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Oct 02, 2018

ICE picks successor to general counsel

Johnathan Short to retire in early 2019 after 14 years in the role

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has named Andrew Surdykowski as the company’s next general counsel.

Surdykowski will succeed Johnathan Short, who plans to retire after 14 years in the role, according to the exchange operator. Surdykowski is currently the NYSE parent company’s senior vice president and associate general counsel, having joined ICE’s legal team in 2005.

Before joining ICE, Surdykowski was an attorney with McKenna Long & Aldridge (now Dentons), practicing in the corporate law group on client matters such as securities, M&A, corporate governance, finance and private equity.

ICE is also making changes to the senior ranks of its legal and governance teams. NYSE general counsel Elizabeth King will add to her role that of ICE’s chief regulatory officer, overseeing the company’s global regulatory and legal affairs initiatives.

King joined the NYSE in 2014 from KCG Holdings, where she served as deputy general counsel and global head of regulatory affairs. Earlier in her career, she served as associate director in the SEC’s division of trading and markets.

Meanwhile, Octavia Spencer, a member of ICE’s legal team since 2014, has been appointed as the company corporate secretary. She was formerly an attorney at McKenna Long & Aldridge, focusing on public company compliance and corporate governance matters, public offerings and private placements and M&A work.

The new roles for Surdykowski, King and Spencer will take effect during a transition period leading up to Short’s retirement in early 2019.

‘Andrew Surdykowski has been an integral player in ICE’s evolution since our early days, a member of our global legal team led by my long-time colleague Johnathan Short who has provided expert guidance and steady leadership during every phase of our growth,’ says ICE chair and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher in a statement. ‘I’m grateful to Johnathan for his tremendous service over the years, and have the utmost confidence Andrew will carry on that work with his talent, legal acumen and dedicated partnership, [which] we rely on as we continue to transform global markets.

‘The regulatory issues exchanges and clearinghouses must manage today are both global and complex, and very much at the center of our business. Elizabeth King has been an outstanding counselor to our NYSE team and will now expand her purview company-wide to guide our regulatory work across North America, Europe and Asia.’

 

Ben Maiden

Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...