Lifetime Achievement Award Nominees
The etf.com Lifetime Achievement award is presented annually to one individual for outstanding long-term contributions to exchange-traded fund investor outcomes, whether from a position of media, regulation, product provider, investor or another impactful category.
From a product innovation standpoint, Rob, George, Bruce and Joanna have all been directly involved with pioneering new investment approaches and/or entire ETF categories. Rob is known as the “Godfather of Smart Beta.” George is referred to as the “Godfather of Gold ETFs.” Bruce led the creation of the now highly popular defined outcome, or buffer, ETFs. Joanna spearheaded the launch of an innovative bond ETF issuer that is slicing and dicing fixed income in ways not previously done. Bob has made it his mission for decades to educate investors on all of this ETF innovation that is occurring, with a particular gift of distilling complex topics in a way that anyone can understand.
While I am only scratching the surface of what these five individuals have brought to the industry, it’s crystal clear that all are highly deserving of this award. – Nate Geracci
Arnott Nominated for Lifetime Achievement Award
When Rob Arnott was in high school, he decided he wanted to work in either asset management or astrophysics. But that choice was narrowed once he got to college and realized, “I was very good at math, but to be a world-class astrophysicist, one had to be extraordinary at math.”
Arnott's realization was indirectly responsible for the development of modern-day fundamental indexing and smart beta investing, for which he is credited with establishing.
The founder and chairman of Research Affiliates, Arnott is often referred to as the “Godfather of Smart Beta," pioneering the fundamental index approach that challenges traditional market-cap-weighted indices. – Jeff Benjamin
Bond Nominated for Lifetime Achievement Award
Innovator ETFs CEO and co-founder Bruce Bond didn't just participate in the growth of the U.S. exchange-traded fund industry, he shaped it.
Recognized as an important figure in the industry's three-decade history, Bond is frequently featured and quoted in financial news publications and on TV. From launching Powershares in the early 2000s to selling it to Invesco a few years later—in a deal that included the ETF that would become the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ)—to then co-founding Innovator and its pioneering line of defined-outcome ETFs, Bond's fingerprints are all over the industry.
Bond has seen and seized opportunities over the past decades as he rode to the top of what is now a $10.6 trillion industry. He's sought and found gaps in the industry that he then filled with products that caught on with investors.
"If you want to be successful, you need to create for yourself a unique lane within the industry where you can be a thought leader and the leader," he said in an interview from his home in Naples, Florida. "The theory was to create your own lane." – Ron Day
Gallegos Nominated for Lifetime Achievement Award
When Joanna Gallegos joined the ETF industry in 1999, it was as a David facing the Goliath of the mutual fund world. Nobody was asking for another investment product, but she saw the potential in this financial product that had been launched in the U.S. only six years earlier.
At the time, ETFs were a small rival to the massive $13 trillion mutual fund industry; ETFs didn't reach $2 trillion in assets until 2013, according to Morningstar. As Gallegos told etf.com: "We were always in a challenger state."
As co-founder and COO of BondBloxx and creator of over 175 exchange-traded funds, Gallegos has played a role in shaping the ETF landscape by solving tough market problems and building teams that push boundaries. Her work on groundbreaking fixed-income products and key ETF trading systems has opened previously hard-to-reach markets to everyday investors. – DJ Shaw
Milling-Stanley Nominated for Lifetime Achievement Award
When it comes to the evolution of gold investing, few names stand out as prominently as George Milling-Stanley. As chief gold strategist at State Street Global Advisors, Milling-Stanley has dedicated more than five decades to demystifying the role of gold in investment portfolios, shaping the industry’s understanding of the precious metal, and playing an instrumental role in the development of the world’s first gold-backed ETF.
This year, his contributions are being recognized with a nomination for etf.com’s 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, a distinction awarded annually to individuals who have made outstanding long-term contributions to ETF investor outcomes. – Sumit Roy
Pisani Nominated for Lifetime Achievement Award
For decades, CNBC Senior Markets Correspondent Bob Pisani has been one of the most recognizable and trusted voices in financial journalism. A CNBC reporter since 1990 and covering the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) trading floor since 1997, Pisani has witnessed firsthand the evolution of financial markets, including the rapid rise of exchange-traded funds.
Through his extensive reporting, industry insights, and deep analysis, Pisani has played a significant role in educating investors about ETFs and their growing impact on global markets.
Thus, for many ETF investors, advisors, and industry insiders, it should come as no surprise that Pisani has been nominated for the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2025 etf.com Awards. – Kent Thune, CFP
