excited
Speaker 1: to sit down and get a chance to catch up
Speaker 1: with the same as well. Stacy, you know you are
Speaker 1: not only the president of the New York Stock Exchange,
Speaker 1: but you are the first woman to hold that position exycle.
Speaker 1: What does that position entail? You know, it varies from
Speaker 1: week to week. It's hard to predict what a day
Speaker 1: at the New York Stock Exchange might be. But we are,
Speaker 1: you know, more than just a stock exchange. Given our
Speaker 1: global footprint and and the role that we've played in
Speaker 1: the global economy. For so many years, some humbled by
Speaker 1: by holding that position. It might include working with the
Speaker 1: listed companies that listed companies that are members of the
Speaker 1: New York Stock Exchange and listed on the New York
Speaker 1: Stock Exchange, a number of trading firms that that are
Speaker 1: you know, we are the largest world's largest exchange marketplace
Speaker 1: and trade trade more than any other exchange in the world.
Speaker 1: But then there's also an element of so many people
Speaker 1: outside of the exchange that we interact with world leaders
Speaker 1: and representatives of so many different industries. And so I
Speaker 1: have the good, fortunate and opportunity to get a lot
Speaker 1: to meet a lot of interesting people in my in
Speaker 1: my lot of work. Great you know, I would say,
Speaker 1: the few times I've been there for the opening and
Speaker 1: closing ceremonies, I'm always excited by that experience. So I'm
Speaker 1: sure that that's a highlight, you know, I would stay
Speaker 1: Aaron ad charity sort of comes the good and the
Speaker 1: bad together. When there's great news out in the world
Speaker 1: and the market's doing really well, people look at the
Speaker 1: n y C and and highlight us as a symbol
Speaker 1: of of of American democracy and the economy. When things
Speaker 1: are not great, you also see the New York Stock
Speaker 1: Exchange hung out there as a symbol. So there are
Speaker 1: times where people might be protesting something and you see
Speaker 1: the NYC facade as representative of of of of government
Speaker 1: or of the US and it's an interesting it's an
Speaker 1: interesting role to play. So you have to take good
Speaker 1: of that, and there's no hiding when you're when you're
Speaker 1: in this role. Now, that's a good that's a good
Speaker 1: point to say that. So let's talk a little bit
Speaker 1: about your early years and what was it like growing up,
Speaker 1: How did it shape you and was there a pivolical
Speaker 1: moment that led you to where you are today. I'm
Speaker 1: a big believer in that every single one of your
Speaker 1: experiences shapes you and prepares you for what might come next,
Speaker 1: and that you learn from all of that. And so
Speaker 1: much of my childhood. I grew up in a large family.
Speaker 1: I have three three brothers and two sisters, and so
Speaker 1: it was somewhat of a chaotic household growing up, and
Speaker 1: I think that all of that played into how I
Speaker 1: communicate and how I how I operate, and so certainly
Speaker 1: my my family life played played a role. My father
Speaker 1: was in the financial market industry, but never talked much
Speaker 1: about it, So that wasn't something that I grew up
Speaker 1: looking toward and aspiring to, you know, want to have
Speaker 1: a role in finance. I really liked math and science,
Speaker 1: and so in school that was always what I was studying,
Speaker 1: and that also sort of played into my background. So
Speaker 1: I was in in university and I was studying engineering,
Speaker 1: and I expect did that. I wasn't exactly sure how
Speaker 1: I would use it, but that I liked engineering and
Speaker 1: I liked those those subjects, and so that was where
Speaker 1: I was getting my my degree. And the pivotal moment
Speaker 1: that that you asked about was really when I was
Speaker 1: trying to get a summer internship and I didn't have
Speaker 1: an internship lined up, but I was just looking for
Speaker 1: summer job then, and frankly, I was looking for waitressing
Speaker 1: jobs back in the mid nineties, and nobody would hire
Speaker 1: me because I didn't have waitressing experience, which and I
Speaker 1: really do think I would have been a great waitress,
Speaker 1: but I didn't wasn't able to convince anybody of that.
Speaker 1: And at the time, my dad said, well, maybe I
Speaker 1: know somebody that might have an internship. Let me see
Speaker 1: if I can help, And you know, it's a little
Speaker 1: bit of a cliche, and that he was able to
Speaker 1: find find somebody who had an internship spot. And I
Speaker 1: got an internship on the floor of the New York
Speaker 1: Stock Exchange. And you know, one of the things I
Speaker 1: often think about is, you know, I was very fortunate
Speaker 1: to have that access and that opportunity that gets you
Speaker 1: in the door, but it doesn't keep you in the room.
Speaker 1: You know, you really need to be able to establish
Speaker 1: yourself as as contributing value to an organization. But at
Speaker 1: the time, you know, I got this internship and I
Speaker 1: walked onto the trading floor, and I still walking in there,
Speaker 1: had no real interest in in pursuing it as a
Speaker 1: career for me. It was just a way to spend
Speaker 1: the next couple of months. And with about fifteen minutes
Speaker 1: on that trading floor, I knew really quickly that it
Speaker 1: was a pivotal moment for me and that I was
Speaker 1: suddenly found what I was passionate about and what I
Speaker 1: really enjoyed. I loved the energy, I loved the pace,
Speaker 1: I loved how how much was happening so quickly, and
Speaker 1: so it was really an interesting you know, I knew
Speaker 1: at that point in time that that's what I wanted
Speaker 1: to do with my career. Later on, I grew to
Speaker 1: love what what was being accomplished and what it meant
Speaker 1: for our country and what it meant for opportunity with
Speaker 1: the capital markets the role that they play. I didn't
Speaker 1: really understand that when I was a teenager on the
Speaker 1: trading floor, but I did certainly grow to understand that later.
Speaker 1: So it had a huge impact, and it was just
Speaker 1: one moment. It was one summer job that I didn't
Speaker 1: expect to have such a significant change on my path
Speaker 1: and where I went from there. But I was very
Speaker 1: fortunate to have that opportunity. Yeah, thanks for sharing that.
Speaker 1: You know, I imagine obviously then and and at the
Speaker 1: start of your career there were very few women on
Speaker 1: the trading floor. What was that like? What did you
Speaker 1: learn from that experience from being one of a few,
Speaker 1: and how things changed for women since then? Sharon, I
Speaker 1: think I wish I had a better answer for this,
Speaker 1: because I didn't really notice it. And that's something that
Speaker 1: I think is more just the way I operated, and
Speaker 1: maybe because I came from a big family and I
Speaker 1: was sort of just used to chaos, But I didn't
Speaker 1: notice that there were so few women on the floor.
Speaker 1: My gender just wasn't something that I thought a lot about,
Speaker 1: and I didn't think much about the fact that it
Speaker 1: was unusual for me to be there. I knew there
Speaker 1: were a few women. I could certainly tell that I
Speaker 1: was outnumbered and that there weren't a lot of women
Speaker 1: on the trading floor, but it wasn't something that I
Speaker 1: I focused on, and I operated the way I operate
Speaker 1: and how I you know, I continue to just be
Speaker 1: who I am, and so I didn't think much about that.
Speaker 1: I think a lot more about it now, and I
Speaker 1: recognize how significant it was that I was on the floor,
Speaker 1: and frankly that that was a result of other women
Speaker 1: driving real change. And so Muriel Siebert, who was the
Speaker 1: first female member of the New York Stock Exchange, I
Speaker 1: never met her, I didn't know her. I didn't even
Speaker 1: know who she was when I walked onto the trading floor.
Speaker 1: But she fought her way into becoming a member of
Speaker 1: the Exchange, and it was her action that that led
Speaker 1: to my being able to walk onto the trading floor
Speaker 1: and not even think about the fact that I was
Speaker 1: a woman down there. So that that was, you know,
Speaker 1: a really important lesson for me. That all of the
Speaker 1: things that we do and every time we redraw boundaries
Speaker 1: were redrawing them for everyone else that follows us, not
Speaker 1: just for ourselves. But I don't have no idea what
Speaker 1: Muriel's intentions were when she became a female member of
Speaker 1: the Exchange and whether or not she wanted to drive
Speaker 1: drive that for women beyond that that follow her, But
Speaker 1: she did either way, and so that was really significant. Certainly, Uh,
Speaker 1: as a woman on the floor, I had to hire profile,
Speaker 1: and so that actually worked my advantage. There there were
Speaker 1: so few women that people knew who you were, They
Speaker 1: recognized you, and so I actually had an easier experience
Speaker 1: in a lot of ways than some other people did
Speaker 1: because people saw if I was doing a good job.
Speaker 1: It was easy to see me because I was a woman,
Speaker 1: and you stand out the crowd a little bit. So
Speaker 1: I think there are good and bad things that come
Speaker 1: with being an outlier, but what makes you different makes
Speaker 1: you more valuable, and so the more that you can
Speaker 1: actually use your your diverse viewpoint and think about things
Speaker 1: a little bit differently, I frankly became someone pretty quickly
Speaker 1: that people would ask my advice on issues and on things.
Speaker 1: That was was you know, I think because I thought
Speaker 1: about things a little bit differently than so many other
Speaker 1: people down there. Thanks for sharing that story and the
Speaker 1: diversity of perspectives. I'm a firm believer in that. Um,
Speaker 1: you do remind me. I do know that one of
Speaker 1: the boardrooms uh at the Exchange has Seabert's jacket, one
Speaker 1: of her famous jackets sit there. So whenever I see that,
Speaker 1: I owe a smile seven sharreon. She it took a
Speaker 1: hundred and seventy five years from when the New York
Speaker 1: Stock and Change was founded to have its first female member.
Speaker 1: That's that's horrifying, you know, it was. It was far
Speaker 1: too long, and she had a lot of challenges when
Speaker 1: she became a female member. Wasn't easy for her, but
Speaker 1: she certainly paved the paved the road for so many
Speaker 1: to follow. So has shift a little bit and and
Speaker 1: talk about the pandemic and uh, you know, because of
Speaker 1: the pandemic, you had to shut down the Trading Fluid
Speaker 1: Exchange for a couple of months and then you partially
Speaker 1: reopened it. Um, what are the pivots did you have
Speaker 1: to make doing COVID in Were there any particular changes
Speaker 1: that were actually for the better that you would see
Speaker 1: as part of the future. I think so many of
Speaker 1: us had to rethink how we do things over the
Speaker 1: past year in light of the pandemic, and frankly, we
Speaker 1: were challenged on so many fronts. I mean, we were
Speaker 1: challenged as a business, we were challenged as individuals, as families,
Speaker 1: as a society, and in the US as a as
Speaker 1: a country. You know, we we were dealing with so
Speaker 1: many different issues at the same time. And in the
Speaker 1: midst of all of this, the pandemic was spreading. And
Speaker 1: a big part of what the New York Stock Exchange
Speaker 1: does is how we is the trading floor in the
Speaker 1: value that we provide to our listed companies and their
Speaker 1: investors because of the way we trade stocks. But having
Speaker 1: those people on the trading floor became clear as the
Speaker 1: as the virus was spreading really rapidly in New York
Speaker 1: that we didn't know enough about how to protect each other.
Speaker 1: We didn't want to be a strain on the health
Speaker 1: care system, so we made the decision to close the
Speaker 1: trading floor. What we learned during those two months, aside
Speaker 1: from how to protect ourselves so that we could reopen
Speaker 1: it more sitting, you know, and reduce the risk there.
Speaker 1: We also saw the value of how we trade stocks.
Speaker 1: So with the floor closed, our stocks didn't trade as
Speaker 1: well as they trade with the floor open, but they
Speaker 1: still traded better than other markets that we compete with
Speaker 1: because so much of our model is really three different elements.
Speaker 1: It's one our technology that is cutting edge and better
Speaker 1: than any exchange technology in the world, and it was
Speaker 1: really strained and stressed, you know, during during the volatility
Speaker 1: in the market in March, and performed really really extraordinarily well.
Speaker 1: To accountability. So every stock that's listed on the New
Speaker 1: York Stock Exchange has somebody who's responsible for overseeing trading
Speaker 1: in that stock, and they have obligations to to make
Speaker 1: better markets, to have a better bid and ask prices
Speaker 1: out in the marketplace. And then three is human judgment,
Speaker 1: then human the human oversight. Those three elements are really
Speaker 1: what creates our very unique market model that the NYC
Speaker 1: offers our customers. When the floor was closed, we were
Speaker 1: just losing that that human element piece, but we still
Speaker 1: the accountability and our technology, and what we saw was
Speaker 1: our outperformance was doesn't come just from the trading floor.
Speaker 1: It comes from those three combinations. So we still outperformed
Speaker 1: versus others, but did not meet our own standard of
Speaker 1: performance that we typically have when we when we have
Speaker 1: our full offering with the trading floor. That became an
Speaker 1: opportunity for us too, and frankly, there were academics that
Speaker 1: studied it and measured it, so became an opportunity for
Speaker 1: us to go out to institutional investors and show the
Speaker 1: value of having that accountability and having our our floor
Speaker 1: as part of our offering for for customers. So it
Speaker 1: was a real educational moment. We made some other changes
Speaker 1: both in how we operate our markets as well as
Speaker 1: how we provide value to our customers that are are
Speaker 1: listed companies that are coming in to celebrate milestones. Everyone
Speaker 1: is seeing the opening closing bell ceremonies on TV. We
Speaker 1: moved a lot of that to virtual and using a
Speaker 1: R and VR technology to to have great a really
Speaker 1: fun experience for their for their companies and their employees
Speaker 1: that couldn't come in and join as part of a celebration.
Speaker 1: So there are a lot of things that will keep
Speaker 1: us part of our future, whether it's how we how
Speaker 1: we operate the markets, as well as how we celebrate,
Speaker 1: how we celebrate our community certainly bringing together the community.
Speaker 1: You know. One of the things that we did pretty
Speaker 1: quickly would start working with Dr Scott Gottlieb, who is
Speaker 1: the former Commissioner of the f d A, to to
Speaker 1: help educate our listed company community on what was going
Speaker 1: on and how how they can protect their employees and
Speaker 1: their and their families and how they should be thinking
Speaker 1: about the steps they should take in light of the pandemic,
Speaker 1: and so bringing that community together first around COVID, second
Speaker 1: around the digital transformation of their businesses, having a lot
Speaker 1: of our tech CEO speak to the broader the broader
Speaker 1: NYC community about their products and services that they have
Speaker 1: and how they're managing and navigating and changing the future
Speaker 1: of work in the future of how we all interact.
Speaker 1: So bringing that community together was a big part of
Speaker 1: of how we went through the past twelve months. So
Speaker 1: being a resource in a unique way when we were
Speaker 1: all not sure how to deal with COVID and how
Speaker 1: to protect our employees. So I hadn't thought about it
Speaker 1: from that perspective, but that's what a great service as
Speaker 1: well senecas one hundred women to hear we'll be back
Speaker 1: after this short break. You've said in the past that
Speaker 1: you know, capitalism is the story of the American dream,
Speaker 1: but that capitalism also needs a tune up. What kinds
Speaker 1: of changes would you like to see? When I think
Speaker 1: about our role, you know, our mission is to help
Speaker 1: companies raise money so they can go out and change
Speaker 1: the world and share and provide opportunities for others to
Speaker 1: share in that success. That's where I think we need
Speaker 1: to make sure we're still meeting that second half of
Speaker 1: the equation. So somebody can found a dreamer could come here,
Speaker 1: found a business, build it up, become very wealthy, and
Speaker 1: create jobs along the way, scale their products and services
Speaker 1: so they're available to the masses and not just the
Speaker 1: few of means. But they need to share that success.
Speaker 1: If it's not a story of shared success, we're going
Speaker 1: to lead to a bifurcation of wealth that we've seen
Speaker 1: happen here in the US, and that that that starts
Speaker 1: to change the way things are working. So it know,
Speaker 1: doesn't become a model that works for everyone if it's
Speaker 1: if we're not focusing on that shared success. One of
Speaker 1: the major shifts that we've seen is companies are staying
Speaker 1: private much longer, which means they're growing in the private
Speaker 1: space because they have access to capital there, and then
Speaker 1: when they go public, they've already really seen their most
Speaker 1: rapid growth years and so others aren't sharing and that
Speaker 1: that rapid period of growth they're sharing in in in
Speaker 1: more muted growth later once they're public. So that getting
Speaker 1: companies public sooner is a big part of that. So
Speaker 1: we need to look at a balance of the benefits
Speaker 1: and obligations of being a public company because there are choices.
Speaker 1: Companies have more choice now than they did before because
Speaker 1: they can go to other places for for to raise capital.
Speaker 1: It's not just the public markets. We need to make
Speaker 1: sure that our public markets are focused on investor protections
Speaker 1: but don't end up deterring companies from going public because
Speaker 1: that means that the everyday American doesn't share in that
Speaker 1: success and doesn't get to join. You know that that
Speaker 1: wealth creation and that American dream has to be a
Speaker 1: story of shared success. So that's one of the reasons
Speaker 1: you can talk to just a little bit about the
Speaker 1: direct listing. Yeah, so because companies have options to raising money,
Speaker 1: they're asking questions about how they want to go public,
Speaker 1: and it's a really interesting development in the capital market space.
Speaker 1: Companies have more choices now than they've had ever in
Speaker 1: there and and we we've ever seen before. And a
Speaker 1: big part of that is because if if raising capital
Speaker 1: isn't their primary driver for going public, they started to
Speaker 1: ask questions about and specifically Barry McCarthy, who is the
Speaker 1: CFO of Spotify, said well, I'm going public because of
Speaker 1: all the other benefits of being a public company, but
Speaker 1: not to raise money. And so why do I need
Speaker 1: to do an I p O and raise money? Can
Speaker 1: I just have the New York Stock Exchange price our
Speaker 1: stock and we can start trading there one day. And
Speaker 1: he also wanted to democratize access to that their their
Speaker 1: company and through an I p O. When you go
Speaker 1: through the traditional process of an investment bank underwriting and
Speaker 1: offering and allocating it out to customers, not everyone gets
Speaker 1: that allocation so many of them, you know, it's it's
Speaker 1: limited the night before, and not everyone gets to share
Speaker 1: in that that process. And Spotify really wanted to democratize
Speaker 1: that access so that all investors were on a level
Speaker 1: playing field. So they came to the New York Stock
Speaker 1: Exchange at the end of two thousand sixteen and we
Speaker 1: implemented and designed worked with them in the SEC to
Speaker 1: create the direct listing and that's how they went public,
Speaker 1: and there have been a few other company ease uh
Speaker 1: that have followed suit on the New York Stock Exchanged
Speaker 1: that way. But some companies started saying, what if I
Speaker 1: do want to raise money at the same time, And
Speaker 1: so we recognize that direct listing to date has decoupled
Speaker 1: capital raising from going public, but now what if I
Speaker 1: want to do both of those things. So we've been
Speaker 1: working for the past eighteen months to introduce the ability
Speaker 1: to raise capital but have the market price that offering
Speaker 1: in instead of having an I p O. And we
Speaker 1: recently received approval from the SEC to launch that. So
Speaker 1: that's a really exciting development. I think it's really reflective
Speaker 1: of some of the trends that we're seeing in how
Speaker 1: companies are going public and the types of things they're
Speaker 1: looking to achieve. And so now what I think you're
Speaker 1: going to see going forward is companies asking questions about
Speaker 1: what their goals are and how what mechanism of going public,
Speaker 1: whether it be an I p O or direct listing
Speaker 1: or SPACK special purpose acquisition corporation, what are they trying
Speaker 1: to accomplish in which one of those paths to the
Speaker 1: public market best meets their needs. Those are great tune
Speaker 1: ups for sure. You know, one of the other trends
Speaker 1: that's been a big focus is on E s G investing.
Speaker 1: You know, that is investments that seek positive returns in
Speaker 1: long term impact on society, the environment, and the performance
Speaker 1: of businesses. Can you talk a little bit about how
Speaker 1: the New York Stock Exchange is encouraging s G investing
Speaker 1: and then also tell us a little bit about the
Speaker 1: advisory board and its focused on board diversity as well. Yeah.
Speaker 1: E s G is such an important topic and it
Speaker 1: is one of the fastest growing areas of investment that
Speaker 1: we've seen. There's a study that just recently came out
Speaker 1: and looking at the two thousand eighteen to two thousand
Speaker 1: twenty period, the percentage of dollars that are invested in
Speaker 1: a professionally managed assets that are invested in E s
Speaker 1: G strategies has grown. So now currently one in three
Speaker 1: professionally managed dollars is invested in the E s G strategy.
Speaker 1: So it's it's certainly investors are demanding the change that
Speaker 1: they want to see and that's a really good outcome.
Speaker 1: So we've been very focused on helping our companies meet
Speaker 1: the needs that they're trying to their goals to accomplish
Speaker 1: with respect to e s G, whether it be around climate,
Speaker 1: and providing them with data, providing them with guidance how
Speaker 1: to tell their stories around e s G, and providing
Speaker 1: them with solutions and tools for things like board diversity.
Speaker 1: So many of our our companies are looking to change
Speaker 1: the diversity profile on their boards, but most board seats
Speaker 1: are are found. Most board seats are filled through networking
Speaker 1: and relationships that already pre exist. So we tapped into
Speaker 1: the NYC network and you with you as as a
Speaker 1: co founder, launched the NYC Board Advisory Council. That council
Speaker 1: members part of their obligation is to provide a list
Speaker 1: of diverse candidates that they would recommend and vouch for
Speaker 1: as a as a board as a board member, so
Speaker 1: that the companies that are listed on the New York
Speaker 1: Stock Exchange that are looking for new board members can
Speaker 1: use the network of not just their own personal networks,
Speaker 1: but the collective NYC personal network of ceo s that
Speaker 1: they can find those those those diverse members. Things like
Speaker 1: that things around the data we collect e s G
Speaker 1: data on five dred different criteria in ice data services
Speaker 1: that we can then echo back to listed companies so
Speaker 1: they can see how they stack up against their peers.
Speaker 1: Where there's information that isn't accurate, so they can they
Speaker 1: can clarify it with investors because very often there's misinformation
Speaker 1: out there. Looking at so many different avenues that we
Speaker 1: can help them navigate this space. It's a big area
Speaker 1: of focus for us, and investors are definitely driving and
Speaker 1: demanding the changes that they want to see, which is
Speaker 1: I think appropriate. So one of the things that often
Speaker 1: comes up is what the exchanges role is in E
Speaker 1: S G and a number number of different issues, And
Speaker 1: just because of the topic we just talked about, I
Speaker 1: think it's important that we let investors have choices and
Speaker 1: be able to choose what behavior that they want to see.
Speaker 1: Our markets are designed to balance investor protections with investor choice.
Speaker 1: That's what makes them the deepest, most liquid markets in
Speaker 1: the world. I draw the line at using our regulatory
Speaker 1: authority to define the investable universe, because then we take
Speaker 1: away that choice from investors. So if we were to
Speaker 1: require very specific E s g UH criteria around any
Speaker 1: of these topics, it would lead to investors no longer
Speaker 1: having access to those opportunities. We want to see companies
Speaker 1: going public because that's how they share the success. But
Speaker 1: we will see the changes that we want to see
Speaker 1: because investors are demanding them and and that's that That's
Speaker 1: I'm very encouraged and optimistic by the fact that investors
Speaker 1: are saying that diverse companies are run better and they
Speaker 1: perform better, and so you better have diversity throughout your organization.
Speaker 1: We are seeing them them focus on their stakeholders and
Speaker 1: so it's it's really encouraging to see the evolution of
Speaker 1: companies in response to investor demands. I'm really excited about
Speaker 1: that and to be able to play a role in
Speaker 1: the progress that's being made. But you know, just definitely
Speaker 1: want to applied you for your your leadership in that respect.
Speaker 1: So what makes you optimistic about the future and what
Speaker 1: gives you hope? Yeah, I think we went through a
Speaker 1: challenging year on a lot of fronts, and it brought
Speaker 1: front and center a lot of issues that we're struggling
Speaker 1: with and and we've had to ask ourselves a lot
Speaker 1: of tough questions. Are we ready for a global pandemic?
Speaker 1: You know, are we meeting the needs of our Are
Speaker 1: we living up to the equality standards that we outlined
Speaker 1: for the country, Are we as our political or political
Speaker 1: voices being heard. There are so many questions that we
Speaker 1: faced as a as a as a country, as businesses,
Speaker 1: as individuals, and I can't I have to. I have
Speaker 1: to admit that I think we didn't love all of
Speaker 1: the answers. Clearly, we weren't ready for a global pandemic,
Speaker 1: and and and we we needed to. We need to
Speaker 1: learn from these issues. I think the real question is
Speaker 1: how do we how do we make ourselves stronger and better?
Speaker 1: How do we focus on our future. That's something we've
Speaker 1: had to do as a business all along. Every time
Speaker 1: the markets restrained, we learned from those major market events
Speaker 1: and we enhance the resiliency in our markets. And that's
Speaker 1: why when the markets were really under pressure, they operated
Speaker 1: smoothly because of all the changes that we've made. That's
Speaker 1: what we need to ask ourselves now, all the all
Speaker 1: the tough questions that we've had to face. I'm optimistic.
Speaker 1: I'm excited about the fact that they're going to make
Speaker 1: us better because we we now need to focus our
Speaker 1: energy on driving change so that we can be proud
Speaker 1: of the the question, the answers to the questions that
Speaker 1: that are tossed our way. So I really am optimistic.
Speaker 1: I mean it took some pain, but very often are
Speaker 1: our most significant growth comes out of crisis. And there's
Speaker 1: a clarity that comes with crisis on what's most important
Speaker 1: and where do we need to focus our energy? And
Speaker 1: I think collectively, not just at the New York Stock Exchange,
Speaker 1: but including the NYC and everywhere we're we're looking how
Speaker 1: can we how can we be the best versions of ourselves?
Speaker 1: And and there's a clear path to that. But that's
Speaker 1: a great note to end on. Stacy and uh, I
Speaker 1: want to thank you so much for speaking with me
Speaker 1: today and keep keep up the great work you've been doing.
Speaker 1: Thanks Sharon, I look forward to catching up in person.
Speaker 1: What a pleasure to talk to Stacy Cunningham. She has
Speaker 1: a perspective that few can match. Here's some things I
Speaker 1: took away from that conversation. First, there's a great advantage
Speaker 1: and having the outsider's perspective, as Stacy says, what makes
Speaker 1: you different is what makes you more valuable and the
Speaker 1: more that you can actually use your diverse viewpoint to
Speaker 1: approach things a bit differently, the better for you and
Speaker 1: for your company. Second, the value diverse viewpoints is never
Speaker 1: being recognized across the financial world. Investors are calling our
Speaker 1: companies to foster social good, to focus on things like
Speaker 1: diversity as well as the environment and other positives. And that,
Speaker 1: says Stacy, what us You're in the kind of change
Speaker 1: we can all be proud of. Finally, in the American economy,
Speaker 1: there is no real success without shared success. As Stacy says,
Speaker 1: what doesn't work is a continued bifurcation of wealth. Our
Speaker 1: country's economic model has to be one that works for everyone.
Speaker 1: Tune in next Tuesday to hear about our next speech,
Speaker 1: are Women and discover why She's one of Seneca's one
Speaker 1: hundred Women to Hear. Seneca's one hundred Women to Hear
Speaker 1: is a collaboration between the Seneca Women podcast Network and
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio, with support from founding partner PNG. Have
Speaker 1: a Great Day.