Jeffrey Sprecher

Jeffrey Craig Sprecher (, , born February 23, 1955) is an American businessman, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. Early life Sprecher was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of insurance broker Peter Sprecher and medical technologist Phyllis (née Willingham). His sisters are the filmmakers Karen and Jill Sprecher. He attended Madison's James Madison Memorial High School, and was initiated to the Wisconsin Alpha Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Sprecher received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1978 and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University in 1984. Career Sprecher's first job was at Trane, where he met William Prentice who was developing power plants following deregulation. Prentice offered him a job at Western Power Group in 1983. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 passed and deregulation in the electric industry began. Those working in the "electric industry realized the need for real-time, continentwide transactions", made possible by "Continental Power Exchange" technologies whereby "individual businesses and consumers may one day be able to select an energy provider in the same way that individuals shop for long-distance telephone service."