Meanwhile, Ms Friedman calls her mother her “hero”. Her mum was originally a stay-at-home parent, but she went on to get a law degree and become the first female partner at a local law firm.
Educated at an all girls private school, Ms Friedman didn’t initially want to go into the world of finance. Instead, after watching Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space in 1983, she too had dreams of becoming an astronaut.
Later, after gaining a degree in political science at Williams College in Massachusetts, she wanted to throw her hat into the political arena.
But following a stint working for former US Vice President Al Gore back when he was a US Senator, she settled instead on the world of business, where she felt she could have “more immediate impact”.
After gaining a master of business administration qualification she joined Nasdaq. She says she rose through the ranks by working hard, and happily taking on unfashionable projects, where she could show that she was able to make a big, positive difference.
By 2011 she had held a number of senior positions at the company when she had a hiatus, and was made chief finance officer and manager director, for The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private investment companies.
Ms Friedman then returned to the Nasdaq in 2014, before taking up the top job in 2017. Her annual salary that year was reported to total $14m., external
