Acknowledgments

As I pen these acknowledgments, I want to foremost thank the man who urged me to write this book and advised me to just tell the story. Ronald Coase has personally inspired and mentored me for the past four decades. My gratitude toward him cannot be described. I have been visiting Professor Coase for many years, before and during the time this book was being written. We often discussed the book over lunch and he gave me invaluable advice. He possessed the clarity common to great teachers. When I finished the first half of the book, I nervously handed him the manuscript like a student completing an exam. I came back two weeks later and asked him what he thought of it. After complimenting me on my achievement, he added, in a soft English accent, “It's one damn thing after another.” His words meant a lot to me. I was finally telling the story he asked me to tell. The process of financial innovation was—and is—one damn thing after another. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I have long since discovered the flaws of human memory. Thankfully, there were many friends who helped me recount the events captured in this book. Natalie Persky, Tom Cushing, Mike Walsh, Mike MacGregor, Rob McAndrew, Rohan Ma, Jeff Huang, Fran Kenck, and Kathy Lynn Minervino-Myers all delivered colorful personal accounts of what took place in the past decade. Neil Eckert, Helene Crook, Peter Koster, Sara Stahl, and Albert DeHaan generously shared their memories of the creation of the European Climate Exchange with me. Tony Chiarenza, Joe Cole, and Ed Berko's recollections of the 1990s helped me convey the exciting possibilities of insurance derivatives during that time. Ricardo Cordero provided me with an accurate history of electronic trading in Europe that was also rich in astute personal observations. Al Swimmer, Jay Feuerstein, Norman Mains, and Rick Ferina all related their experiences of the 1980s to me. Their conversation was enthralling, and I regret that not all of it could be incorporated into this book. My former colleagues, Chris Andersen, Peter Ackerman, and Syl Schefler, also shared stories about how capital markets helped finance entrepreneurs in the 1980s. Lou Margolis described the birth of indexing in the equity markets while Jay Pomrenze helped me understand how early adopters used financial futures. Michael Spencer, a former colleague and now the CEO of ICAP, the world's premier interdealer broker, gave me invaluable insight into that sector of the business. Michael has always been a good friend and supportive of my efforts. Philip McBride Johnson inspired me with an adventurous account of how he crafted the language that enabled the birth of financial futures. Jon Goldstein, my friend of almost five decades, recapped the wonderful memories of our years at the University of Minnesota. Many thanks to my brother, Frank, my nephew, David, and my cousins, Ruth and Jocelyn, who reminded me of many stories of our family and childhood.

I also tapped the knowledge of members of Chicago's futures community. I am thankful to Bill Brodsky, Jack Sandner, Rick Kilcollin, Scott Gordon, Tom Donovan, Larry Rosenberg, Frank Jones, Lee Stern, David Goldberg, Joe Gressel, Pat Hennessy, Don Wilson, and Nathan Laurell. Galen Burghardt revived memories of the early seminars we conducted to educate users of financial futures. Ken Raisler gave me an expert's insights into the regulatory process in the futures industry. A special thanks to John Lothian, who provides a valuable service of disseminating news and commentary on the futures industry from Chicago to the world. His support over the years has been important to me. My friend and mentor, Les Rosenthal, was, as always, a source of inspiration and fond memories.

Without the advice and dedication of investment bankers Paul Hodges and Jim Durkin, we would have never been able to finance the largest carbon market in the world today. Neil Woodford, an early and committed believer in our concept, deserves the same if not greater credit. They are the unsung heroes of European emissions trading.

As with any book that deals with finance, reliable data and facts are critical. For their promptness and patience with my requests I am grateful to Gil Avidar, Chris Bartlett, Greg Busler, Nicole Cook, John Fyfe, Tom Gibson, Steve McComb, Dan Scarbrough, and Andy Totman. Will Acworth and Toby Taylor at the Futures Industry Association were terrific. Thank you to Charlie Carey and Lindsay Phillips at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Intercontinental Exchange, and the Joyce Foundation for kindly sharing and allowing us to use many important materials in this book.

Eric Chow, Alice Xie, and Kwangun Lee meticulously organized the daunting pile of information files we've accumulated over a decade and did research. Fang-Yu Liang, and Daphne Yin performed excellent research and were exemplary as editors. They were all seamlessly managed by Rafael Marques. In fact, I couldn't have written this book without his help. His feedback and editorial contribution to the entire manuscript were crucial. Thanks also to my colleagues, Murali Kanakasabai and Nathan Clark, for reading, editing, and harshly critiquing the manuscript. I cherish Nathan's sometimes near-brutal honesty and embrace Murali's vigor for always challenging me intellectually. Both were crucial to the integrity of the end product. A special thanks to my assistants, Mary Ann White and Melanie Rakovic, who were invaluable throughout this process.

I also need to thank Karen Arenson, Victoria Rowan, Margery Mandell, Emily Lambert, and Andrew Szanton for their help in the early chapters and the advice they gave me on writing. Dan Yergin gave me an invaluable piece of advice: to start the story at a point where my comfort level was high. It didn't have to be at the beginning. He was given this advice by one of his mentors, and it served him well. It served me well, too.

A special thanks to Joyce Gladstone Silver and Martin Greenberg for keeping memories of P.S. 99 and Midwood High School vivid and alive.

This is a unique book—a hybrid of a memoir and a financial and economics text. At times, the two themes complemented one another, and at times, they conflicted. This was a source of constant challenge for me. Fortunately I relied on some of my trusted friends and former colleagues to review parts of the manuscript. I am grateful to Paula DiPerna, Carole Brookins, Sylvie Bouriaux, Keith and Arlene Bronstein, Chris Culp, and Ning Wang. Their insights, edits, suggestions, and criticisms were priceless. As friends, they went above and beyond what I asked of them. I would also like to thank John Beasley, who gave me a terrific suggestion for one of the chapter titles on the Chicago Climate Exchange.

I am grateful to my executive editor, Kevin Commins at John Wiley & Sons, for approaching me with the proposal to write a book about my work as an inventor of “good derivatives.” Other members of the Wiley team, like Meg Freeborn and Melissa Lopez, were also instrumental in guiding me through the manuscript production process.

As with any other book, the acknowledgment section has often been, and should be, a place to express one's true feelings of gratitude toward one's family. My daughter Penya advised me to write the book I would like to read. My daughter Julie told me to write it as if I was teaching, and Ellen, an artist at heart, prodded me to “follow my instincts.” She patiently read and re-read each draft and her comments were uniquely valuable. Ellen is a loving and very wise woman. I owe her thanks not only for this book, but for a lifetime. Ellen, my daughters, their husbands, Jack Ludden and Eric Taub, and my grandchildren, Elijah Sandor Ludden, Justine Sandor Ludden, Caleb Sandor Taub, and Oscar Sandor Taub, always did, and still do, provide me with all that one would want from a family. I offer a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of them.