Women Worth Watching 2015

Elizabeth K. King

NYSE General Counsel Works at the Intersection of Law, Policy and Business Practice

 

 

web NYSE_KingAs general counsel of NYSE Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), Elizabeth King manages the legal department (including its five cash equity and equity options exchanges), which features the globally recognized New York Stock Exchange. She is also responsible for the NYSE’s interaction with regulators, such as the SEC and others.

In her current role, Elizabeth leads a diverse team focused on compliance, risk management, and legal operation of the company’s global business units. She also continues to be a key voice in the NYSE’s core management team under the new ownership of the Intercontinental Exchange.

“…take full advantage of the opportunities presented…”

Prior to joining NYSE Group, Elizabeth was deputy general counsel and global head of regulatory affairs at securities trading firm KCG Holdings, Inc. Before joining KCG, she was associate director of the Division of Trading and Markets at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, where she was responsible for the SEC’s regulatory program for oversight of the securities markets.

Elizabeth says it was that role—and the senior professional women at the SEC—that helped shape her career. “I learned something different from each of their leadership styles.”

“I was a junior attorney at the SEC in the late 1990s.” said Elizabeth, “a time when new computer technology was disrupting business practices in the financial industry. I found, and continue to find, this intersection of law, policy and business practices to be rewarding and never boring.

Elizabeth holds a JD from the University of Pennsylvania and an AB from Duke University.

Education: JD, University of Pennsylvania; AB, Duke University

First Job: Sales clerk in a retail store

What I’m Reading: “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” by Walter Isaacson

 

The most important quality a woman leader should have is…

…confidence.

The career advice I’d give my former self:

Take a risk, you can do it.

Words I live by:

Don’t be late!

The one thing I’d do differently in my career, knowing what I know now, is…

…remind myself we’re not always given the opportunities we think we want, but by taking full advantage of the opportunities presented and providing a quality work product no matter the task, you will be noticed. In my experience, you can demonstrate your abilities in many ways and I have learned from responsibilities I did not initially seek.

When I really need to focus on a project, I…

…do it first thing in the morning before other obligations demand my attention.

My biggest career leap (and what I learned from it) was…

…the opportunity to work as Counsel to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Director of the Division of Trading & Markets. I found myself out of my comfort zone, grew enormously from it and enjoyed the challenge of a more visible position.

Being a woman in my profession has been…

…shaped by senior professional women at the SEC. I learned something different from each of their leadership styles.

I’ve learned that failure is…

…unavoidable, so when it happens, view it as something you can learn from.

I maintain a healthy personal life by…

…making sleep one of my priorities. I find that maintaining a routine with healthy eating and sleeping habits allows me to work more efficiently and have better judgment.

I knew my present career was what I wanted to do when…

…I was a junior attorney at the SEC in the late 1990s, a time when new computer technology was disrupting business practices in the financial industry. I found, and continue to find, this intersection of law, policy and business practices to be rewarding and never boring.