Team of the Week
Team of the Week: Team NEO Exchange
Generating Awareness Across Borders
Since 2015, Rides FAR (For Autism Research) has brought together some of the nation’s top financial firms to rally behind and support the life-changing work enabled by the Autism Science Foundation (ASF), a nonprofit organization that supports autism research by providing funding and other assistance to scientists and organizations conducting, facilitating, publicizing and disseminating autism research.
This year, Rides FAR has expanded into Toronto with the official launch of Bay Street Rides FAR, and the team at Canada’s NEO Exchange has played a pivotal role in the Ride’s transformation into a global event that will take place on October 1.
Team NEO first became involved in Rides FAR in 2020, spearheading the event’s first satellite ride. While done out of necessity at the time due to COVID-19, the Ride’s popularity among participating members and their obvious passion for the cause quickly brought them into the fold of the Rides FAR community.
“The pandemic made it unwise to travel to New York to participate in the Wall Street Rides FAR event that year, so we held our own ride right here in Toronto,” said Jos Schmitt, President & CEO of the NEO Exchange, a Cboe Global Markets Company. “It gave us the perfect reason to come together safely, outdoors, as a team and get some much-needed exercise in support of a tremendous charity.”
When Team NEO decided to return in 2021, it extended the invitation to a few close partners. “That was really the start of something much bigger,” added Schmitt.
Leading into 2022, NEO saw the opportunity to bring together Toronto’s thriving financial sector for an official satellite event—and thus, Bay Street Rides FAR was born. This year’s Ride is “the culmination of a year of planning and organization,” said Schmitt. Specifically, ASF Canada was recently granted registered charitable status in Canada.
Not unlike its sister events in New York and Baltimore, this year’s Bay Street Rides FAR event will also include a 5km family-friendly walk option to further promote inclusivity and accommodate individual participant preferences.
The team has been proud to see a number of companies in the Toronto area stepping up as sponsors and donors.
“If the ease of attracting local sponsors is any indication, Bay Street has a BIG heart,” said Schmitt. “It is a privilege to see industry players set differences and rivalries aside for the greater good.”
Bringing the event to fruition in their own backyard has truly been a labor of love for Team NEO, whose founding mission to give back and “do what is right” continues to underpin their every effort. With many team members personally touched by autism in their day-to-day lives, NEO has seen firsthand how the work of powerful organizations like ASF can provide vital research funding that helps impacted individuals to live fulfilling lives with dignity.
Bay Street Rides FAR has also been critical to the team’s overall connectivity, giving employees the chance to bond outside of work on a personal level over a great cause. NEO has historically attracted individuals with a natural competitive spirit, and that same drive and passion has presented itself in the form of friendly competition as the team gears up for the Ride on October 1.
“A few riders on our team have challenged each other to a friendly fundraising competition—their passion and enthusiasm is contagious,” says Schmitt.
While the financial sector can be an industry rife with competition, the Ride is a place for high-profile industry players to put their differences aside and rally together to support something more important than the bottom line.
“I am a firm believer that there is more than enough room in the market for all of us, and in the spirit of giving back, cooperation takes precedence over competition,” said Schmitt. “We’re looking forward to proving that Toronto has what it takes to honor the Rides FAR brand.”