Citi Makes Multiple Additions to Algo and ETF Teams, While CFO Departs

The Citi never sleeps.

The bulge bracket firm has been busy hiring and bulking up its ranks lately. The firm has added a total of thirteen new people to its roster. According to a memo seen by Traders Magazine, the firm said that as it continues to build on the momentum of its Futures, Clearing and Collateral platform globally, it is committed to attracting the industrys top talent to provide clients with market-leading solutions across products and geographies. Against this background, the firm wrote internally, it was pleased to announce the following appointments within the FCC Electronic Execution and Algorithmic Trading teams:

Gordon Ball joined Citi as EMEA Head of Electronic Execution and Algorithmic trading. In this role, Ball will focus on the growth of our electronic execution franchise in EMEA and assist in the development of the FCC Algorithmic Trading agenda and Low Latency strategy. He will be based in London and report into Sabrina Wilson, Global Head of Electronic and Algorithmic Trading and EMEA Head of FCC. With over 20 years of industry experience, Ball brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. He previously worked at Goldman Sachs for 18 years where he held various roles such as leading the European Equities Electronic Trading product development, Listed Derivatives Execution & Clearing product development and more recently as an Electronic Execution Strategist driving the algorithmic trading and low latency strategy.

Max Middleton onboarded the Electronic Sales team in EMEA. Middleton will be based in London and report into Jason Massey, EMEA Head of Sales for FCC. In this role he will contribute to the growth of our regional franchise by focusing on the electronic client acquisition strategy and extending integrated electronic solutions to our clients. Middleton came from Goldman Sachs where most recently worked as an Executive Director within the Futures and Listed Options Electronic Trading Group.

Joseph Michniowski has been named APAC Head of Electronic Execution and Algorithmic trading. In this role, Michniowski will help drive the FCC Algorithmic Trading agenda, as well as the China and North Asia strategy. He will also assist in the development of our India strategy and provide local coverage to its APAC electronic client base. Michniowski will be based in Hong Kong and jointly report into Sabrina Wilson and Ian Nissen, APAC Head of FCC. He brings 20 years of industry experience across the buy-side and sell-side industries. He joined Citi in 2015 and most recently led Citis Equities quant trading analytics team globally.

But thats not all. The firm also beefed up its ETF business. Conor Davis, EMEA Head of Investor Sales alerted his underlings and the media he had hired the following:

Antoine de Saint Vaulry joined Citi as APAC Head of Delta One ETF Trading, based in Hong Kong. In this role Antoine will report to Sebastien Mailleux, Head of Prime Finance & Delta One for APAC, and will focus on the growth of our ETF trading capabilities in the region. Antoine brings a wealth of expertise to the role and previously worked at Commerzbank for 14 years where he was most recently Head of ETF and Flow Trading for Asia.

Pierre Thiriet also joined our Delta One team in APAC. Pierre will report to Antoine and will focus on pricing, trading and risk management relating to our regional Delta One trading capabilities. Pierre has 10 years of experience in the index and statistical trading space and joins Citi from the ETF market marking team at Commerzbank.

Arthur Laporte recently joined Citis Delta One Desk in EMEA, reporting into Peter McIntyre, EMEA Head of Equities ETF Trading. In this role Arthur will focus on market making and arbitrage strategies relating to equity ETFs. He previously worked at BNP Paribas for 5 years, focusing on ETF Trading.

Henry Tillson also joined Citis Delta One team in EMEA and will work alongside Arthur in the EMEA ETF trading buildout. Henry had previously worked in our FX Options Quant team in London for the past 5 years. He will also report to Peter McIntyre.

Fred Schmidt recently transitioned from its NAM Fixed Income team to join the EMEA Fixed Income Beta Trading desk in London, reporting into Melvyn Merran.

As we continue to build out our ETF offering across all services, asset classes and geographies, we are pleased to announce the following new roles and hires within our equities, PFSS and fixed income teams, Davis said in a memo seen by Traders Magazine. Citis business model enables us to support all aspects of the ETF lifecycle from index creation, dedicated research and content, sales, trading, market-making as well fund services. These new roles complement Citis integrated ETF offering and senior external senior hires weve previously made in the space.

These other hires include:

Andrew Jamieson who joined as Global Head of ETF product. In this role, Andrew has been working alongside internal partners to drive our strategic ETF goals holistically across Citis products, technology and operations platform. Jamieson has more than 20 years of industry experience and previously worked for BlackRocks iShares ETF business as Global Head of Broker-Dealer & Market-Maker Relationships.

Paul Koo rejoined Citi to lead regional ETF Sales and Business Development for North America, reporting into Ish McLaughlin, Head of North America Investor Sales. He was previously Head of Citis Delta One business in the Americas before co-founding Alaia Capital, an asset management company focused on unique beta exposure. With over 20 years of industry experience, Paul has also held senior leadership positions at firms including UBS, Morgan Stanley, and Comstock Partners.

Brendan Sheehan joined Citi as Head of North America Fixed Income Portfolio and ETF trading, reporting to Jay Mann, Global Head of Fixed Income and Currencies Beta Trading. Sheehan brings 18 years of experience to the role and joined us from Bluefin Trading where he traded fixed income and fixed income ETFs. He was previously with Bridgewater Associates and Susquehanna International Group.

Melvyn Merran was appointed European Head of Fixed Income ETF trading, reporting to Jay Mann. Merran joined Citi from UBS where he was leading Credit Index and ETF trading in Europe.

Gareth Myburgh joined our Fund Services team as ETF Product Manager, working on advancing ETF offerings within our funds and custody platform. He brings over 15 years of experience and joined us from BBH where he was a senior ETF manager.

Lastly, but certainly not unimportant, Business Insider reported that three top Citi execs are leaving the company, including CFO John Gerspach. Gerspach, who joined Citi in 1990 and has been CFO for the past nine years, is retiring in March of next year, according to an internal memo from CEO Michael Corbat viewed by Business Insider. Additionally, Jim Cowles, the CEO of the bank’s operations in EMEA, is leaving to start a nonprofit at the end of this year, and Bill Mills, the CEO of North American operations, will retire at the end of the year, according to the memo. They worked at Citi for 39 years and 36 years, respectively.