Witad Awards 2025: Exchange professional of the year—Valerie Bannert-Thurner, Nasdaq

What is your position within your firm?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: I am executive vice president and chief revenue officer of the financial technology division at Nasdaq.

How long have you worked in the financial services industry?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: I have been in technology and financial services for over 20 years and 15 of those with Nasdaq. Through my time at Nasdaq, I’ve been fortunate enough to serve in progressively more senior product and sales leadership roles, most recently as head of surveillance solutions within Nasdaq’s anti-financial crime division prior to my current role.

How did you get into the industry? Was it a conscious decision or did you “fall” into it?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: My passion has always been in technology and innovation coupled with driving business growth. I’m an engineer by background and wrote my PhD on innovation-driven acquisitions. While it wasn’t an obvious platform to launch a career in financial services, it’s been hugely valuable throughout my time at Nasdaq. I’ve had the honor of actively participating in several acquisitions—including Verafin and more recently Adenza—that are core components of Nasdaq’s business today.

What does your day-to-day role entail?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: I lead the global sales and revenue operations teams across the financial technology division—which includes several product portfolios across capital markets technology and regulatory technology—leading efforts to deepen our client partnerships, drive growth, and bring to bear the strength of the broad suite of mission-critical technology we provide to the financial services industry.

What single project/piece of work are you most proud of during your career in the industry to date?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: For many years, I was responsible for driving forward Nasdaq’s regtech strategy, including helping to grow our surveillance business from an internal startup into a world-leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider with the support of an extremely talented team. Our regtech platforms—whether it’s surveillance, regulatory reporting, or anti-financial crime—play an important role upholding integrity of the global financial system and it’s hugely rewarding to play a part in that.

What are you currently working on and what makes it significant in the context of your position?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: Overseeing the launch of our financial technology division last year, bringing together two industry-leading teams from Nasdaq and Adenza, equally passionate about serving our clients with a shared commitment to innovation, continues to be an exciting journey. 

We’re focused on building on that strong foundation, meeting with clients and finding more ways to deepen those partnerships. A major highlight from those conversations is how much they value Nasdaq’s client community and how they see us as a strategic technology partner, beyond a solutions provider.

Resiliency is a concept we are relentlessly focused on from a technology standpoint, but resiliency—and in particular, grit—are also important elements of a successful career

To what extent were you helped during your career by a mentor/role model within the business?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: I have had several female and male mentors and coaches throughout my career. I am eternally grateful for their advice and perspective and would highly recommend every young and aspiring professional build a network of coaches and mentors to help them navigate challenges but also celebrate successes.

To what extent does your firm have a formalized framework that seeks to identify and promote talented women and ensure they have every opportunity to realize their ambitions and contribute to the business?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: At Nasdaq, we are led by Adena Friedman, chair and CEO, who has done a remarkable job driving the strategic direction of our company. We also have exceptional female leaders throughout the business and a supportive company culture that has fostered a strong pipeline of future leaders. Our employee networks and mentor schemes are powerful ways to learn from our shared experiences and making sure we consistently challenge ourselves on ways we can enhance those initiatives.

What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome during your career in the industry to date?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: I am generally a very positive and optimistic person. Our industry is constantly changing and while this can be challenging at times, I always see change as an opportunity for my team and myself.

What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned so far during your career?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: Resiliency is a concept we are relentlessly focused on from a technology standpoint, but resiliency—and in particular, grit—are also important elements of a successful career. Setbacks are a natural part of any career, and they often pave the way to far greater achievements. Taking a moment to analyze what went wrong, identify the lessons learned, and apply those insights to future opportunities is critical to growth. As such, combining resilience with measured risk taking and a clear business vision—hence grit—have definitively helped me in advancing my career.

What would you advise women just entering the industry?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: There is no secret to success. My advice is to believe in your abilities and embrace your unique strengths. Actively seek out mentors, allies, colleagues, or friends who can provide guidance, support, and valuable perspectives. Be curious and continuously seek opportunities for professional development. Ask questions and be open to learning from both successes and failures.

What does this award mean to you?
Valerie Bannert-Thurner: It’s such an honor to be recognized in this way, but I see it as a reflection of the incredible culture we have at Nasdaq and the extraordinary teams I’ve had the pleasure of working with along the way.