Emily Portney
MARKETAXESS HOLDINGSAbout Emily Portney
Emily H. Portney (age 53) has served on the MarketAxess Board since October 2017 and is currently a member of the Board’s Risk Committee. She is Global Head of Asset Servicing at BNY Mellon (since Feb 2023), previously the firm’s CFO (2020–2023); earlier CFO of Barclays International and held senior roles at J.P. Morgan (Global Head of Clearing & Collateral Management; CFO of Equities & Prime Services). She holds a B.A. from Duke University and an MBA from Columbia University . The Board has determined she is an independent director under NASDAQ and SEC rules .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| BNY Mellon | Global Head of Asset Servicing; member of Executive Committee | Feb 2023–present | Oversees largest business unit; operational and technology solutions to asset managers, asset owners, insurers, banks, broker-dealers |
| BNY Mellon | Chief Financial Officer | 2020–2023 | Enterprise finance leadership; regulated financial institution oversight |
| Barclays International | Chief Financial Officer | Prior to joining BNY Mellon | Helped establish non-ring-fenced bank; led finance across CIB, Private Bank, Cards & Payments |
| J.P. Morgan | Global Head of Clearing & Collateral Management; CFO of Equities & Prime Services | 1993 onward, various senior roles | Market structure, clearing operations, collateral management |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) | Director (prior service) | Prior to current roles | Oversight of market infrastructure; clearing expertise |
Board Governance
- Committee memberships: Risk Committee (focus on technology/cybersecurity, credit, clearing, regulatory risks; joint sessions with Audit Committee) .
- Independence: Board determined all non-employee directors (including Portney) are independent; committees are fully independent and chaired by independent directors .
- Attendance: In 2024, Board met 7 times; Risk Committee 5 times; “All directors attended at least 75% of the meetings” and all but one attended the 2024 annual meeting .
- Tenure: Director since October 2017 (in 2025 slate) .
- Board leadership: Independent Chairman; executive sessions each meeting; structural safeguards (Lead Independent Director provisions, independent committee chairs) .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Annual Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Board Member Cash Retainer | $85,000 | Paid in cash |
| Board Member Equity Retainer | $160,000 | Granted as restricted stock/RSUs; June 2024 grants of 781 RSUs/restricted shares to each non-employee director, vest on earlier of 1 year or next AGM |
| Risk Committee Member Fee | $12,500 | Audit and Risk: $25,000 Chair; $12,500 Member |
| Other Committee Member Fee | $10,000 | Other committees: $20,000 Chair; $10,000 Member |
| 2024 Actual Director Compensation (Emily Portney) | Amount ($) |
|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | $97,500 |
| Stock Awards (grant date fair value) | $153,404 |
| Total | $250,904 |
- June 2024 equity grant: 781 RSUs/restricted shares to each non-employee director (other than Hoornweg); dividends/dividend equivalents accrue but are paid only upon vesting; directors may elect deferral of RSU share delivery .
- Outstanding director equity awards at FY2024 year-end: Emily Portney – 781 stock awards outstanding .
Performance Compensation
- MarketAxess does not disclose performance-based metrics or options for non-employee director pay; directors receive cash retainers and time-based RSUs/restricted stock (no PSUs or performance criteria for directors) .
- Vesting: 2024 director RSUs/restricted shares vest on earlier of 1 year from grant or next annual meeting; deferral optional; dividends paid upon vesting .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Category | Entity | Nature | Potential Interlock/Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current public boards | MarketAxess (NASDAQ: MKTX) | Director | N/A |
| Prior board | DTCC | Director (prior service) | Industry infrastructure oversight |
| Employment | BNY Mellon | Global Head of Asset Servicing | Audit Committee annually reviews agreements with entities where directors serve as employees (ordinary course, fee-based platform/data access) |
| Network tie | GSS (BNY Mellon subsidiary) | Director: Richard G. Ketchum (MKTX director) on Board of GSS | Indicates informational network linkage with director’s employer; transactions subject to Audit Committee review; no related-party transactions requiring disclosure since Jan 1, 2024 |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial services leadership; clearing/market infrastructure; regulatory expertise; risk management; accounting/financial planning; technology/cybersecurity exposure (per Board skills matrix) .
- Education: B.A. Duke; MBA Columbia .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (Emily H. Portney) | 3,656 shares (2,875 directly owned + 781 unvested restricted stock vesting within 60 days) |
| % of shares outstanding | ~0.0098% (3,656 / 37,201,388 shares outstanding as of Apr 7, 2025) |
| Outstanding director stock awards (FY2024 year-end) | 781 |
| Director stock ownership guideline | ≥5x annual cash retainer ($425,000), equal to 1,857 shares at $228.85 calculation price; all non-employee directors have achieved or are within 5-year compliance window |
| Hedging/pledging | Prohibited by Insider Trading Policy; directors cannot hedge or pledge MKTX stock |
Governance Assessment
- Alignment and independence: Portney is an independent, non-employee director; compensation is plain-vanilla (cash + time-based equity) with clear ownership guidelines, promoting alignment without pay complexity .
- Risk oversight: Active member of Risk Committee with remit over technology/cybersecurity, credit/clearing and regulatory risk, supporting investor confidence in controls .
- Attendance and engagement: Board/committee activity robust; all directors ≥75% attendance; regular executive sessions strengthen oversight .
- Conflicts and related-party transactions: No related-party transactions involving directors since Jan 1, 2024; ordinary course agreements with directors’ employers reviewed annually by Audit Committee—mitigates interlock/conflict risk (note potential network ties to BNY Mellon via Ketchum/GSS) .
- Director pay red flags: None observed—no options outstanding for directors, no performance equity, no perquisites/retirement benefits, dividends only upon vesting, independent comp consultant, and stable program structure .
- Shareholder signals: Strong 2024 say-on-pay support (94%) and ongoing investor engagement reflect constructive governance environment, albeit focused on executives, not directors .
RED FLAGS: None disclosed for Portney. Monitor any evolving commercial agreements with BNY Mellon or affiliated entities (ordinary course today and Audit Committee-reviewed), and any future interlocks that could expand related-party exposure .