Leo Melamed is recognized as the founder of financial futures. At the close of 1999, he was named by the former editor of the Chicago Tribune, among the ten most important Chicagoans in business of the 20th Century. Chicago Magazine included him among the century's top one hundred Chicagoans.

As chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Melamed in 1972 launched the International Monetary Market (IMM)___the first futures market for financial instruments. In the following years, Melamed led the CME in the introduction of a diverse number of financial instruments, including foreign exchange, Treasury Bills, Eurodollars, and in 1982, stock index futures. Melamed has been a primary force in the U.S. futures industry, helping establish its markets as indispensable tools in financial risk management. In 1987, Melamed spearheaded the introduction of GLOBEX, the world's first electronic futures trading system and became its founding chairman.

Melamed has been an advisor to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and serves as special advisor on futures markets to governments worldwide. In 1982, Melamed led the futures industry effort before the U.S. Congress in creating the National Futures Association (NFA), a self-regulatory body of the futures industry. He served as chairman of the NFA from its inception until 1989 and continues to serve as its permanent Special Advisor. Melamed has lectured and written extensively on the subject of financial futures and free markets. He was editor of An Anthology: The Merits of Flexible Exchange Rates published by George Mason University Press, in1988. He authored Leo Melamed on the Markets, a historical overview of the evolution of futures markets, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in 1993. In 1987, Melamed wrote a science fiction novel, The Tenth Planet, published by Bonus Books. Escape to the Futures, Melamed's memoirs, was published by John Wiley & Sons in 1996. Many of his essays and lectures can be found on the website Leomelamed.com.

Melamed is an attorney by profession and an active futures trader. He is chairman and CEO of Melamed & Associates, Inc., a global markets consulting organization.