QuickLinks
 -- Click here to rapidly navigate through this document

Exhibit 10.1  


  
 

    CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE HOLDINGS INC.
  ANNUAL INCENTIVE PLAN    
    



        1.    Purpose.    The purpose of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. Annual Incentive Plan is to
align the interests of Company management with those of the shareholders of the Company by encouraging management to achieve goals intended to increase shareholder value. 


        2.    Definitions.    The following terms, as used herein, shall have the following meanings: 



        (a)   "Award"
shall mean an incentive compensation award, granted pursuant to the Plan, which is contingent upon the attainment of Performance Factors with respect to a
Performance Period. 


        (b)   "Board"
shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company. 


        (c)   "Code"
shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. 


        (d)   "Committee"
shall mean the Compensation Committee of the Board or such other committee as may be appointed by the Board to administer the Plan in accordance with
Section 3 of the Plan. 


        (e)   "Common
Stock" shall mean the common stock of the Company, par value $0.01 per share. 


        (f)    "Company"
shall mean Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc., a Delaware corporation, or any successor corporation. 


        (g)   "Disability"
shall mean permanent disability as determined pursuant to the long-term disability plan or policy of the Company or its Subsidiaries in effect
at the time of such disability and applicable to a Participant. 



        (h)   "Effective
Date" shall mean January 1, 2003. 


        (i)    "Exchange
Act" shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 


        (j)    "Participant"
shall mean an employee of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company who is, pursuant to Section 4 of the Plan, selected to participate herein. 


        (k)   "Performance
Factors" shall mean the criteria and objectives, determined by the Committee, which must be met during the applicable Performance Period as a condition of
the Participant's receipt of payment with respect to an Award. Performance Factors may include any or all of the following or any combination thereof: gross margin, operating margin, revenue growth,
free cash flow, operating cash flow, earnings per share, economic value added, cash-flow return on investment, net income, total shareholder return, return on investment, return on equity,
return on assets or any increase or decrease of one or more of the foregoing over a specified period. Such Performance Factors may relate to the performance of the Company, a Subsidiary, any portion
of the business, product line, or any combination thereof and may be expressed on an aggregate, per share (outstanding or fully diluted) or per unit basis. Where applicable, the Performance Factors
may be expressed in terms of attaining a specified level of the particular criteria, the attainment of a percentage increase or decrease in the particular criteria, or may be applied to the
performance of the Company, a Subsidiary, a business unit, a product line, or any combination thereof, relative to a market index, a group of other companies (or their subsidiaries, business units or
product lines), or a combination thereof, all as determined by the Committee. Performance Factors may include a threshold level of performance below which no payment shall be made, levels of
performance below the target level but above the threshold level at which specified percentages of the Award shall be paid, a target level of performance at which the full Award shall be paid, levels
of performance above the target level but below the maximum level at which specified multiples of the Award shall be paid, and a maximum level of performance above which no additional payment 






 




shall
be made. Performance Factors may also specify that payments for levels of performances between specified levels will be interpolated. 


        (l)    "Performance
Period" shall mean the twelve-month periods commencing on January 1, 2003 and each January 1 thereafter, or such other periods as the
Committee shall determine; provided that a Performance Period for a Participant who becomes employed by the Company or its Subsidiaries following the commencement of a Performance Period may be a
shorter period that commences with the date of the commencement of such employment. 


        (m)  "Plan"
shall mean this Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. Annual Incentive Plan. 


        (n)   "Subsidiary"
shall mean any company, partnership, limited liability company, business or entity (other than the Company) of which at least 50% of the combined voting
power of its voting securities is, or the operations and management are, directly or indirectly controlled by the Company. 




        3.    Administration.    The Plan shall be administered by a Committee of the Board. The Committee shall have the
authority in its sole discretion, subject to and not inconsistent with the express provisions of the Plan, to administer the Plan and to exercise all the powers and authorities either specifically
granted to it under the Plan or necessary or advisable in the administration of the Plan, including, without limitation, the authority to grant Awards; to determine the persons to whom and the time or
times at which Awards shall be granted; to determine the terms, conditions, restrictions and Performance Factors relating to any Award; to determine whether, to what extent, and under what
circumstances an Award may be settled, cancelled, forfeited, or surrendered; to make adjustments in the Performance Factors in recognition of unusual or non-recurring events affecting the
Company or its Subsidiaries or the financial statements of the Company or its Subsidiaries, or in response to changes in applicable laws, regulations or accounting principles; to construe and
interpret the Plan and any Award; to prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to the Plan; to determine the terms and provisions of Awards (including provisions relating to a change
in control of the Company); and to make all other determinations deemed necessary or advisable for the administration of the Plan. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Committee shall
have the sole discretion to determine whether, or to what extent, Performance Factors are achieved; provided, however, that the Committee shall have the authority to make appropriate adjustments in
Performance Factors under an Award to reflect the impact of extraordinary items not reflected in such goals. For purposes of the Plan, extraordinary items shall be defined as (1) any profit or
loss attributable to acquisitions or dispositions of stock or assets, (2) any changes in accounting standards or treatments that may be required or permitted by the Financial Accounting
Standards Board or adopted by the Company or its Subsidiaries after the goal is established, (3) all items of gain, loss or expense for the year related to restructuring charges for the Company
or its Subsidiaries, (4) all items of gain, loss or expense for the year determined to be extraordinary or unusual in nature or infrequent in occurrence or related to the disposal of a segment
of a business, (5) all items of gain, loss or expense for the year related to discontinued operations that do not qualify as a segment of a business as defined in APB Opinion No. 30 (or
successor literature), (6) the impact of capital expenditures, (7) the impact of share repurchases and other changes in the number of outstanding shares, and (8) such other items
as may be prescribed by Section 162(m) of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder as may be in effect from time to time, and any amendments, revisions or successor provisions and any
changes thereto. 


        The
Committee shall consist of two or more persons each of whom shall be an "outside director" within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code. All decisions, determinations and
interpretations of the Committee shall be final and binding on all persons, including the Company and the Participant (or any person claiming any rights under the Plan from or through any
Participant). 


2





 



        Subject
to Section 162(m) of the Code or as otherwise required for compliance with other applicable law, the Committee may delegate all or any part of its authority under the
Plan. 


        4.    Eligibility.    Awards may be granted to Participants in the sole discretion of the Committee. In determining
the persons to whom Awards shall be granted and the Performance Factors relating to each Award, the Committee shall take into account such factors as the Committee shall deem relevant in connection
with accomplishing the purposes of the Plan. 


        5.    Terms of Awards.    Awards granted pursuant to the Plan shall be communicated to Participants in such form as
the Committee shall from time to time approve and the terms and conditions of such Awards shall be set forth therein. 



        (a)    In General.    On or prior to the date on which 25% of a Performance Period has elapsed, the Committee shall
specify in writing, by resolution of the Committee or other appropriate action, the Participants for such Performance Period and the Performance Factors applicable to each Award for each Participant
with respect to such Performance Period. Unless otherwise provided by the Committee in connection with specified terminations of employment, payment in respect of Awards shall be made only if and to
the extent the minimum Performance Factors with respect to such Performance Period are attained. 


        (b)    Special Provisions Regarding Awards.    Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in no event
shall payment in respect of Awards granted hereunder exceed $2,500,000 to any one Participant in any one year. The Committee may at its discretion decrease the amount of an Award payable upon
attainment of the specified Performance Factors, but in no event may the Committee increase at its discretion the amount of an Award payable upon attainment of the specified Performance Factors. 



        (c)    Time and Form of Payment.    Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, all payments in respect of Awards
granted under this Plan shall be made in cash within one hundred and twenty (120) days after the end of the Performance Period. 




        6.    Term.    Subject to the approval of the Plan by the holders of a majority of the Common Stock represented and
voting on the proposal at the annual meeting of Company stockholders to be held in 2003 (or any adjournment thereof), the Plan shall be effective as of January 1, 2003 and shall continue in
effect until the fifth anniversary of the date of such stockholder approval, unless earlier terminated as provided below. 


        7.    General Provisions.    



        (a)    Compliance with Legal Requirements.    The Plan and the granting and payment of Awards, and the other
obligations of the Company under the Plan shall be subject to all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations, and to such approvals by any regulatory or governmental agency as may be
required. 


        (b)    Nontransferability.    Awards shall not be transferable by a Participant except upon the Participant's death
following the end of the Performance Period but prior to the date payment is made, in which case the Award shall be transferable in accordance with any beneficiary designation made by the Participant
in accordance with Section 7(k) below or, in the absence thereof, by will or the laws of descent and distribution. 



        (c)    No Right To Continued Employment.    Nothing in the Plan or in any Award granted pursuant hereto shall confer
upon any Participant the right to continue in the employ of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or to be entitled to any remuneration or benefits not set forth in the Plan or to interfere with or
limit in any way whatever rights otherwise exist of the Company or its Subsidiaries to terminate such Participant's employment or change such Participant's remuneration. 



3





 




        (d)    Withholding Taxes.    Where a Participant or other person is entitled to receive a payment pursuant to an Award
hereunder, the Company shall have the right either to deduct from the payment, or to require the Participant or such other person to pay to the Company prior to delivery of such payment, an amount
sufficient to satisfy any federal, state, local or other withholding tax requirements related thereto. 


        (e)    Amendment, Termination and Duration of the Plan.    The Board or the Committee may at any time and from time to
time alter, amend, suspend, or terminate the Plan in whole or in part; provided that, no amendment that requires stockholder approval in order for the
Plan to continue to comply with Code Section 162(m) shall be effective unless the same shall be approved by the requisite vote of the stockholders of the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing
(but subject to Section (j)), no amendment shall affect adversely any of the rights of any Participant under any Award following the grant of such
Award, provided that neither an adjustment of an Award (as contemplated by Section 3) nor the exercise of the Committee's discretion pursuant to Section 5(b) to reduce the amount of an
Award shall not be deemed an impermissible amendment of the Plan or an Award. 



        (f)    Participant Rights.    No Participant shall have any claim to be granted any Award under the Plan, and there is
no obligation for uniformity of treatment for Participants. 


        (g)    Termination of Employment.    



          (i)  Unless
otherwise provided by the Committee, and except as set forth in subparagraph (ii) of this Section 7(g), a Participant must be actively employed by
the Company or its Subsidiaries at the time Awards are generally paid with respect to a Performance Period in order to be eligible to receive payment in respect of such Award. 


         (ii)  Unless
otherwise provided by the Committee, if a Participant's employment is terminated as result of death, Disability or voluntary retirement with the consent of the
Company prior to the end of the Performance Period, such Participant shall receive a pro rata portion of the Award that he or she would have received with respect to the applicable Performance Period,
which shall be payable at the time payment is made to other Participants in respect of such Performance Period. 




        (h)    Unfunded Status of Awards.    The Plan is intended to constitute an "unfunded" plan for incentive and deferred
compensation. With respect to any payments not yet made to a Participant pursuant to an Award, nothing contained in the Plan or any Award shall give any such Participant any rights that are greater
than those of a general creditor of the Company. 


        (i)    Governing Law.    The Plan and all determinations made and actions taken pursuant hereto shall be governed by
the laws of the State of Delaware without giving effect to the conflict of laws principles thereof. 



        (j)    Effective Date.    The Plan shall take effect upon its adoption by the Board;  provided, however, that the Plan shall be subject to the requisite approval of the stockholders of the
Company in order to comply with Section 162(m) of the Code. In the absence of such approval, the Plan (and any Awards made pursuant to the Plan prior to the date of such approval) shall be null
and void. 


        (k)    Beneficiary.    A Participant may file with the Committee a written designation of a beneficiary on such form
as may be prescribed by the Committee and may, from time to time, amend or revoke such designation. If no designated beneficiary survives the Participant and an Award is payable to the
Participant's beneficiary pursuant to Section 7(b), the executor or administrator of the Participant's estate shall be deemed to be the grantee's beneficiary. 


        (l)    Interpretation.    The Plan is designed and intended to comply, to the extent applicable, with
Section 162(m) of the Code, and all provisions hereof shall be construed in a manner to so comply. 



4









QuickLinks


CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE HOLDINGS INC. ANNUAL INCENTIVE PLAN