Deborah J. Lucas
Director at CME
Board
About Deborah J. Lucas
Independent director since 2018; age 66. Sloan Distinguished Professor of Finance at MIT Sloan (since 2011) and Director of the MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy (since 2012). Prior government and academic leadership roles include Chief Economist and assistant/associate director at the Congressional Budget Office, senior staff economist at the Council of Economic Advisers, and professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School. Current affiliations include advisory board member (Urban Institute), trustee (NBER pension plans), associate editor (Annual Review of Financial Economics), member (Shadow Open Market Committee), and visiting scholar at the IMF. She also serves on the board of P/E Investments (private) and NatureServe (non-profit). Classified by CME as both independent and a CFTC “public director.”
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional Budget Office | Chief Economist; assistant/associate director | Prior roles (dates not specified) | Developed strategies for analysis of costs/risks of federal credit/guarantee activities; testified before Congress |
| Council of Economic Advisers | Senior staff economist | Prior role (dates not specified) | Macroeconomic/financial policy analysis |
| Northwestern University (Kellogg) | Professor | Prior role (dates not specified) | Academic leadership and research |
| Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago | Independent director (prior) | Prior role (dates not specified) | Board oversight in a regulated financial institution |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure/Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MIT Sloan School of Management | Sloan Distinguished Professor of Finance | Since 2011 | Teaches futures/options and fixed income/derivatives |
| MIT Golub Center for Finance & Policy | Director | Since 2012 | Research on government financial institutions/policy |
| Urban Institute | Advisory Board Member | Current | Public policy advisory |
| NBER | Trustee (pension plans) | Current | Fiduciary oversight |
| Annual Review of Financial Economics | Associate Editor | Current | Editorial/academic governance |
| Shadow Open Market Committee | Member | Current | Monetary policy expertise |
| International Monetary Fund | Visiting Scholar | Current | Global financial policy research |
| P/E Investments | Board member | Current | Privately held asset manager |
| NatureServe | Board member | Current | Non-profit governance |
Board Governance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Independence | Board determined all current directors are independent except the CEO; Lucas is independent. CME also classifies her as a CFTC “public director,” strengthening conflict-of-interest controls and market oversight. |
| Committees | Audit (member) ; Clearing House Oversight (member; 8 meetings in 2024) ; Finance (member; 5 meetings in 2024) ; Market Regulation Oversight (member; 6 meetings in 2024) |
| Attendance | Board held six regular and one special meeting in 2024; each director attended >75% of combined board and committee meetings. Average committee attendance was 99% across 52 meetings. |
| Public Director Role | Market Regulation Oversight Committee is composed solely of public directors; Lucas serves on it, reinforcing regulatory independence. |
| Governance Practices | Anti-hedging and anti-pledging policy for directors; meaningful stock ownership guidelines; majority voting for equity directors; quarterly executive sessions led by Lead Independent Director; 100% independence across principal standing committees. |
Fixed Compensation
| Component (2024) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | $150,500 |
| Stock Awards (grant-date fair value) | $145,187 (one annual grant; closing price used $194.10 on June 25, 2024; not subject to vesting) |
| All Other Compensation | $0 |
| Total | $295,687 |
Director pay structure (standard elements for 2024):
- Annual cash stipend: $95,000
- Annual equity stipend: $145,000 (directors may elect to receive additional shares in lieu of cash; awards under Director Stock Plan, not subject to vesting)
- Committee membership retainer: $12,000; Committee chair retainer: $25,000; Lead Director stipend: $50,000; functional committee meeting fees: $1,000–$1,250
- Deferred Compensation Plan available; no pensions/health benefits for non-executive directors; returns only based on selected market investments
Performance Compensation
Directors do not receive performance-based equity and awards are not subject to vesting restrictions; no options or performance share metrics apply to non-executive directors.
| Element | Performance-linked? | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Annual equity stipend (directors) | No | Awards not subject to vesting restrictions; no other awards to non-executive directors in 2024 |
| Options/PSUs for directors | No | Director Stock Plan provides equity but table shows only stock awards; no options/performance awards granted in 2024 |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company/Institution | Type | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago | Public (prior) | Independent director (prior) | Historical public board experience in a regulated institution |
| P/E Investments | Private | Board member | Asset management; no related-party transactions disclosed by CME |
| NatureServe | Non-profit | Board member | Conservation data non-profit; no conflicts disclosed |
- CME restricts non-employee directors from serving on more than four public company boards, enhancing bandwidth and independence; no current public company directorships for Lucas are disclosed in the last five years.
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep financial economics expertise and derivatives knowledge; teaches futures/options and fixed income/derivatives; research on government guarantees and systemic risk.
- Government policy and regulatory experience (CBO, CEA); frequent Congressional testimony on housing finance, student loans, and SIFIs.
- Academic leadership (MIT Sloan; Golub Center); editorial and scholarly governance roles (Annual Review; NBER; Shadow Open Market Committee).
- Classified as “public director,” augmenting CME’s oversight of market regulation and conflicts.
Equity Ownership
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Class A shares beneficially owned (Lucas) | 4,856 |
| Class B shares | None disclosed for Lucas |
| Ownership % of any class | None of directors/NEOs own more than 1% of any class (as of March 10, 2025) |
| Director ownership guidelines | Required holding equals 2× total annual retainer (2024 guideline value: $480,000); each director has five years to comply. CME disclosed all directors with ≥5 years of service met the guideline; Lucas has seven years of service (since 2018). |
| Hedging/Pledging | Directors prohibited from hedging CME stock; pledging prohibited, with any waivers disclosed. As of latest disclosure, no directors have pledged shares. |
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Lucas’ breadth across Audit, Clearing House Oversight, Finance, and Market Regulation Oversight places her at the core of CME’s risk, regulatory, financial, and disclosure oversight—high-value coverage for a systemically important market infrastructure.
- Independence and conflicts: Classified independent and “public director”; CME’s related-party policy pre-approves ordinary-course trading/market data and requires audit committee approval for any other related-party transactions—no Lucas-specific related-party transactions disclosed.
- Engagement and attendance: Each director attended >75% of meetings; committees held 52 meetings with 99% average attendance, indicating strong engagement.
- Ownership alignment: Material stock ownership guidelines and prohibition on hedging/pledging support alignment; Lucas holds 4,856 Class A shares and, based on tenure, falls within the cohort meeting guidelines.
- Director pay structure: Mix of cash and fixed equity; no performance-contingent director awards; directors may elect stock in lieu of cash, enabling greater skin-in-the-game without adding risk of pay-for-performance distortions at the board level.
- Company-level signals: Following board-led outreach, say-on-pay support improved to 87% in 2024—an indicator of responsive governance; board continues multi-year refresh and maintains majority-independent structure with robust committee architecture.
RED FLAGS: None disclosed specific to Lucas. No hedging/pledging, no related-party transactions, and strong public director classification mitigate conflict risk.