Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman signs employment agreement running through January 1, 2030
Nasdaq, Inc. disclosed new employment agreements with Chair and CEO Adena T. Friedman, President Tal Cohen and CIO/CTO Bradley J. Peterson, covering continued service in their roles. The agreements set base salaries, target bonuses and minimum equity grant values, and define severance terms, including enhanced payments if a termination follows a change in control. The filing contains no financial results, so the terms are primarily a governance and compensation disclosure for shareholders.
Key points
- Friedman agreement runs through January 1, 2030, with a $1,400,000 base salary, a 300% target bonus and a 2025 equity award target of at least $15,000,000
- Cohen agreement runs through January 1, 2030, with a $750,000 base salary, a 200% target bonus and a one-time equity award with a $7,000,000 target value
- Peterson agreement runs through January 1, 2028, with a $650,000 base salary, a 175% target bonus and a 2025 equity award target of $3,200,000
- Friedman may give notice of retirement no earlier than December 31, 2027, with 12 months' advance notice required
The filing
Written by AI (Anthropic Claude, claude-haiku-5-5) on Nov 8, 2026, 1:42 AM ET, from the text of the filing and its press-release exhibits only. Written later: this filing was briefed after the fact, when past filings were added to the site, so the brief may be read with hindsight; the filing itself is the record of what was known on March 12, 2025.
Briefs are written by AI from the filing text (each brief's own page names the model) and can contain mistakes — open the filing before acting on anything. Impact (1-5) and tone are the model's reading of the filing for shareholders, not a price forecast. Not investment advice.