Cboe Global Markets Inc. said Edward Tilly has resigned following an investigation that determined the chief executive officer didn’t disclose personal relationships with colleagues, ending a decade-long run during which the company’s stock more than tripled.
(Bloomberg) — Cboe Global Markets Inc. said Edward Tilly has resigned following an investigation that determined the chief executive officer didn’t disclose personal relationships with colleagues, ending a decade-long run during which the company’s stock more than tripled.
The derivatives and securities exchange said it appointed Fredric Tomczyk, a current member of Cboe’s board of directors, as its new CEO, effective immediately.
“The board of directors determined that Mr. Tilly did not disclose personal relationships with colleagues, which violated Cboe’s policies and stands in stark contrast to the company’s values,” the Chicago-based company said in a statement.
Cboe shares rose 2.6% to $155.60 at 9:45 a.m. in New York trading.
The firm said its board of directors and outside independent counsel launched the investigation in late August and that Tilly’s conduct doesn’t impact the company’s strategy, financial performance or market operations.
Tilly, 60, is just the latest CEO to be forced out for undisclosed relationships with colleagues, reflecting the demand for higher standards of personal behavior within the corporate world after the #MeToo movement. BP Plc’s Bernard Looney resigned last week over his failure to be fully transparent in a prior investigation, according to the oil major. McDonald’s Corp. CEO Steve Easterbrook was fired in 2019 after a consensual relationship with an employee violated the fast-food giant’s corporate policy.
Tomczyk, 68, was president and CEO of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. for eight years through late 2016, and previously served as vice chairman of TD Bank Financial Group. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of London Life and London Insurance Group. He joined Cboe’s board in mid-2019.
Cboe, formerly known as the Chicago Board Options Exchange, has done several deals over the past few years. It has boosted its presence abroad, expanding in Europe, Asia and North America, with the acquisition of Aequitas Innovations Inc., the parent of Toronto-based NEO Exchange, in 2021. It also added new asset classes with the addition of cryptocurrency company Eris Digital Holdings. The exchange has also opened a new in-person trading floor.
Tilly will be allowed to keep a portion of his outstanding restricted stock units, though Cboe filings show that he had to forfeit equity awards worth around $10 million. He also was ineligible to collect $8.8 million of severance and as much as $892,000 of other benefits, which could have been his if the resignation had happened under different circumstances.
He collected more than $70 million in compensation from Cboe over the last decade, counting his salary, bonuses and the value of vested equity awards, filings show.
–With assistance from Daniel Taub, Anders Melin, Katherine Doherty and Isis Almeida.
(Updates with shares in fourth paragraph.)
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