Adds details and context on tenure and context on CME and Duffy throughout, updates shares to market open in paragraph 3

June 17 (Reuters) - CME Group CME.O on Wednesday named insider Lynne Fitzpatrick as its next CEO, making her the first woman to lead the derivatives exchange and succeeding longtime chief Terry Duffy.

She takes charge as exchanges redefine their business models beyond trading floors and futures contracts. Operators are investing heavily in data, software and newer products such as prediction markets across the industry as they seek to diversify revenue and tap new pools of investors.

Shares of CME last fell 3% in morning trading after the company said Duffy would step down as CEO and transition to the role of executive chairman on March 1.

Fitzpatrick was named president and chief financial officer in 2024 after serving as CFO since 2023 and deputy CFO since 2022. A longtime insider, she joined CME in 2006 and has held a series of senior finance and leadership roles.

She will also join the company's board when she takes over as CEO, CME said.

Fitzpatrick becomes one of the few women to lead a major Wall Street firm, alongside Citi's C.N Jane Fraser and Nasdaq's NDAQ.O Adena Friedman.

MARQUEE TENURE

Duffy oversaw CME's transformation from a floor-trading exchange to an electronic markets powerhouse and led its landmark public listing, making it the first U.S. exchange to go public in 2002.

The stock has since gained more than 8,000%, lifting its market value to about $95 billion. It traded at an average daily volume of 28.1 million contracts last year.

Duffy, who was appointed chairman in 2002 and has led CME for more than a quarter century, has been among the exchange industry's most prominent figures.

He steered the company through the global financial crisis and completed the industry's first merger with cross-town rival the Chicago Board of Trade in 2007.

"CME Group has grown from a Chicago institution to a true global powerhouse – all while generating billions in daily efficiencies for market users globally," he said in a statement.

Duffy became CME's executive chairman in 2006, added the title of president in 2012 and assumed his current role as chairman and CEO in 2016.

Under him, CME cemented its position as the world's leading derivatives marketplace, with its commodity exchanges serving as a hub for global price discovery.

Energy producers, farmers, manufacturers and investors rely on its markets to hedge risks and navigate volatility across some of the world's most important commodities.