Leo Melamed

Leo Melamed is recognized as the founder of financial futures markets. The former editor of the Chicago Tribune named Melamed among the ten most important Chicagoans in business of the 20th Century. Chicago Magazine listed him among the century's top 100 Chicagoans. In 2003, Pensions & Investments included Melamed in their list of 30 individuals whose contributions made the most dramatic difference in the management of money during the last 100 years.

Melamed was an immigrant child who found safety in the U.S. during World War II. His escape from Bialystok, Poland where he was born, as he and his parents miraculously outwitted the Gestapo and KGB, was an odyssey that took two years. The escape spanned three continents, seven languages, the Trans-Siberian railroad, and Japan - courtesy of a life-saving transit visa from the Japanese Counsel General to Lithuania. Happily, the journey concluded in the United States in 1941.

As chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1971, Melamed revolutionized futures markets by launching the International Monetary Market (IMM), the world’s first futures market for the express purpose of trading in financial instruments. Melamed led the CME in the introduction of a diverse number of financial instruments, including Treasury bills futures in 1976, Eurodollars in 1981, and stock index futures in 1982. In 1987, Melamed spearheaded the introduction of Globex®, the world’s first futures electronic trading system, and became its founding chairman. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, today known as the CME Group, is the world’s premier futures market, where Melamed serves as a member of the board and is chairman of its Strategic Steering Committee.

Melamed has written extensively on financial markets. Many of his essays and lectures can be found on the website www.leomelamed.com. Melamed's memoirs "Escape to the Futures," have been translated and published in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Melamed is the recipient of many awards, including the 2005 Fred Arditti Innovation Award of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In 2008, Melamed became the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, as well as the William F. Sharpe Lifetime Achievement Award. He holds an honorary professorship at Renmin University, Beijing, and in 2007 he was appointed Honorary Dean of Peking University.

Melamed is an attorney by profession and an active futures trader. He is Chairman and CEO of Melamed & Associates, Inc., a global market consulting service.