Good Things Come in 3s

As I celebrate three years at S&P Dow Jones Indices, I’m reminded of the adage “Good things come in 3s.” If you’ve never heard of the phrase, it means that fortunate, lucky or celebrated milestones usually come in 3s. There’s a reason why the Olympics hands out gold, silver and bronze medals. Why in sports we celebrate a hat trick. Why Neapolitan ice cream exists.

The rule of 3s also applies to my career here at S&P DJI. Despite my starting in June 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently navigating unexpected changes and challenges, our business continues to thrive, grow, evolve and be innovative while providing exciting career opportunities for our people.

In this same spirit, I’d like to share three incredible experiences that have happened so far during my time here at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

1.   Working alongside some of the industry’s most talented people.

This has been, by far, the best benefit of my decision to join this company. As someone who has dedicated 32 years of my professional life to the financial services industry, I have met some of the brightest minds in this industry over the course of my career.

However, there is something truly special and unique about my colleagues at S&P Global and S&P Dow Jones Indices.

We at S&P Dow Jones Indices are passionate about indexing and providing independent benchmarking solutions to global markets. While we’re proud of our flagship indices such as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, I’ve witnessed our team courageously embrace and forge ahead into offering indexing solutions in newer areas such as sustainability, factors, thematics and multi-asset.

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge how proud I am to be part of a company that is so committed to DEI in its hiring practices, educational programming and People Resource Groups (PRGs). I’ve been very intentional about assembling a diverse leadership team and am humbled to be the executive sponsor of S&P Global’s Black Organization for Leadership and Development (BOLD) PRG. Through these experiences, I have had the opportunity to continue my DEI education and find new ways to build and cultivate an inclusive culture that welcomes and supports perspectives from all different backgrounds.

2.   Completing the historic merger and integration with IHS Markit.

Less than six months after I joined, S&P Global and IHS Markit announced our historic merger, which was finalized in March 2022. The integration continues to progress smoothly.

This was not the first M&A experience I have had in my career, but it was by far the most rewarding. I’m grateful to everyone at S&P Global and S&P Dow Jones Indices who took on extra responsibilities to ensure the merger was a success.

The merger benefited S&P Dow Jones Indices in many ways. Not only did we welcome new talent to our team, but the addition of the IHS Markit’s index business allowed us to expand our product suite to include world-class fixed income, multi-asset and derivatives indices, strengthen our global client relationships and take advantage of unparalleled proprietary data and internal analytical capabilities.

3.   Strengthening and steering our brand toward the future.

As stewards of this historic brand, my team at S&P Dow Jones Indices is committed to protecting our legacy while adopting strategies to prepare us for the future. We trace our roots back more than 100 years, and our brand has become a household name that millions of global market participants trust to provide essential intelligence to help them make confident, informed decisions.

As indexing has grown, investors have benefited substantially by saving on fees. In fact, we estimate that index-based investing has saved investors $403 billion in management fees through our indices over the past 26 years.

However, as global markets continue to evolve, it’s important that we keep up with this change as well. We continue to introduce new solutions and enhance the way we service our clients globally so we are strongly positioned for the future.

Additionally, I was named chairman of the Index Industry Association (IIA) in 2021. It is truly an honor to serve the IIA, which represents the global index industry and works with all market participants to promote transparency and integrity in markets through independent benchmarks.

As I look ahead to what year four has in store for me and S&P Dow Jones Indices, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the colleagues, friends, clients and partners I have had the pleasure of working with over the past three years. It is through our collective efforts, resilience and collaboration that we have been able to achieve remarkable results. Together, we have fostered an environment of innovation, integrity and respect, and I am excited and honored to continue this journey with all of you. Here’s to the next three years – and beyond!