Inside Nasdaq CFO Sarah Youngwood’s AI playbook

Sarah Youngwood has a ranking system for artificial intelligence—and it has nothing to do with algorithms. Inside Nasdaq’s finance function, employees now earn belts for AI proficiency the way martial artists do: white belts for foundational knowledge, advancing through levels that require hands-on delivery and the ability to teach others. Youngwood has mandated that everyone on the finance team reach at least white belt. Her long-term goal is for 20% of the team to reach black belt status. The belt system is one window into how Youngwood, EVP and CFO of Nasdaq, is approaching what she calls an embedded capability—not a standalone initiative. AI, in her view, should be reshaping everything: market infrastructure, internal finance operations, workforce culture. “If we are Nasdaq, it is our role to lead the charge,” she told Fortune earlier this month from her 26th-floor corner office above Times Square. “To show what AI can do and how we can become an AI-first finance function.”AI will be incredibly powerful for forecasting in finance, Youngwood said. By combining macro assumptions, pipeline data, and leadership actions, it enables better real-time decision-making—the core goal of any finance function, she explained. Its impact spans everything from cash allocation to invoice processing and beyond. Governance and human oversight are essential to the process, she said. Youngwood joined Nasdaq as CFO in 2023 after spending more than two decades at JPMorgan Chase in roles including CFO of its consumer and community banking business, head of investor relations, and CFO of global technology. She also served as CFO of UBS Group. That background left her with a simple conviction about technology investment: prove the return. “Finance is in charge of a great deal of corporate data,” she said. “And AI is all about the data.” The stakes are real. Nasdaq landed at No. 470 on the Fortune 500 this year, returning to the ranking five years after its 2021 debut. Today, the company