WHO’S WHO
By Gordon Platt
Who’s who in foreign exchange.
MOHAMED EL AROUSSI
Arab African International Bank
Head of FX desk
Mohamed El Aroussi has been head of the foreign exchange desk at Arab African International Bank (AAIB) in Cairo since 2008. AAIB is one of the biggest market makers in trading the dollar against the Egyptian pound. El Aroussi writes market reviews and FX trading strategy reports for the bank from both technical and fundamental perspectives.
He holds a bachelor of commerce degree from Cairo University, where he majored in accounting.
JAMIE THORSEN
BMO Capital Markets
Executive managing director
Jamie Thorsen heads global foreign exchange operations in Canada, the US and Europe for BMO Capital Markets and is responsible for the firm’s capital markets activity in China. She currently serves on the Bank of Canada’s FX Committee and was on the FX Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for 17 years.
FIRAS ASKARI
BMO Capital Markets
Managing director, foreign exchange trading
Firas Askari is responsible for Canadian dollar trading globally at BMO Capital Markets and heads the firm’s foreign exchange sales and trading group in London. He is a former president of the Financial Markets Association of Canada and has served on the Bank of Canada’s FX Committee. Askari joined BMO in 1996 and assumed his current position in 2004.
MELANIE WONG
BNY Mellon
Managing director, head of FX sales, Asia
In 2007, Melanie Wong relocated from New York to Hong Kong and began raising the FX profile of BNY Mellon. She selectively assembled a local team that employs a proactive, client-centric relationship management style. She built upon her knowledge of the subtle differences among the countries and cultures in the region and the whole BNY Mellon Asia-Pacific presence, expanding the reach of the bank’s client base of FX users, including central banks, sovereigns, investment managers, hedge funds and multinational corporations.
SIMON DERRICK
BNY Mellon
Managing director, chief currency strategist
Affable and prolific, chief currency strategist Simon Derrick has led his research team to a high level of visibility and wide breadth of media coverage this year. His astute currency forecasts are peppered with charts generated from iFlow, BNY Mellon’s interactive, multi-asset-class research tool. Derrick’s economic commentaries—on the simmering eurozone crisis, for example—are consistently insightful.
JOSÉ AUGUSTO DURAND
Banco Itaú BBA
Director, client desk and foreign exchange desk
José Augusto Durand is director of the client desk and foreign exchange desk of Banco Itaú BBA, which provides corporate, treasury, international and investment banking services in Brazil. He joined Banco Itaú in 1996 and previously was a senior trader for the client desk at Lloyds Bank. He holds an MBA in finance from IBMEC.
CARLOS EDUARDO MACCARIELLO
Banco Itaú Unibanco
Product director for foreign exchange
Carlos Eduardo Maccariello is product director for foreign exchange at Banco Itaú Unibanco, among other responsibilities. He joined Banco Itaú in 2002 and was previously director of receivables at Banco Safra. He holds a bachelor degree in accounting sciences from PUC.
ERIC BOMMENSATH
Barclays Capital
Managing director, head of fixed income, currencies and commodities, and head of trading, EMEA
Eric Bommensath is head of fixed income, currencies and commodities, and head of trading in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at Barclays Capital. He joined the bank in London in 1997 as head of derivatives, Europe. A French national, Bommensath studied science at École Polytechnique in Paris and engineering at École Ponts et Chaussées.
MARC CHANDLER
Brown Brothers Harriman
Global head of currency strategy
Marc Chandler joined Brown Brothers Harriman in 2005 as global head of currency strategy. Previously, he was the chief currency strategist for HSBC Bank USA and Mellon Bank. Chandler is an associate professor at New York University, where he teaches international political economy.
DEREK SAMMANN
CME Group
Managing director, financial products and services
Derek Sammann is managing director, financial products and services, at CME Group, where he is responsible for the interest rate, equity and FX product lines. He previously served as managing director, global head of FX products, after joining CME in 2006. Before that, he was managing director, global head of FX options and structured products, at Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank, based in London.
ANIL PRASAD
Citi
Global head of FX and EM local markets
Anil Prasad is global head of FX and EM local markets at Citi, based in London. He began his career with Citibank India in 1986 and relocated to New York in 1988 to work on the currency and metals options desk. In 1992 he was named head of its options business. Prasad moved to London to head Citi’s interest-rate options business in 1996. He left Citi to work in proprietary trading at NatWest Capital Markets in 1997, then rejoined Citi in 2000 as regional head of CEEMEA trading and was named head of sales and trading for the region in 2003.
JEFF FEIG
Citi
Managing director and global head of G10 FX
Jeff Feig is responsible for all foreign exchange sales and trading in the G10 developed markets at Citi. He joined the bank in 1989 as an associate on the FX desk in Toronto and has held several FX management positions in North America and Europe. He was named to his current position in 2004. Feig is the current chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s FX Committee and also serves on the Bank of Canada’s FX Committee. He was on the board of electronic broker EBS until its sale in 2007 to ICAP.
BEN McMILLAN
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Global head of FX, institutional banking and markets
Ben McMillan joined Commonwealth Bank of Australia in August 2008 and is responsible for FX trading and institutional sales globally. He began his career at Bankers Trust in Sydney in 1998 after completing a bachelor of commerce degree in finance and a BS in mathematics from the University of New South Wales. Prior to joining Commonwealth Bank, McMillan worked at Barclays Capital in London.
PETER SOH
DBS
Managing director and head of foreign exchange/commodities
Peter Soh was appointed head of foreign exchange/commodities at DBS in 1996. He joined DBS in 1989 and was named managing director in 2005. Soh has been instrumental in building a world-class foreign exchange team with a strong regional presence in spot trading of the US dollar against the Singapore dollar and in non-deliverable forwards.
He also expanded DBS’s treasury and markets capabilities in South Korea and Indonesia. A Singaporean, Soh holds a BA degree in finance from the University of Hawaii.
CONRAD KWOK
DBS Hong Kong
Managing director and head of trading, and head of FX/gold derivatives
Conrad Kwok is managing director of treasury and markets at DBS’s Hong Kong branch. He also heads FX/gold derivatives and was appointed head of trading in March 2011. Kwok joined DBS in 2000 and has been the driving force behind the FX derivatives business for DBS in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Prior to joining DBS, Kwok spent 11 years at Chase Manhattan Bank in Singapore and Tokyo. A Hong Kong native, he holds a BA degree in finance and commercial studies from Canada’s University of Western Ontario.
ZAR AMROLIA
Deutsche Bank
Global head of foreign exchange
Zar Amrolia is global head of foreign exchange in the global markets division of Deutsche Bank, based in London. Amrolia was named global head of foreign exchange in 2006. He joined Deutsche Bank in 1995 from Credit Suisse First Boston. From 2000 until 2004, he was co-head of foreign exchange at Goldman Sachs. Amrolia is a member of the foreign exchange committees sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and by the Bank of England.
He also chairs the global FX division of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME).
STERGIOS PANTOSTIS
Eurobank EFG
Co-head, global markets trading
Stergios Pantostis co-heads the global markets trading division at Eurobank EFG, based in Athens. In FX his group operates in the spot and derivatives markets, with a main emphasis on Southeastern and Central Europe. Pantostis joined the group in 2002 and headed the derivatives business until he was named to his current position in 2009.
WOLFGANG KOESTER
Fireapps
CEO
Wolfgang Koester, founder and CEO of Fireapps, has managed risk for Fortune 100 companies and G10 governments since 1986. Fireapps offers on-demand software and services to help treasurers and controllers collect accurate FX exposure data and better manage currency risks. Prior to forming Fireapps, Koester worked for more than 13 years at GFTA Trendanalysen, a quantitative currency manager. He was president of GFTA from 1995 to 2000, and continues to serve on the company’s board.
DAVID GILMORE
Foreign Exchange Analytics
Partner and economist
David Gilmore is responsible for managing Foreign Exchange Analytics’ fundamental coverage. Prior to founding the Essex, Connecticut–based firm in 1994, he spent seven years providing online commentary in New York and London with MCM CurrencyWatch and MMS International.
PHIL WEISBERG
FXall
CEO
Phil Weisberg has led FXall since its formation in 2000 and remains instrumental at all levels—from building and testing the latest technology improvements to working with customers one-on-one. FXall is the leading foreign exchange trading platform and strategic execution partner, serving more than 1,000 institutional clients, including corporates, asset managers, active traders and banks.
DREW NIV
FXCM
CEO
Drew Niv, CEO of FXCM, co-founded the foreign exchange brokerage in 1999. Since then, FXCM has become one of the largest firms in online retail foreign exchange trading, with 150,000 accounts in over 200 countries. Prior to founding FXCM, Niv was director of marketing at MG Financial.
JOHN TAYLOR
FX Concepts
Chairman, CEO and chief investment officer
John Taylor founded FX Concepts, a New York–based investment management company for foreign exchange assets, including currency overlays, in 1981. He specializes in the analysis of cyclicality of FX and interest rate markets. Taylor developed some of the first computer models to assist multinational corporations in managing foreign exchange risk.
FREDERIC BOILLEREAU
HSBC
Global head of foreign exchange and metals
Frederic Boillereau was named global head of foreign exchange and metals in March 2009, when HSBC integrated foreign exchange spot, forward and options trading, as well as the metals business, into a single global product offering. Boillereau joined the bank’s global markets division in 1998. Since May 2008, he has been heading HSBC’s metals business.
MARK JOHNSON
HSBC
Managing director, global head of foreign exchange cash trading
Mark Johnson is global head of foreign exchange cash trading at HSBC, based in London. He was founding managing partner and chief investment officer at Johnson Stewart Partners. Previously, he was a managing director at Deutsche Bank.
JOHN NIXON
ICAP North America
Executive director and CEO, ICAP Electronic Broking
John Nixon was named an executive director of ICAP North America in May 2008. ICAP became the leading broker in the spot FX market with its purchase of the EBS platform in 2006. Nixon is also CEO of ICAP Electronic Broking and is responsible for strategic acquisitions as well as ICAP’s information business. He is a member of the FX Committee sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
DAVID RUTTER
ICAP
Deputy CEO of ICAP Electronic Broking
David Rutter is deputy chief executive of ICAP Electronic Broking. Prior to joining ICAP in 2003, he was a significant shareholder in Prebon. Rutter served in various capacities at Prebon, beginning in 1988. He was global chief executive of Prebon Energy and managing director of the Americas for Prebon Yamane.
TODD CROSLAND
Interbank FX
Chairman and president
Todd Crosland is chairman and president of the Interbank FX group of companies, including Interbank FX and IBFX Australia. Crosland founded Interbank FX in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2001—offering individual traders, money managers and institutional customers proprietary technology, tools and education to trade spot foreign currency online.
With customers in more than 140 countries, Interbank FX has distinguished itself among industry leaders with its unique nine-bank liquidity feed. In addition, Interbank FX’s pioneering trade execution rates support the rising algorithmic, high-frequency-trading trend.
THANOS PAPASAVVAS
Investec Asset Management
Head of currency management and portfolio manager
Thanos Papasavvas is head of currency management at Investec Asset Management, which manages approximately $9.8 billion of currency assets for global investors. Previously, Papasavvas was a director and head of currency management for Credit Suisse Asset Management.
He joined CSFB’s fixed-income department in 1994 after two years as an economist for the UK Government Economics Service.
thanos.papasavvas@investecmail.com
JOAQUIM PIRES
Millennium bcp
Managing director and head of foreign exchange
Joaquim Pires is head of foreign exchange at Portugal-based Millennium bcp. He is responsible for FX trading and sales, covering a wide range of currencies and structured products. Pires joined the bank in 1991 from Banco Português do Atlântico, where he started his career in financial markets in 1986.
joaquim.pires@millenniumbcp.pt
MAMMEN VARKEY
National Bank of Kuwait
Assistant general manager, investments and treasury group
Mammen Varkey is assisstant general manager and head of foreign exchange trading at the National Bank of Kuwait in Kuwait. He started his career at NBK and has been chief dealer since 1989.
He has more than 25 years of experience in the markets and is an active trader of the major currencies and a market maker in all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) currencies.
MICHAEL STUMM
Oanda
Chief executive officer and president
Michael Stumm is the co-founder of web-based exchange rate portal Oanda, which was launched in 1995 and became one of the first companies to offer fully automated online currency trading. Stumm has a Ph.D. in computer science and is a computer-engineering professor at the University of Toronto.
He specializes in distributed and parallel systems, Internet technology and e-commerce.
Stumm has also held positions at IBM, Stanford University and ETH Zurich. Co-founder of SOMA Networks, he has published more than 100 journal articles and holds five US patents.
ROBERT SINCHE
RBS Securities
Managing director, global head of foreign exchange strategy
Robert Sinche is a managing director andglobal head of foreign exchange strategy at RBS Securities, based in Stamford, Connecticut.
He was chief strategist for Lily Pond Capital Management in New York. Before that, he was head of strategy for global rates, currencies and commodities at Bank of America. RBS Securities is a unit of Royal Bank of Scotland.
JOACHIM ALPEN
SEB
Head of trading and capital markets
Joachim Alpen is head of trading and capital markets at Stockholm-based SEB, a position he assumed on November 1, 2010. He was head of foreign exchange at SEB, which has FX trading desks in 16 countries.
He joined SEB a decade ago as an emerging markets trader and has held numerous positions, including head of trading in New York for three years. Previously, he worked at the Swedish Embassy in Moscow.
Alpen has a master’s degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University.
STINA EKBERG-NORRHEDE
SEB
Head of e-FX trading and distribution
Stina Ekberg-Norrhede is Global Head of e-FX Trading and Distribution at SEB since 2010. SEB were one of the earliest adapters of e-FX. In her team there are two main areas; global e-fx sales and e-fx trading with a 24h risk management.
EDWARD VOORHEES
Saxo Bank
Global head of foreign exchange
Edward Voorhees is global head of foreign exchange at Saxo Bank, based in Copenhagen.
He joined Saxo Bank in 2007 as global head of options. Voorhees has worked for Commerzbank in London, and Deutsche Bank and Citi in Frankfurt, London and New York.
Saxo Bank is a leading online trading and investment specialist. It has begun publishing market data from the over-the-counter FX options market three times daily, at the conclusion of trading sessions in Asia, Europe and New York, to increase transparency in the market.
BARRY WAINSTEIN
Scotia Capital
Vice chairman, deputy head of global capital markets, global head of FX and precious and base metals
Barry Wainstein is vice chairman and deputy head of global capital markets at Scotia Capital and global head of both the foreign exchange and metals (ScotiaMocatta) business lines. Wainstein is a member of the Canadian Foreign Exchange Committee and the European Central Bank’s Foreign Exchange Contact Group. He holds B.S. and MBA degrees from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
barry_wainstein@scotiacapital.com
ANTHONY BISEGNA
State Street Global Markets
Senior managing director and global head of foreign exchange
Anthony Bisegna is responsible for managing the foreign exchange sales and trading business worldwide for State Street Global Markets, including spot transactions, forwards, emerging markets and FX options. Bisegna joined State Street Bank in 1987 in the capital markets group. Prior to that, he was with Chase Manhattan Bank’s treasury operations group in New York.
He is a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a board member of the global FX division of AFME (Association for Financial Markets in Europe). He holds a CFA designation.
BORIS SOMOROVSKY
Tatra Banka
Head of trading department
Boris Somorovsky joined Slovakia-based Tatra Banka in 1999 as a foreign exchange trader. He was named a senior trader in 2004 and became head of the trading department last year. The bank is a member of Austria-based Raiffeisen International.
boris_somorovsky@tatrabanka.sk
MARK GALANT
Tydall Trading
CEO and chairman
Mark Galant is CEO and chairman of Tydall Trading, an ultra-high-frequency algorithmic trading firm. He is also a founding partner of Faros Trading. Galant founded GAIN Capital in 1999, and the firm is now one of the largest online foreign exchange companies. GAIN Capital operates the Forex.com system, which has clients in 140 countries.
Before that, Galant helped build FNX into a leading provider of trading and risk-management systems. He was also global head of foreign exchange options trading at Credit Suisse. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
TONY WHITE
Wall Street Systems
Managing director, banking
Tony White is managing director of banking at Wall Street Systems, with additional responsibilities for marketing and product management for Wallstreet FX, an integrated platform to support high-volume trade processing. WSS is now being acquired by Ion Trading.
White was instrumental in the creation of Wallstreet ESN, an electronic settlement network for the capital markets.
Wallstreet estimates that more than 25% of the world’s daily FX transactions flow through systems it provides to banks.
tony.white@wallstreetsystems.com
PETER CONNOLLY
Wells Fargo
Executive vice president and group head of global transaction banking
Peter Connolly is an executive vice president at Wells Fargo and group head of global transaction banking, which includes foreign exchange, trade finance, cross-border treasury management services, cross-border e-commerce and cross-border investments. He joined Wells Fargo in 1986 as the chief corporate adviser for trading and sales. Three years later he became the division manager for foreign exchange trading and sales. Connolly took on additional responsibilities in 1995, overseeing global transaction banking. He is chairman of Wells Fargo Bank International. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Connolly was a chief corporate dealer for Barclays Bank. He is a member of the BAFT/IFSA Transaction Banking Global Leaders. He is also a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Foreign Exchange Committee.
 FX SUPPLEMENT 2011: WHO’S WHO IN FOREIGN EXCHANGE |
