Melania Trump to Ring NYSE's Opening Bell Wednesday, Launch New Initiative for Female CEOs in Her 'Week of American Excellence'

First Lady Melania Trump will ring the New York Stock Exchange‘s opening bell Wednesday and launch IMPERIA, an invite-only initiative bringing together female CEOs, capping a high-profile week of appearances tied to the U.N. General Assembly. The NYSE is owned by the holding company Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

‘A Week of American Excellence’

The NYSE announced on X that the First Lady will open the markets as the 81st U.N. General Assembly heads into its second day, with her keynote address following the opening bell.

Tomorrow, September 23, First Lady @MELANIATRUMP opens the markets from NYSE as the 81st @UN General Assembly continues.

Tune in at 9:45AM ET for @FLOTUS' keynote address following the Opening Bell. pic.twitter.com/trQWb4FuWf

— NYSE 🏛 (@NYSE) September 22, 2026

In a post on X on Saturday, Trump called it a “week of American Excellence” as she hosted world leaders, launched a new business initiative, and is expected to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan to the White House.

A WEEK OF AMERICAN EXCELLENCE
A Global Coalition, Global Commerce, & Global Diplomacy

Next week, the world will witness 3 impactful events, but what it won’t see is the months of vision, preparation, and relentless attention to detail required to create them.

Tuesday, during… https://t.co/E8nx1AqVjE

— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) September 20, 2026

In January, she opened the exchange to mark the release of her documentary.

A ‘Davos for Women’

The invite-only IMPERIA initiative brings together female CEOs and executives, aiming to build business relationships, move capital, influence policy, and foster collaboration across industries, her senior advisor Marc Beckman told USA Today.

The launch event, organized and hosted by the NYSE, is billed as a “Davos for Women,” a nod to the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Switzerland.

At Tuesday’s event, the First Lady welcomed leaders from nearly 60 nations, expanding the coalition’s membership, and announced new private-sector technology partnerships with Adobe Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Intel Corp., Starlink, Google, and Zoom Communications Inc.

Price Action: NYSE’s parent company, Intercontinental Exchange Inc., closed 1.57% lower on Tuesday at $152.93 and gained 0.18% in extended trading.

Benzinga edge rankings indicate Intercontinental Exchange’s stock has a Momentum in the 43rd percentile and a Growth score in the 25th percentile.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Image via Shutterstock/ Evan El-Amin