Fredric Tomczyk

Fredric Tomczyk
Born	Fredric Tomczyk
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive
Title	Member, Board of Directors
Employer	Cboe Global Markets
Known for	CEO of Cboe Global Markets (2023–2025)

Fredric J. Tomczyk is an American business executive who served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cboe Global Markets, one of the world's largest exchange holding companies and a major operator of options and equities exchanges. Tomczyk transitioned from the Cboe board of directors to the chief executive role in September 2023, succeeding Edward Tilly, who resigned from the position. During his tenure as CEO, Tomczyk pursued a strategic direction that diverged from his predecessor's acquisition-driven approach, instead focusing on organic growth, operational integration, and importing global trading capabilities into the United States market. His leadership coincided with a period of strong financial performance at Cboe, including better-than-expected quarterly profits driven by robust options trading and hedging activity. In May 2025, Cboe announced that Craig S. Donohue would replace Tomczyk as CEO, with Tomczyk remaining on the company's board of directors.

Career

Appointment as Cboe CEO

Fredric Tomczyk became Chief Executive Officer of Cboe Global Markets in September 2023. His appointment came under unusual circumstances: he moved directly from his position on the Cboe board of directors to the chief executive role following the resignation of Edward Tilly, who had served as the company's longtime CEO. Tilly's departure created a leadership vacuum at the Chicago-based exchange operator, and the board turned to Tomczyk, an existing director with extensive experience in financial services, to take the helm.

Tomczyk assumed leadership of a company that had undergone significant transformation under Tilly through a series of large-scale acquisitions, including the purchases of BATS Global Markets, EuroCCP, and other entities that expanded Cboe's footprint well beyond its origins as the Chicago Board Options Exchange. By the time Tomczyk took charge, Cboe had grown into a global exchange operator with operations spanning equities, options, futures, and digital assets across multiple continents.

Strategic Direction and Departure from Acquisitions

One of the most notable aspects of Tomczyk's tenure as CEO was his deliberate shift away from the acquisition-heavy strategy that had characterized Cboe under Edward Tilly. In a September 2024 interview with Crain's Chicago Business, Tomczyk discussed what he described as "integration fatigue" within the organization, acknowledging that the rapid pace of dealmaking in preceding years had left the company in need of consolidation and operational focus.

Tomczyk articulated a strategy that prioritized organic growth and the integration of Cboe's existing global operations over further mergers and acquisitions. In August 2024, he stated that the company would be "less focussed on acquisitions" and that capital would instead be allocated toward importing global trading capabilities into the United States market. This approach represented a significant philosophical departure for Cboe, which had spent billions of dollars on acquisitions during the Tilly era to build its international presence.

The strategy under Tomczyk centered on leveraging the global infrastructure that Cboe had already assembled through prior acquisitions and finding ways to bring international trading innovations and products to U.S. investors. Rather than expanding the company's geographic footprint through further deals, Tomczyk focused on extracting greater value from the assets Cboe already owned and improving the connectivity between the company's various exchanges and platforms worldwide.

Financial Performance

During Tomczyk's time as CEO, Cboe Global Markets delivered strong financial results. In the third quarter of 2024, the company reported profits that exceeded analyst expectations, driven by robust hedging activity and strong options trading volumes. The performance reflected broader market conditions in which investors actively used options strategies to hedge their portfolios, generating increased revenue for Cboe's core options exchange business.

The results underscored the continued strength of Cboe's flagship products, particularly its proprietary VIX index options and S&P 500 index options, which remained among the most heavily traded derivatives contracts in the world. The strong earnings provided some validation for Tomczyk's strategy of focusing on the company's existing strengths and product lines rather than pursuing further acquisitions.

CEO Search and Succession

In February 2025, it was reported that Cboe's board of directors had initiated a formal search for a new chief executive officer. The announcement signaled that Tomczyk's tenure as CEO, which had begun as what some observers viewed as an interim or transitional arrangement following Tilly's abrupt departure, would be coming to an end.

The search culminated on May 1, 2025, when Cboe announced that Craig S. Donohue had been appointed as the company's new CEO and as a member of its board of directors, effective May 7, 2025. Donohue, a veteran global financial markets executive, was best known for his previous tenure as CEO of CME Group, where he had successfully completed more than $20 billion in mergers and acquisitions.

The appointment of Donohue was interpreted by some industry observers as a signal that Cboe might return to a more active mergers and acquisitions strategy under its new leadership, given Donohue's extensive track record of dealmaking at CME Group. Markets Media reported that under Donohue, Cboe could potentially resume pursuing large-scale acquisitions, a reversal of the approach Tomczyk had taken during his time at the helm.

Tomczyk's departure from the CEO role was structured to maintain continuity at the company. Under the terms of the leadership transition, Tomczyk would remain on the Cboe board of directors, preserving his connection to the organization and ensuring a measure of institutional knowledge and stability during the handover to Donohue.

Tenure Summary

Tomczyk served as CEO of Cboe Global Markets for approximately twenty months, from September 2023 to May 2025. His time at the helm was defined by a consolidation-focused strategy that contrasted with both his predecessor's acquisition-driven approach and his successor's expected return to dealmaking. During this period, the company maintained strong financial performance, with profits buoyed by favorable market conditions and continued demand for Cboe's options and derivatives products.

The Global Trading news service reported that Donohue's appointment became effective on May 7, 2025, formally concluding Tomczyk's service as chief executive.

Legacy

Fredric Tomczyk's tenure at Cboe Global Markets, while relatively brief, represented a distinct chapter in the company's evolution. Taking over after the sudden resignation of Edward Tilly, Tomczyk provided stability during a period of leadership uncertainty and redirected the company's strategic focus toward organic growth and operational integration.

His articulation of "integration fatigue" within the organization highlighted the challenges that exchange operators face when pursuing rapid growth through acquisitions. By pausing the dealmaking cycle and focusing on extracting value from Cboe's existing global infrastructure, Tomczyk addressed what he identified as a critical need within the company to consolidate and optimize its operations before embarking on further expansion.

The selection of Craig Donohue as his successor — an executive with a strong track record in mergers and acquisitions — suggested that the Cboe board viewed the consolidation phase under Tomczyk as having been completed, positioning the company for a potential return to growth through dealmaking. In this sense, Tomczyk's tenure may be understood as a transitional period that stabilized the company and prepared it for its next strategic phase.

Tomczyk's continued presence on the Cboe board of directors following his departure as CEO ensures an ongoing role in the company's governance and strategic oversight.