John F. Sandner

John Francis Sandner (November 3, 1941 – March 11, 2021) was an American business executive and community leader. He served three stints as the chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), now the CME Group, in the 1980s and 1990s.

Early life Sandner was born in South Side, Chicago, on November 3, 1941. His family, who were Irish American, were of a modest background and resided in a three-room apartment. His father worked as a shoe salesman, while his mother was employed at a variety store. During his tenure, exchanges in Chicago were blamed for aggravating the stock market crash in 1987, a claim which Sandner dismissed during his testimony before Congress. Moreover, 46 CME and Chicago Board of Trade traders were charged with racketeering, fraud, and lying to undercover federal agents in the late 1980s. Although he contended that more corruption existed at a hot dog stand, he conceded that "it was a real, real bad period". That same year, he unveiled a proposal that would permit traders to send orders for futures contracts via the internet directly to the trading floor. He also served as chairman of the CME Foundation. He was a member of the team that took the CME public on December 6, 2002, making it the first exchange in the United States to be publicly traded. Sandner played a significant role in the acquisitions of the Chicago Board of Trade in 2007,

Public service and community involvement Sandner testified frequently before Congress as an industry leader, most notably the 1980 Gold and Silver Crisis, the 1987 stock market crash, and in the 1990s the modernization of financial services regulation. the premier National Advisory Council advising the President on International Trade. Sandner was appointed in 2001 by Congress to serve on the Library of Congress National Digital Strategy Advisory Board (NDSAB) to develop a national digital strategy for the preservation, management and distribution of the government's digital materials and information.

Sandner was a trustee of the University of Notre Dame, Rush University Medical Center, the Museum of Science and Industry of Chicago, and the John G. Shedd Aquarium. and served on the boards of the National Futures Association, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Ryan Specialty Group, and Virtu Financial LLC. He was also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and the Executive Club of Chicago. the Horatio Alger Award (1998), the “Living Proof Award” from Rush University Children's Hospital Neurobehavioral Center and was named Man of the Year by the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. and honored by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce as Person of the Year in 1996. Sandner was bestowed the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Outstanding American Award in the fall of 2008. He was honored with an endowed chair "Chicago Mercantile Exchange John F. Sandner in Futures and Options Studies" at Northwestern University J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Roosevelt University and Lincoln College (Illinois).

Personal life Sandner met his wife, Carole, while studying at Notre Dame. She worked as a nurse at a hospital in South Bend, Indiana. They were married for 51 years until his death. Together, they adopted eight children.

Sandner resided in Lake Bluff, Illinois, during his later years. He died on March 11, 2021, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He was 79, and suffered a stroke prior to his death.