Leo Melamed

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Leo Melamed
Occupation Chairman Emeritus
Employer CME Group
Location Chicago, IL USA
Web site www.cme.com

Leo Melamed is chairman emeritus and a member of the board of directors of CME Group.[1] He is chairman and CEO of Melamed & Associates, Inc.,[2][3] a global consulting firm. In July 2008, Melamed was named chairman of the advisory board of the newly announced Sinapore Mercantile Exchange in a glittery ceremony in Sinapore.[4]

Contents

Background

Leo Melamed is widely credited with being the "Founder of Financial Futures" due to his influence in promoting the listing of financial futures. In particular, the emergence of foreign currency futures and establishment of the International Monetary Market at CME put Leo Melamed squarely on the map in the financial community.[5] However, his influence at the exchange was much broader over the years, including the push to bring CME into the world of electronic trading with what became today's Globex electronic trading platform.

During his 45-year career as a CME member, Melamed has served in many senior capacities on CME's board of directors. Prior to the merger between CME and the CBOT, he served as an elected director of CME Holdings' and CME's boards since its formation in 2001.

He was both a voting and non-voting director of CME for more than 30 years and in 1997 was appointed as chairman emeritus and senior policy advisor. He served as senior policy advisor to CME Holdings' board from its formation to November 2005 and to the CME board from 1997 to November 2005.

Earlier, Melamed served as director and secretary of CME's board from 1967 to 1969, chairman from 1969 until 1972 and founding chairman of the International Monetary Market from 1972 until its merger with CME in 1976. He served as special counsel to CME's board from 1977 until 1991 and chairman of the exchange's Executive Committee from 1985 until 1991.

From 1993 to 2001, Melamed was chairman and chief executive officer of Sakura Dellsher, Inc., a former clearing firm of CME. He co-founed Sakura Dellsher with Maury Kravitz, a gold pit broker at the CME.[6] He is also a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Technology Advisory Committee and a special advisor to the National Futures Association.

Melamed at one time was a preferred shareholder in the failed Sentinel Investment Group, a cash-management firm which was bankrupted in a scandal that surfaced during the summer of 2007.[7][8]

Politically in 2007, Melamed has donated to Hillary Clinton for President, Friends of Rahm Emanuel, and the CME/CBOT PAC.[9]

Early Background

Born in Poland, Melamed and his parents fled the Nazis in 1939[10] following the outbreak of World War II.

His family travelled across Europe and Siberia to Vladivostok, the Eastern Russian seaport. As a result of the issuance of a transit visa issued by Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese Consul General to Lithuania, the Melamdovich family left Russia and found safe haven in Japan.

In 1941 the family was admitted to the United States, settling in Chicago, where Melamed's parents worked as Yiddish school teachers for the Sholem Aleichem Folks Institute.

Melamed was a Chicago attorney for a number of years but maintained part-time activities as a commodity futures trader. In 1965 he left the practice of law to concentrate full-time on futures trading at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Education

Melamed grew up on the Northwest Side of Chicago and attended Roosevelt High School, where he met his future wife, Betty Sattler, completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago when it was domiciled at Navy Pier.[11] He received a J.D. degree from the John Marshall Law School in 1955.

Published works

Melamed has written[12] extensively on the markets and published a science-fiction book, as well. These include:

Video Interviews

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Leo Melamed. Forbes. Retrieved on January 30, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Melamed & Associates”. Melamed & Associates, Inc.. Retrieved on Jan. 1, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Board of Directors”. CME Group. Retrieved on Jan. 19, 2008.
  4. ↑ Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) Announced. PR Newswire. Retrieved on July 17, 2008.
  5. ↑ Agents of Change. Futures Magazine. Retrieved on January 30, 2008.
  6. ↑ Lewis Borsellino’s Life in the Pits. Derivatives Strategy. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.
  7. ↑ Sentinel execs settle fraud suit for $10.7M. Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.
  8. ↑ Sentinel Management Group Inc Organization chart & ownership structure. Naked Shorts. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.
  9. ↑ Leo Melamed. NewsMeat. Retrieved on February 18, 2008.
  10. ↑ The man who saw futures. Fortune Magazine. Retrieved on January 30, 2008.
  11. ↑ Leo Melamed. University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on January 30, 2008.
  12. ↑ CME, Media & Me. Leomelamed.com. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.
  13. ↑ Leo Melamed on the Markets. Amazon.com. Retrieved on January 1, 2008.
  14. ↑ Escape to the Futures. Amazon.com. Retrieved on January 1, 2008.
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