Team Cboe says they love the Wall Street Rides FAR event because of the way it aligns with Cboe’s company values, including competitive team spirit and good citizenship. According to Cboe team captain Carrie Leonard, “Cboe places a lot of focus on creating a world-class associate experience and is committed to building a culture of shared values that guide us to show up in our global communities. These are some of our guiding principles and it’s what makes Rides FAR such a wonderful event for our company.”

Cboe has been part of the event since its inception 9 years ago. “The Co-founder of Wall Street Rides FAR, Bryan Harkins, worked at Cboe (then Bats Global Markets) when Rides FAR was founded. I think it’s fair to say Cboe was a founding sponsor and has been proud to support ASF since the very beginning.  When Bryan left Cboe two years ago, he looked for a new champion to head our team. I raised my hand, was happy to help, and next thing I know I had become Cboe’s team captain. Those are big shoes to fill! I’ve tried to do my best to carry that torch with a steady hand.”

In addition, Leonard serves as Chair of the Global Rider Recruitment Committee. “I’m proud that team Cboe has the greatest global participation of all the sponsoring teams and we are working toward helping other teams increase their ridership. Cboe has teams at the New York and Toronto rides, as well as teams that participate in the event virtually in London, Chicago, Kansas City, Amsterdam and Singapore.

It’s a unique opportunity for colleagues to unite globally and let our business brains rest while still building camaraderie and team spirit. There are Cboe associates across the globe that I don’t necessarily work with on a daily basis, but by participating in WSRF I’m able to connect for the good of an incredible charitable cause.”

Last year, Team Cboe had 50 riders across all venues; Team NEO (now Cboe Canada) added another 40. Now as a combined force, Cboe plans to grow their participation by 33% this year to 120 riders and walkers globally.

Carrie emphasizes that what matters is participation. She reports that when she approaches colleagues about the ride “some of the reservations I hear are, “I’m not an avid rider”, “I don’t own a bike,” or “I haven’t ridden a bike since I was 10!”. There are many misconceptions about what the ride is. You don’t have to be an endurance athlete to participate. It’s a family-friendly, no stress, ride/walk-at-your-own-pace, and whatever distance you’re comfortable with type of event.  It’s a wonderful way for Cboe to support an important cause and have a fun time doing it together as a Cboe and Wall Street family.”