Julie Winkler, Chief Commercial Officer of CME Group
What’s one significant way coronavirus has affected your work?
Part of our client focus is prioritizing in-person events and meetings to build relationships, exchange ideas, and solve problems with clients. Now, without the ability to travel or meet face-to-face, we have had to learn to recreate that same experience using virtual technology and other resources. It has been immensely helpful having a regionally-distributed sales and marketing team, especially given our markets are 24/7. With more than half of my team outside the U.S., customers can talk to someone around the clock and in their own region, which I think will continue to be a differentiator for us.
What’s a typical day like for you right now as we “shelter in place”?
While each day is different with a new twist, coffee is still my first stop every single day. After that, I start my regular cadence of meetings, now virtually, which remain just as frequent as when we were in the office. The difference is that I also build in time to navigate having an entire household at home, whether that means helping prepare lunches, playing air traffic control when the Wi-Fi has to handle video calls and e-learning, or helping my seven-year old perfect his rainforest diorama. I am also dedicating more time to checking in with my team to make sure everyone is doing OK though these challenging times.
What’s something that has given you hope for the future after this pandemic?
I am hopeful that our shared experiences and challenges will offer even more opportunity for collaboration and new ways of thinking. Every industry, not just finance, has been forced to change their processes and approach. As we all start to share our lessons learned, I think it will spark new ideas and ways we can improve in the future. Our industry has performed exceptionally well in this environment, which is a testament to the strong relationships we have already cultivated as a group. We made a huge transition in a matter of days - seamlessly. People are trading and operating from home in various locations, something that was unheard of before. That flexibility and agility can only help us going forward.
