As managing director, general counsel, and corporate secretary of CME Group (the world’s largest and most diverse derivatives exchange), Kathleen M. Cronin is a woman working in a particularly male-dominated industry.
“It’s true. Although there are some very successful women traders on the floor and electronically the trading dynamic changes somewhat, trading is still primarily a man’s world,” says Cronin. “However, within CME Group itself there are a number of women in senior positions—in fact, four out of the 11 members of our senior management team are women.”
For Cronin, who oversees the Chicago-based company’s legal department, market regulation, internal audit, and corporate secretary function, being a woman is not an issue. “Still, there are things to remember,” she adds. “Talk a little louder and more frequently, and make sure people understand when you’re the one making the decision.”
CME Group is a combined entity formed by the 2007 merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Because Cronin was already general counsel of CME for several years prior to the merger, her role in the new company has expanded but not changed dramati- cally. “Integrating CBOT’s employees and functional areas with ours was a challenge, but our businesses are very similar,” says Cronin. “Still, with the acquisition we added new products to our business. I had to get quickly up to speed with a lot of unfamiliar agricultural products.”
Lately, the high prices of products that affect consumers on a daily basis—corn, rice, soybeans—have placed a spotlight on the futures market. “This impacts my job when legislators react by implementing new regulations in a hasty attempt to solve the problem,” says Cronin, “but in terms of day-to-day operations of our markets, things don’t change much.”
A graduate of Boston College with a degree in psychology, Cronin intended to pursue a Ph.D. and become a psychotherapist; after an externship how- ever, she learned that listening to people talk about their problems was not for her. She opted instead for a career in law and attended Northwestern Law School. “Going into law school, I wasn’t sure what corporate law was, but I knew I didn’t want to litigate,” says Cronin. Turns out her instincts were correct—she really likes the constructive nature of corporate law, rather than what she describes as the relatively destructive nature of litigation.
Cronin began her career as a corporate attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. She left Skadden to be chief counsel/corporate finance at Sara Lee Corporation, and then, apparently not having had her fill of firm work, she returned to Skadden for five more years. After her first child was born, Cronin left the firm permanently in 2002 and went in-house at CME.
Barring becoming extremely financially comfort- able and trying something completely different, Cronin sees herself in five years doing pretty much what she is doing now. “I’ve found a job at CME Group that I love,” she says. “And I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon.” DB
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From the July/August 2008 issue of Diversity & The Bar®