As 2024 kicks off, SRP looks back at the most relevant people moves in the structured product industry in the past year. Today we focus on index providers.

Bloomberg

The US firm appointed Dave Gedeon (right) as CEO of Bloomberg Index Services, replacing Steve Berkley who retired in March 2023.

Gedeon most recently moved as deputy CEO and head of index product, overseeing the development of products for Bloomberg’s multi-asset index business, including the commodity and alternatives index suite, multi-asset strategies, third-party calculation efforts and the global equity indices launch and subsequent expansion into emerging markets and thematic benchmarks.

Prior to the US index provider, Gedeon was the global head of research & development at Nasdaq.

Also at the start of 2023, Filippo Mattia Ginanni (right) onboarded Bloomberg as derivatives market specialist focusing on equity derivatives, structured products and digital assets based in London. He joined from agora’s digital debt capital markets where he was sales head of structured products and euro medium-term notes (EMTNs) from 2021.

Prior to that, Ginanni was head of cross asset structuring & solutions lead at Mediobanca based in Milan, where he was responsible for product development, structuring, marketing and distribution after his 10 years at Deutsche Bank.

Cboe

Cboe Global Markets named Vikesh Patel (right) as president of Cboe Clear Europe, its pan-European clearing house in March 2023. His predecessor was Cécile Nagel.

With 15-year experience in financial market infrastructure, Patel joined from Swift, where he was most recently head of securities with global responsibility for its securities strategy during his six years.

Prior to that, Patel was chief operating officer at LCH, focusing on strategy, risk management and the development of new products. He had also served at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, with a primary focus on market infrastructure and post-trade strategy.

Also in March, the US derivatives and securities exchange made five senior executive hires: Megan Goett (right) as senior vice president (SVP), chief marketing officer; Hatice Unal as SVP, infrastructure; Laura Fuson as VP, futures; Jodie Gunzberg as head of strategic partnerships; and Katherine Kirkpatrick as chief legal officer, Cboe Digital.

In October, the Chicago-based index provider appointed Catherine Clay (right), global head of derivatives, a newly-created role, and promoted Adam Inzirillo to global head of data and access solutions. 

Clay, who was previously global head of data and access solutions and digital, leads Cboe's global derivatives business. Inzirillo, former head of North American equities, oversees Cboe's market data and access services, global indices, risk and market analytics and execution solutions services. His previous role was succeeded by Oliver Sung, ex-head of North America execution consulting, on an interim basis.

Cboe alum Bruce Traan (right) joined dxFeed, a US market data and index management provider for both traditional and Defi spaces, as global head of indices.

Most recently Traan founded Benchmarket last October where he ‘established the first peer-to-peer exchange for index licensing’ following a one-year stint at Coin Metrics, according to dxFeed.

Traan spent over 15 years at Cboe Global Markets starting from 2006, during which his last role was head of global indices based in Chicago overseeing the geographic expansion of benchmark products and services.

MSCI

The New York-based index provider hired Ryoya (Tera) Terasawa (right) as head of Japan client coverage based in Tokyo. His responsibility focuses on the development of MSCI’s commercial activities in Japan, managing key client relationships.

He reports to Kazuya Nagasawa, head of Asian Pacific (Apac) client coverage in Hong Kong SAR. Nagasawa took Terasawa’s current role in 2012 joining from Goldman Sachs.

Prior to joining MSCI, Terasawa spent over 20 years at J.P. Morgan where he started his career in Tokyo as a fixed income derivatives sales before moving to London, and then relocated to Hong Kong SAR focusing on equity derivatives (EQD) trading and structuring. Most recently, he was the US bank’s head of Japan sales and marketing, serving institutional clients.

Additionally, Chitra Hepburn has taken an expanded mandate as head of South and Southeast Asia client coverage, based in Singapore. She also reports to Nagasawa and heads ESG & climate client coverage for Apac in her existing role.

Jana Haines has re-joined MSCI as head of index and a member of MSCI’s executive committee, based in New York. She is tasked to lead the strategic development and execution of the firm’s global index product line with an aim to drive innovation across index categories.

FTSE Russell

In June, the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) appointed Fiona Bassett as CEO of FTSE Russell. Based in New York, she reports to David Schwimmer, CEO of LSEG, and replaced Arne Staal who’s taken another internal role.

Basset joined from DWS Group where she held the roles of CEO, DWS UK and global head systematic investment solutions. During a 20- year tenure, she held various senior roles across asset management and index investing at Deutsche Bank.

One month later, Matthew Henshaw (right) was tasked to lead the index sales for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and South Asia at FTSE Russell. He continues to be based in Singapore, reporting to Rick Chau, head of index and analytics sales for Apac.

Henshaw is now responsible for developing index solutions with the local pension schemes, asset managers, banks and hedge funds in the region. Most recently, Henshaw was senior manager, business development after relocating to Singapore from London in January 2022

Morningstar

Tobias Sproehnle (right), former head of Europe, left the US index provider. He onboarded as head of Europe, reporting to Ron Bundy, Morningstar’s president, following the acquisition of Moorgate Benchmarks where he was CEO in September 2021.

Sproehnle launched Moorgate in 2018 alongside Gareth Parker, who also joined Morningstar as chief indexing officer. Previous, he was CEO of Thomson Reuters Benchmarks and worked at Eurex as a senior product manager before joining HIS Markit as head of credit indices. He later became head of fixed income at FTSE Russell.

Qontigo

Charlene Low was appointed head of Asia Pacific for Qontigo. Low replaced former head of Apac Rick Chau, who left the company.

Low (right) reports to Marc Dorfman, senior managing director, global head of sales, Qontigo.

In her new role, Low leads the strategic development of Qontigo’s footprint in the Apac region and support the index provider’s key regional presence to provide round-the-clock support to its global client base.

Low previously was head of strategic partnership & exchange traded products at Qontigo. Prior to that she was an executive director at MSCI and before that Low was the regional head of business development Asia Pacific at FTSE Russell.

Image: Bluraz/Adobe Stock.