The Index Industry Association (IIA) has announced the appointment of Kirsten Wegner as its new Chief Executive Officer. Wegner succeeds Rick Redding following his retirement after 13 years as the IIA’s CEO since its founding in 2012.
The association writes that, in this role, she will work with the IIA’s 17 member firms and its Board of Directors to set high level strategic direction, lead the IIA’s public policy and communications initiatives, serve as an index industry spokesperson and represent the IIA in front of policy makers, regulators, investors and other key industry stakeholders.
Wegner, who is based in Washington, D.C., is a financial industry expert, lawyer and bipartisan consensus builder. She has more than 20 years of experience working with regulatory agencies, Congress, and leading collaborative education and advocacy initiatives with policy makers, the media, investors and other key stakeholders.
Previously, Wegner spent eight years at Modern Markets Initiative (MMI), with the last seven as CEO, where she led advocacy initiatives on public policy, educated key stakeholders and built consensus on issues surrounding fintech, artificial intelligence and market automation. Prior to that she was Government Relations Director at the International Securities Exchange and established political and policy strategy for the first all-electronic options exchange. Earlier in her career, Wegner was a practicing lawyer focused on the financial services and technology industries and also spent three years in broadcast media.
Fiona Bassett, IIA Chair and CEO of FTSE Russell, says: “We’re incredibly excited to have Kirsten join the Index Industry Association to help us reach the next level in our development and build on our very successful first decade. The IIA plays a critical role in educating investors on the benefits of indexes, advocating for the best interests of index users and providers worldwide and pushing for the highest industry standards of best practice, independence and transparency. With her specialised background working with financial institutions, regulators and legislators, Kirsten is uniquely qualified to lead the IIA forward.”
Kirsten Wegner, IIA CEO, says: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join the IIA and put my skills, expertise and passion to work to make this organization an even stronger advocate for index investors. In recent decades, index-based investing has been a powerful force for greater transparency, lower costs and broader access to financial markets for investors of all types. This is a powerful message for investors and for our industry and we need to be sure it resonates.”
