Joe Levin, Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Vice President of Research and Product Development, has received the William F. Sharpe Indexing Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in creating revolutionary products that have defined the market for listed options. The award was presented last week at the Super Bowl of Indexing Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
A 30-year veteran of CBOE, Levin has led the development of a long list of groundbreaking index products and benchmarks that have cemented CBOEs reputation for product innovation. Throughout his tenure at CBOE, he has overseen the development of many industry firsts, including the first security index option (S&P 100 Index options – OEX); the first measure of market volatility (CBOE Volatility Index – VIX); the first options strategy-based index (CBOE S&P 500 Buy-Write Index – BXM); and the first tradable volatility products (VIX futures and options).
“I know I speak on behalf of the entire CBOE community in applauding the choice of Joe Levin for this prestigious award,” says William J. Brodsky, CBOE chairman and chief executive officer. “Joe has the rare ability to incorporate the thinking of leading academics with the experience of market practitioners to produce truly revolutionary products. Joe has led the development and introduction of nearly every major product innovation since the launch of listed options trading. His ongoing contribution to the growth of the options industry is immense.”
This is the fifth time in five years that CBOE has received awards at the Super Bowl of Indexing Conference. Past CBOE awards include: in 2004, the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM) and in 2007, the CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Index (PUT), were each named the Most Innovative Benchmark Index; while futures and options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) earned the distinction as the most Innovative Index Derivative Product in 2004 and 2006, respectively. Levin has been integrally involved in the development of each of these and other CBOE contracts.
The awards, recognizing the most important contribution to the industry over the preceding year, are chosen following a rigorous selection process, which begins with hundreds of nominations each year. The finalists are sent to a voting committee comprised of the worlds leading academics in the indexing research world, where they cast their ballots and the winners are chosen.
The Super Bowl of Indexing Conference is an annual meeting of the Index Business Association, attended by more than 600 industry professionals and academics that seek in-depth information and analysis on a broad spectrum of financial instruments and concepts.
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