To honor his contribution to financial markets, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has been named the recipient of the 2008 CME Group Fred Arditti Innovation Award. Bloomberg pioneered the use of technology to disseminate market data, bringing transparency and efficiency to global financial markets. His company grew from four employees in a one room office in Manhattan to become the foremost provider of news, financial data and analysis in the world. CME Group, financial institutions, corporations, news organizations, financial professionals and individuals worldwide continue to benefit from the technological innovation put in motion by Bloomberg in the early 1980s.

Mayor Bloomberg was honored by CME Group at an award gala in April where he was introduced by former U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley attended along with a distinguished audience of exchange, business and academic leaders.

Read more about Mayor Bloomberg's other career and humanitarian achievements.
Read Bloomberg's official bio from the NYC Office of the Mayor
Read CME Group Press Release
See the Ad Featuring Bloomberg

CME Group Fred Arditti Innovation Award – Innovation in Action
Innovation has always been the soul of CME, and it remains so after its merger with the Chicago Board of Trade to form the CME Group. Throughout our history, we have continually embraced change and fostered an entrepreneurial spirit that has enabled both our exchange as well as the futures industry to grow and prosper. To a greater extent, the power of innovation has proven its ability to transform business, influence the direction of civilization and alter its reality for the better.

The CME Group Center for Innovation
The Fred Arditti Innovation Award is the signature program of the CME Group Center for Innovation (CFI). The CFI was founded in 2003, under the direction of Leo Melamed, CME Group chairman emeritus, to create and sponsor thought-provoking original programming that identifies, showcases and fosters examples of significant innovation and creative thinking across multiple industries. The annual award honors an individual whose innovative ideas, products or services have created significant change to markets, commerce or trade. The award strives to celebrate innovation in action, not only the creative idea, but also the impact that practical application of the idea has made on improving the economic well being of individuals, an industry or a nation. Find out more about CFI programs and events.

History of the Fred Arditti Innovation Award
CME Group established this most prestigious award to honor the lifetime achievements of Fred D. Arditti, a longtime associate of CME Group. As chief economist of the CME from 1980 to 1982, Arditti pioneered the IMM Index upon which the CME Eurodollar futures contract was founded. The Eurodollar contract was the first futures instrument based on "cash settlement", a seminal event in the history of futures markets. It grew to become the most actively traded futures contract in the world. During his subsequent tenure at CME Group, Arditti led the Strategic Planning, Marketing and Research Divisions, as well as the development of the CME weather contract. A tenured professor at Chicago's DePaul University, Arditti authored the book "Derivatives", which became among the most authoritative publications on this subject at U.S. universities.  His legacy of innovation personifies the very spirit of CME Group.

Award Selection Committee-CMAC
The annual recipient of the Fred Arditti Innovation Award is selected by the Competitive Markets Advisory Council (CMAC), a group of preeminent financial experts including Nobel Prize winners.  Members of CMAC serve as a “CME think tank” to  provide advice and ideas to CME Group Board of Directors in the form of policy analyses, position papers and other strategic recommendations on significant market issues.