OCC, the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization, today announced the creation of the U.S. Options Lifetime Contribution Award. The award was created by the U.S. options exchanges and the Options Industry Council (OIC), an industry resource managed by OCC.
The award will be presented annually to individuals who have made significant contributions to the listed options market and the advancement of the U.S. listed options industry, whether through market structure, industry education, trading or support for overall product development. This award will be in addition to the industry's Joseph W. Sullivan Options Industry Achievement Award.
The 2019 Lifetime Contribution Award recipients will be honored at this year's Options Industry Conference, hosted by the MIAX Exchange Group™ (MIAX™) and OCC in Miami, Florida, on May 1-3.
The recipients of the Lifetime Contribution Award will be inducted into the OIC's newly-formed "Crowd of Fame", along with all previous Sullivan Award winners, at the Options Industry Conference. The award and the Crowd of Fame were created to recognize a more expansive group of leaders and establish a place for the industry to honor their contributions.
"We are delighted to be hosting the 37th annual Options Industry Conference in Miami, Florida, and excited to honor the first-ever Lifetime Contribution Award and Sullivan Award winners along with their friends, families and colleagues at this year's conference," said Thomas P. Gallagher, Chairman and CEO of MIAX.
The following individuals are the 2019 recipients of the Lifetime Contribution Award:
- Tom Brady, Cboe (retired)
- Kim L. Koppien, NYSE Options
- Joe Levin, Cboe (posthumous)
- Daniel May, The May Foundation
- Dennis May, SMS Factory
- William H. Morgan, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- Jon Najarian, Najarian Family Office and Investitute
- Anthony Saliba, Matrix Holding Group
- Andy Schwarz, AGS Specialists, LLC
- Lee Tenzer, LETCO
- Thomas Young, Independent Member, PHX
"The creation of this award and the 'Crowd of Fame' is a nice way to recognize the contributions that various individuals have made on behalf of the options industry to make these markets more resilient, transparent and innovative to the benefit of retail investors, financial advisors, and institutions who use these markets,"said Mary Savoie, Executive Director of OIC.
John Smollen, EVP, Head of Exchange Traded Products for MIAX, added, "We are proud of our role in making this award possible. We are also very appreciative and would like to recognize the collaborative efforts of our fellow exchanges, the OIC and the members of the Options Industry Council Roundtable in helping to establish this award."
For more information about the 2019 Options Industry Conference, visit: https://www.optionsconference.com.