Ed Knight

As Executive Vice Chairman, Edward Knight manages global government relations and serves as a senior advisor on public policy and litigation.

During his tenure as Nasdaq’s General Counsel from 2001 to 2019, Knight championed many causes for investors and public companies: proxy reform; corporate governance modernization, including the JOBS ACT passage in 2012; regulatory reform; immigration reform; and enhancing the self-regulatory organization model.  He has worked tirelessly to ensure Nasdaq’s U.S. equity market maintains its position as the premier global marketplace for capital formation.

Knight currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is a member of the District of Columbia, Texas, and Supreme Court Bars.  He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on its Committee on Corporate Affairs.  Knight is Vice Chairman of the Board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the U.S.-India Business Council.  He is also chair of TechNet’s Executive Council.  He is a member of the Nasdaq Dubai Board and the Board of the World Federation of Exchanges.  He is based in Nasdaq’s Washington, D.C., office.

Before serving as FINRA’s General Counsel from 1999-2001 and then Nasdaq’s General Counsel, Knight served as General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury from September 1994 to June 1999 — the longest tenure since the position was created in 1934.  Upon his departure, he received the Alexander Hamilton Award, the Department’s highest honor.  He also received the Honor Award from the Secret Service.  Before being named Treasury General Counsel, Knight served as Executive Secretary and Senior Advisor to Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen.  He also served as a member of the Obama Transition Team at the U.S. Treasury Department in 2008-2009.

Prior to that, he was a partner with the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld in Washington, D.C.  A Texas native, Knight received his Bachelor of Arts, with honors, in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law.