The man behind the S&P 500 calculations is retiring in August following a career with S&P Dow Jones Indices (SPDJI) spanning four decades.
David Blitzer (pictured), managing director and chairman of the index committee at SPDJI, is responsible for the index governance function for the firm’s entire index offering.
He also chairs various SPDJI committees, including those responsible for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500.
He joined S&P Global in September 1980 as a corporate economist before being appointed S&P’s chief economist in 1982. From there, he joined the index committee in 1989, before becoming its chairman in 1995.
Alex Matturri, CEO of SPDJI, commented: “Always unassuming, and generous of his time and knowledge, David has provided us all with disciplined leadership and intellectual rigor to index analysis and management.
“We will miss David’s leadership, intellect, generosity and sense of humor, as well as his ubiquitous bowtie.”
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Douglas Peterson, president and CEO of S&P Global, added: “The level of transparency, integrity, and independence that David brought to our global family of indices is the reason why SPDJI is viewed as the gold standard in the indexing industry.”
