Myron S. Scholes is the Frank E. Buck Professor of Finance Emeritus, Stanford Graduate School of Business and Chairman of the Board of Economic Advisors of Stamos Partners. He is the co-originator of the Black-Scholes options pricing model and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1997 for his new method of determining the value of derivatives. Scholes served as Chairman of Platinum Grove Asset Management through 2009. He is on the board of directors of Dimensional Fund Advisors and American Century (Mountain View) Mutual Funds. He is past Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago, Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Director of the Center for Research in Security Prices, Professor of Finance at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, member of CME Group Board of Directors, President of the American Finance Association and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Robert C. Merton is the School of Management Distinguished Professor of Finance, MIT Sloan School of Management and the University Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. Merton was the George Fisher Baker Professor of Business Administration (1988-98) and John and Natty McArthur University Professor (1998-2010) at the Harvard Business School. He previously served on the finance faculty of the Sloan School from 1970 until 1988. Merton was co-recipient with Myron Scholes of the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1997 for a new method to determine the value of derivatives. He is past President of the American Finance Association, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

It is in large part for their dedication and innovative ideas that have impacted the economic industry that Scholes and Merton have been selected as the recipients of the 2011 CME Group Fred Arditti Innovation Award.

CFI will present Scholes and Merton with the award as part of CME Group's Global Financial Leadership Conference on October 25, 2011.

Read CME Group's Press Release

Find out more about Myron S. Scholes' work

Find out more about Robert C. Merton's work

View information on the CME Group Global Financial Leadership Conference where the award will be presented

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.