John Prestbo, executive director and editor of Dow Jones Indexes of New York, was awarded the William F Sharpe Indexing Lifetime Achievement Award this week. He received the accolade at a three-day indices industry conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, in recognition of his work as an accomplished innovator and practitioner in the industry.
“John Prestbo may be best known for his role as one of the ‘keepers of the Dow’, but he is truly the academic brain behind the successful development and launch of thousands of indexes,” said Dow Jones Indexes president Michael Petronella when announcing the award.
Many of the Dow Jones indices have become the mainstay of underlyings for retail structured products in the US and globally.
The award marks the tenth anniversary of Dow Jones Indexes, which became a business unit of Dow Jones & Co in 1997. Prestbo was involved in the January 1993 debut of the Dow Jones World Stock Index and three months later became editor of the index.
Three years later, the World Stock Index group was rebranded Dow Jones Indexes and officially launched in 1997 with the debut of cash options and futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the Chicago Board Options Exchange, now CME.
Originally a commodities reporter, Prestbo now oversees client support, public relations, marketing efforts and index research at Dow Jones Indexes. He also serves as chairman of the Dow Jones Index Oversight Committee and is responsible for the benchmarking initiative within the unit. Until recently, he also led the development and maintenance of indices.
John Bogle, founder and former chairman of Vanguard Group, Patricia Dunn, former CEO of Barclay’s Global Investors, and William Fouse, chairman emeritus of Mellon Capital Trust, were also presented with awards.
