Nasdaq adds former Ericsson chief Börje Ekholm to board; Holden Spaht to exit at year-end

Nasdaq, Inc. said Börje Ekholm, former chief executive of Ericsson and of Investor AB, will return to its board on November 1, 2026, as Holden Spaht prepares to step down at year-end. The company's Form 8-K puts Ekholm's election at October 21, 2026 and Spaht's resignation notice at October 22, 2026, with the board determining that Ekholm is independent.

A director elected October 21 and seated November 1

Nasdaq's board chose Ekholm on October 21, 2026, and his service starts November 1, 2026. The 8-K sets his term to run until the earlier of his death, resignation or removal, or the 2027 annual meeting of shareholders and the qualification and election of a successor — in practice a term that will be re-tested at next year's proxy. The filing states that the board determined he is independent, that he will sit on the Audit & Risk Committee, and that he was not selected under any arrangement or understanding with Nasdaq or with anyone else. Compensation follows the company's Board Compensation Policy, amended and restated June 11, 2025 and filed as an exhibit to the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2025; the filing gives no dollar figure for his director pay.

The 8-K also discloses a related-party item that the Audit & Risk Committee reviewed in advance: an immediate family member of Ekholm works at Nasdaq in a non-officer role and received aggregate total compensation in excess of $120,000 from the start of fiscal 2025 through the filing date, participating in benefit plans made available at the same level to comparable employees.

A second tour on a board he once chaired

Ekholm is not a newcomer to this table. The 8-K records that he served on Nasdaq's board from February 2011 to December 2016 and chaired it from May 2012 to December 2016; the release describes him as a previous chair of the board. His operating record is one reason management gives for the return. He ran Ericsson as president and chief executive from January 2017 to September 2026 and sat on that company's board from 2006 to 2026, and before that was president and chief executive of Investor AB, the Swedish industrial holding company, from 2005 to 2015. He currently chairs Trimble's board, and the release lists earlier assignments at Alibaba, Husqvarna, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Scania and WM Data.

Adena Friedman, Nasdaq's chair and chief executive, framed the appointment around execution rather than trading conditions: “a rare combination of strategic vision and operational discipline, as demonstrated by his successful transformation of Ericsson into a stronger, more competitive organization”. Ekholm's own statement points at the strategy cycle: “I am honored to re-join Nasdaq’s Board at such an important time during its strategic evolution”.

Spaht's exit removes an Adenza-era director

Spaht notified Nasdaq on October 22, 2026 that he would resign, and his departure takes effect December 31, 2026, from the board and all of its committees. The 8-K is explicit that the decision did not stem from a fight: “Mr. Spaht’s decision to resign was not the result of any disagreement between Mr. Spaht and Nasdaq.” He joined in November 2023 through the Adenza acquisition, giving him roughly three years of service, and the release credits the period with completing the Adenza integration, reaching synergy and deleveraging targets ahead of schedule and raising the medium-term revenue outlook. Friedman's statement thanks him for counsel during “a transformative period for Nasdaq”.

What the filing leaves open

This is a governance document, not a results release. The 8-K carries Item 5.02 and Item 9.01 only, and neither the filing nor the exhibit contains revenue, margin, guidance or any other quarterly figure, so there is no year-over-year or sequential comparison to draw from these pages. The filing does not state the size of the board, does not name a replacement for Spaht, and does not describe committee changes beyond Ekholm's Audit & Risk seat. Whether Nasdaq intends to shrink the board by a seat or fill it again is unaddressed, and no market or shareholder reaction is documented here.

The dates that settle it

Three dates carry the story: November 1, 2026, when Ekholm's term begins; December 31, 2026, when Spaht's ends; and the 2027 annual meeting, when his current term lapses, provided a successor is qualified and elected. Nasdaq's next proxy statement is the document that will show the final board size and the committee roster, and the next Form 8-K is where any further board change would have to be disclosed.