On July 17, Ingersoll Rand Chairman and CEO Mike Lamach, as well as CEOs from 15 other companies, took part in the second annual NYSE Century Club Summit, in which they were initiated into the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Century Club, a special index of 348 companies that have been in business for at least 100 years.

The day’s events, hosted by the NYSE in partnership with Yale University, included roundtable discussions on “Lessons of Legacies” and “Resilience and Reinvention.” At 4 p.m. the CEOs, as well as Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, senior assistant dean of Yale School of Management, rang the NYSE closing bell.

The Century Club was launched in July 2012 “to recognize companies that have thrived for over a century,” and “have demonstrated the ability to innovate, transform and grow through decades of economic and social progress,” according to the NYSE website. Members are U.S. domiciled companies that have a 100-year history, are publicly traded, and have a market capitalization of at least $1 billion. In its first year the Club’s index outperformed both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100 indices. 

“The performance of the NYSE Century Index illustrates the leadership, stability and the overall sound business execution of our Century Club community during times of economic uncertainty,” said Duncan Niederauer, chief executive officer, NYSE Euronext, a leading provider of indices.

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