Robert J. Tierney Jr.
Director at CME
Board
About Robert J. Tierney Jr.
Robert J. Tierney Jr., age 49, has served on CME Group’s board since 2019 and is designated as an independent director. He is a managing partner and owner of Kore Trading LLC, a registered member firm across CME Group exchanges, and brings deep electronic trading and technology experience to the board. He also serves on CME’s Business Conduct Committee and as a director of CME’s political action committee, reflecting active engagement with market integrity and policy oversight .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBOT | Exchange member | Since 1999 | Brings end-user trading perspective to CME board |
| CME | Exchange member | Since 2012 | End-user experience across products/systems |
| NYMEX/COMEX | Exchange member | Since 2020 | Exposure across energy/metals markets |
| Kore Trading LLC | Managing Partner & Owner | Current | Actively trades CME asset classes and U.S. Treasuries on BrokerTec; mentors/trains college graduates; developed proprietary software; established software engineering subsidiary in Eastern Europe (2020) |
| CME Functional Roles | Business Conduct Committee member; CME PAC director | Current | Market integrity oversight; policy engagement |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public company boards (past 5 years) | Not disclosed in biography | N/A | CME biographies include public directorships when applicable; none disclosed for Tierney |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Member, Clearing House Oversight Committee (CHOC) ; Member, Nominating & Governance Committee (NGC) .
- Independence: Listed as independent; CME affirms majority independent board and committee independence standards; the matrix marks Tierney as independent .
- Attendance: The board held six regular and one special meeting in 2024; each director attended more than 75% of combined board and committee meetings .
- Tenure: Director since 2019 .
- Lead Independent Director: Role held by Dennis A. Suskind (not Tierney) .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2024 Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | $125,500 | Includes annual cash stipend, committee retainers, rounding cash, subsidiary/functional committee fees |
| Stock Awards | $145,187 | Annual equity stipend; shares granted under Director Stock Plan; no vesting restrictions |
| Total | $270,687 | Sum of cash and stock awards |
| Program Parameters | Annual cash stipend: $95,000; Committee retainer: $12,000; Committee chair retainer: $25,000; Annual equity stipend: $145,000; Lead Director stipend: $50,000; Functional committee fees: $1,000–$1,250/meeting |
Non-executive directors may participate in the Director Deferred Compensation Plan; CME provides no pension/health/other benefits to non-executive directors .
Performance Compensation
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director equity vesting | Shares under Director Stock Plan are not subject to vesting restrictions; no performance conditions |
| Performance metrics (company-wide executive pay context) | CME’s most important 2024 performance measures for executive compensation were Cash Earnings, Relative TSR, and Net Income Margin; these metrics do not apply to director compensation |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Relationship | Nature | 2024/2023 Activity | Governance Treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kore Trading LLC (owner) | CME member firm; trades CME products | Payments to CME indirectly through clearing firm in excess of $120,000 (2024 and 2023) | Fees based on published schedules; no special discounts; considered pre-approved under Audit Committee related party policy; board maintains conflict-of-interest policy; independence affirmed |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Electronic trading, technology and proprietary software development; market participant perspective across CME product suites .
- Governance engagement via Business Conduct Committee and PAC directorship .
- Board skill matrix shows coverage across Technology & Information Security, Innovation & Strategy, Global Financial Services, Ethics & Integrity, Corporate Governance; marked Independent .
Equity Ownership
| Class | Shares Beneficially Owned | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | 13,168 | As of March 10, 2025 |
| Class B-1 | 2 | As of March 10, 2025 |
| Class B-2 | 1 | Owned through a firm of which he is the owner |
| Class B-3 | 1 | As of March 10, 2025 |
| % of Class A outstanding | ~0.0037% | 13,168 Class A vs 360,379,572 Class A outstanding as of March 10, 2025 |
CME prohibits hedging and has adopted a policy restricting pledging of Class A shares by directors/executives; currently, none of the board members or executive officers have any pledged Class A shares .
Director stock ownership guidelines: non-executive directors must hold stock valued at 2x total annual retainer; 2023 review found all directors with ≥5 years of service met the guideline and others were on track within five years of election (Tierney elected in 2019) .
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independence affirmed; robust anti-hedging/anti-pledging policy; conflict-of-interest oversight and categorical independence standards exceeding Nasdaq .
- Active committee roles on CHOC and NGC align with his trading/system expertise and governance oversight; functional committee engagement (Business Conduct Committee) adds regulatory integrity perspective .
- Attendance threshold met under CME’s disclosure; board and key committees fully independent .
-
Potential RED FLAGS / Watch items
- Related-party exposure: ownership of a CME member firm (Kore Trading LLC) with payments >$120,000 to CME via clearing firm in 2024 and 2023; CME notes ordinary-course fees at published schedules and pre-approval under Audit Committee policy, but ongoing monitoring is warranted for materiality thresholds and independence determinations .
- Class B share ownership indicates exchange membership and potential stakeholder interests in market operations; mitigated by conflict policy and independence review .
-
Alignment signals
- Meaningful direct stock holdings; director equity paid in stock and fully vested, with ownership guidelines targeting 2x retainer; no hedging/pledging .
- Compensation structure predominantly fixed retainer plus equity stipend; no performance-linked director pay—reduces pay-for-performance alignment for directors but conforms to common governance practice; CME targets 50th percentile for director compensation .