Douglas Peterson

Douglas L. Peterson
Born	Douglas L. Peterson
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	Executive Chairman, OneChronos
Known for	President and CEO of S&P Global (2013–2023)

Douglas L. Peterson is an American business executive who served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of S&P Global (formerly McGraw Hill Financial) from 2013 to 2023. During his decade-long tenure at the helm of one of the world's foremost financial data and analytics companies, Peterson oversaw a period of significant transformation, including the company's rebranding from McGraw Hill Financial to S&P Global and its landmark merger with IHS Markit in 2022. Prior to leading S&P Global, Peterson held senior leadership positions at Citigroup, where he spent more than two decades in various international banking roles. Following his retirement from S&P Global, Peterson returned to the financial services landscape in 2025 when he was appointed Executive Chairman of OneChronos, a technology company applying auction theory and computer science to optimize financial markets.

Career

Citigroup

Before joining S&P Global, Peterson built an extensive career in international banking at Citigroup, where he worked for more than twenty years. During his time at Citigroup, he held a variety of senior roles spanning multiple geographies and business lines, gaining deep experience in global financial services and emerging markets. His international assignments gave him broad exposure to banking operations across different regulatory environments and economic conditions, experience that would later inform his leadership of a global financial information and analytics company.

S&P Global

Peterson became the President and Chief Executive Officer of the company then known as McGraw Hill Financial in 2013. His appointment came at a pivotal moment for the organization, which was in the process of transforming itself from a diversified media and publishing conglomerate into a focused financial data and analytics firm.

One of the most visible changes during Peterson's early years as CEO was the rebranding of the company from McGraw Hill Financial to S&P Global, a move designed to more clearly align the company's corporate identity with its best-known brand, S&P Global Ratings (formerly Standard & Poor's), and its other major business divisions. The rebranding signaled the company's strategic direction as a provider of essential financial intelligence, benchmarks, and analytics to the global capital and commodity markets.

Under Peterson's leadership, S&P Global expanded its portfolio of data and analytics offerings and deepened its role as a provider of critical financial infrastructure. The company's major business divisions during his tenure included S&P Global Ratings, one of the world's largest credit rating agencies; S&P Global Market Intelligence, a provider of financial data and analytical tools; S&P Dow Jones Indices, one of the world's leading index providers; and S&P Global Platts (later S&P Global Commodity Insights), a provider of benchmark pricing and analytics for the energy and commodities markets.

The most consequential transaction during Peterson's tenure was the merger with IHS Markit, completed in 2022. The combination of S&P Global and IHS Markit created one of the largest financial data and analytics companies in the world, significantly expanding the combined entity's data assets, analytical capabilities, and client base across financial services, energy, transportation, and other sectors. The merger was one of the largest deals in the financial information industry and reshaped the competitive landscape among global data and analytics providers.

Peterson served as President and CEO of S&P Global through the completion and integration phases of the IHS Markit merger, stepping down from the role in 2023 after a decade of leadership. His tenure was characterized by the company's strategic transformation from a legacy publishing and media conglomerate into a focused, technology-driven financial data and analytics enterprise.

OneChronos

In September 2025, Peterson was appointed Executive Chairman of OneChronos, a technology company that applies advances in auction theory and computer science to optimize financial markets. OneChronos operates OneChronos Markets, a trading venue that uses automated auctions to match buyers and sellers of securities. The company's approach draws on academic research in mechanism design and combinatorial auctions to create what it describes as more efficient and equitable trading outcomes.

According to Bloomberg News, Peterson's appointment was part of OneChronos's strategy to accelerate its global growth and expand the adoption of its auction-based trading technology among institutional investors and market participants. The announcement, distributed via Business Wire and reported by multiple outlets, described Peterson's role as focused on leveraging his experience in global financial markets and corporate leadership to guide the company through its next phase of expansion.

Peterson's move to OneChronos represented a transition from leading one of the world's largest established financial data companies to joining a smaller, technology-focused firm seeking to reshape the structure of securities trading through the application of advanced computational methods.

Recognition

During his career, Peterson has been recognized as a prominent figure in the global financial services and data analytics industries. His leadership of S&P Global during a period of major transformation — including the rebranding of the company and the completion of the IHS Markit merger — placed him among the most visible CEOs in the financial information sector. His subsequent appointment as Executive Chairman of OneChronos was covered by major financial media outlets including Bloomberg News, reflecting his continued profile in the industry after leaving S&P Global.