Charlotte | Technology | Joined CME Group in 1995 | Based in Chicago

Tell us about your role here.
I’m responsible for engineering, constructing, implementing, maintaining and supporting business applications that automate and facilitate clearing.  Clearing has many functions but its primary mission is to ensure the financial safety and soundness of financial markets.

Tell us about a typical day for you.
Usually I meet with the business unit to discuss new initiatives and/or enhancements to the clearing systems, discuss current and future projects with my team and identify the next steps.  Some of our projects are supporting new product lines. These often require different handling than what is currently in the system and require us to modify our systems so that we can handle the new products and services.

How does your job improve financial markets?
By technically improving and enriching the functionality of our systems, customers can more effectively and efficiently perform their market activities. Since my primary role is to support the clearing function, many of our projects address the needs of the industry and create efficiencies where they didn’t exist before. For example, when we implemented a system for FXMarketSpace, a privately negotiated marketplace for foreign exchange products, we provided centralized clearing to a market where it didn’t exist.

Why work for CME Group?
There’s power in the CME Group name. Before I came to work for CME, it had a reputation not only as a financial institution, but also a technology company. We are also a leader in innovation. I work with some of the most talented and most knowledgeable technical and business individuals. There’s a sense of pride in knowing that the things we do in technology to support our business is making a difference on a greater level.