Mr. Ascher is Chief Strategy Officer and head of the Corporate Initiatives Division of ISE. In this role he is responsible for identifying, analyzing and instituting businesses that may provide ISE with growth opportunities. The Corporate Initiatives Division manages ISE’s new business development, including strategic planning.

Prior to joining ISE, Mr. Ascher served as Chief Executive Officer of NQLX, Nasdaq Liffe Markets LLC. Before NQLX, Mr. Ascher was an Executive Vice President of Interactive Brokers LLC, part of the Interactive Brokers Group LLC. He also has worked as an options market maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange, where he served as Vice Chairman of the Board, and Chairman of the Executive Committee.

He is a graduate of Carleton College.