Jeffrey Sprecher

Jeffrey Sprecher was born and raised in Madison, WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a state in the north-central United States; its capital is Madison and its largest city is Milwaukee. Wisconsin was admitted to the Union on May 29, 1848, as the 30th state, and the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) counted 5,893,718 residents.Open the full entry. He entered the University of Wisconsin–Madison on a premed track, switched to engineering and graduated in chemical engineering in 1978; he later earned an MBA from Pepperdine UniversityPepperdine UniversityPepperdine University is a Christian university based in Malibu, California, United States. It grew out of George Pepperdine College, founded in Los Angeles in 1937 by the businessman George Pepperdine, and has an undergraduate college and schools of business, education and psychology, law and public policy.Open the full entry.⁠[1][2]

After graduating he was recruited by Trane, where he designed thermal-energy storage systems; he then spent more than a decade at Western Power Group, developing and financing power plants during energy deregulation and building and operating plants in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a U.S. state on the Pacific coast; its capital is Sacramento and its largest city is Los Angeles. California was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state. Its population at the 2020 Census (April 1, 2020) was 39,538,223, the largest of any state.Open the full entry.⁠[2][3]

In 1997 he bought the struggling Continental Power Exchange, an Atlanta-based power-trading platform previously owned by MidAmerican Energy, for $1,000 and assumed its outstanding debt.⁠[1][3]

In 2000 he folded the Continental Power Exchange into the newly founded Intercontinental Exchange, a startup aimed at bringing transparency to energy trading. Most of the new company’s stock went to early investors including Goldman SachsGoldman SachsGoldman Sachs is an American financial services group headquartered in New York whose businesses include investment banking, securities trading, asset management, and wealth management. It traces its origins to the commercial paper business Marcus Goldman founded in 1869; it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1999 under the ticker GS and became a bank holding company in 2008. David Solomon serves as chairman and chief executive officer.Open the full entry, Morgan StanleyMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is an American global financial services firm that grew from an investment banking partnership into a publicly traded financial group spanning investment banking, securities trading, wealth management, and investment management.Open the full entry, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale, British Petroleum, Royal Dutch, Total and utilities such as Duke EnergyDuke EnergyDuke Energy is one of the largest American energy holding companies, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. As of October 2026 its electric utilities served 8.7 million customers in six states and its natural gas utilities 1.6 million customers.Open the full entry and Southern Co.⁠[4][3]Southern CompanyThe Southern Company is an Atlanta-based energy holding company whose subsidiaries, including Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Mississippi Power, Southern Company Gas, Southern Power and Southern Nuclear, provide electricity and natural gas; it is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SO.Open the full entry

Under his leadership ICE acquired the International Petroleum Exchange in 2001, the New York Board of Trade in 2007, Creditex in 2008, The Clearing Corporation in 2009 and the Climate Exchange in 2010; these deals created ICE Futures Europe, ICE Clear Europe, ICE Futures U.S. and ICE Clear U.S.⁠[4]

In 2005 ICE listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ICE, at a total valuation of $1.4 billion.⁠[1][3]

On November 13, 2013, IntercontinentalExchange Group, Inc. announced that it had completed its stock-and-cash acquisition of NYSE Euronext, valued at about $11 billion, giving the combined company a market capitalization of about $23 billion. He became chairman and CEO of IntercontinentalExchange Group, and Duncan L. Niederauer became president of ICE and CEO of the NYSE.⁠[5]

The Wisconsin Alumni Association’s profile describes him as the first leader of the then 232-year-old institution without a brokerage or banking background.⁠[2]

After the acquisition he became chair of the New York Stock Exchange, serving for eight years through 2021 and overseeing its modernization; in 2018 he chaired both NYSE Group and the New York Stock Exchange. On May 22, 2018, ICE named Stacey Cunningham to succeed Thomas Farley as president of NYSE Group, effective May 25.⁠[1][6][7]

On December 6, 2021, ICE announced that Sharon Bowen would become the next chair of the New York Stock Exchange and that Lynn Martin would succeed Stacey Cunningham as NYSE president; he remained ICE’s founder, chairman and CEO.⁠[8]

ICE acquired Interactive Data Corporation in 2015, entering financial data and analytics, and in the mortgage sector acquired Ellie Mae (2020) and Black Knight (September 2023), forming its ICE Fixed Income and Data Services and ICE Mortgage Technology segments. The Wisconsin Alumni Association’s profile estimates that ICE’s platform supports about 90 percent of U.S.United StatesThe United States is a federal country in North America made up of 50 states, the District of Columbia as the seat of government, and territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam; its capital is Washington, D.C. The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The 2020 census (April 1, 2020) counted a resident population of 331,449,281, and the 435 seats of the House of Representatives are apportioned among the states on the basis of the census.Open the full entry residential mortgages.⁠[4][2]

In 2018 he launched Bakkt, anticipating the wider adoption of bitcoin and digital assets.⁠[4]

As of November 2026, ICE’s website lists him as the company’s founder, chair and chief executive officer. The website describes ICE as a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Atlanta and New York, with nearly 14,000 employees, more than $9 billion in annual revenue and a market capitalization of about $100 billion, and states that it delivered a 17% compound annual growth rate to shareholders from 2006 to 2021. Barron’s named him one of its “World’s Best CEOs” for six consecutive years.⁠[4][1]

He served as a trustee of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation from 2014 to 2020 and received a 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association.⁠[2]

Intercontinental Exchange: Official website: https://www.ice.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[9]

New York Stock Exchange: Official website: https://www.nyse.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[6]