Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman on the Role of Innovation in Business in 2023

With new technological advances shaping how the world operates, companies have found ways to utilize that technology to increase security and transform businesses. However, regulations have sometimes gotten in the way of innovation, requiring a delicate balance between the two to drive ongoing and sustainable economic growth.

During the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s State of American Business 2023 event, Tom Quaadman, the Executive Vice President of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC) at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, sat down with Nasdaq Chair and CEO Adena T. Friedman. Together, they discussed the state of American business, including the impact of new technologies, as well as the role of the public and private sectors in harnessing innovation for good. 

The U.S.’s Democracy Sets Itself Apart

According to Friedman, the foundation of the U.S. economy is its democracy, which sets our country apart from many others and fosters a competitive spirit. 

“The ability to have freedom of thought, freedom of speech — creativity and innovation really stems from that,” Friedman said. 

While the United States has demonstrated resilience in its economy over the past few years, added Friedman, our country needs to protect that resiliency moving forward. To do so, the United States has to be willing to adopt new technologies and stay ahead as an innovator in the world rather than holding back due to fear. 

“There tends to be a bit more fear among regulators around technology,” explained Friedman. “What I would really like to see is regulators in the private sector working together to harness the power of these innovations — to find ways to make sure that we can capture that innovation successfully and we can focus our companies on managing that innovation for societal good.” 

New Congress Needs to Work Together to Drive Innovation and Growth 

Without a balance between innovation and regulation, there is no growth. For example, regulations are preventing banks from taking full advantage of AI technology — however, criminals are making use of the technology.  

“[AI] technology is openly available to criminals, but not openly available to the banks and to technology providers like us to help protect the system,” Friedman said. “As we work with legislators and regulators, we want to make sure we really focus on that balance.” 

“Innovation and regulation [are] not antithetical,” she continued. “They actually can work together to make sure we harness that technology for the right purpose.” 

In a message to the new Congress, Friedman hopes to see lawmakers “work together on a bipartisan basis to solve big problems.” 

“I think if we can really show that we can operate successfully, in a bipartisan way, we can demonstrate to the world how critical a democracy is to economic success and societal success,” Friedman said. 

Nasdaq Is Helping to Protect Against Financial Crime 

Nasdaq plays a major role in managing crime in financial systems and rooting out criminals. According to Friedman, over 2,500 banks and brokers worldwide use the company’s world-class anti-nonfinancial crime technology to uncover market manipulation and nefarious actors. 

“We are a much broader platform today, and the problems we really are trying to solve are frankly the problems of our clients,” Friedman said. “[This includes] managing integrity in the system, keeping criminals out of the system, ... [and] helping corporations and investors come together, provide capital, [and] get access to capital. But [we are doing] it in a way where they feel there is a balance between them and that we're here as a bridge, as opposed to a wall between.” 

“We have a real vision to be the trusted fabric to the financial system around the world, and that really starts with securing transactions,” Friedman added.