Robert N. MackayRob joined Itiviti as CEO in April 2019. He has a background of 25 years experience in the financial technology market. Prior to Itiviti Rob ran many businesses for FIS including its Cross Asset Trading & Risk unit which provided banks, hedge funds, insurers, asset managers and energy trading firms with front through back office multi-asset class trading infrastructure and enterprise risk systems.
Rob has huge international experience having run global businesses and lived in New York for 10 years where he ran SunGard’s hedge fund businesses. Rob has a BA in Biology from Oxford University.
Sanjay AwasthiSanjay Awasthi is a Director at Eastspring Investments (Singapore) Limited. Sanjay has close to 24 years of experience in the Securities Market and trades multiple asset classes.
Damian BiermanDamian Bierman is Head of Asia-Pacific for FactSet's Portfolio Management & Trading business unit. He is responsible for its day-to-day operations and oversees the teams responsible for delivering the full suite of PMT products and services across the region, including Portware EMS. Damian joined Portware in 2007, opening the firm's office in Hong Kong and establishing its presence in the region.
Damian is an active member of the FIX Trading Community, currently serving as Co-Chair of the Asia-Pacific Technical Subcommittee. He has been a mainstay of the organization's Asia-Pacific presence for the past 15 years, playing an active role in promoting the adoption of FIX across the region.
Prior to Portware, Damian ran FIX Services in APAC for NYFIX, setting up its Hong Kong office in 2004. Damian joined Javelin Technologies in New York in 2000, implementing its Appia FIX engine technology at numerous buy- and sell-side institutions globally.
Previously, Damian held a research position at Carnegie Mellon Research Institute in Pittsburgh, PA, working on the DOT-funded Driver Drowsiness Detection & Countermeasures study, as well as a study of expert landmine detection skill for the US Army.
Damian received his B.S. in Cognitive Science from Carnegie Mellon University in May 1997.
Scott BradleyScott Bradley is the Head of Sales and Marketing, LSE Cash Secondary Markets and Turquoise with responsibility for business development in Equities, ETF and Fixed Income trading, promoting growth and development within both existing and new markets. Scott joined the Group in March 2017 having spent the previous 17 years of his career in various roles more broadly within execution services with a number of Investment Banks and Global Brokerages including Instinet, Nomura, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and ITG. Having been actively involved in the early days of electronic trading and the development of analytics tools and services, Scott initially started out as a trader and then sales trader with ITG, before joining Goldman Sachs. As Managing Director of International Algorithmic trading at Bear Stearns, Scott was responsible for the build out of electronic sales trading in London before moving into senior sales positions as Head of Electronic Client Solutions, EMEA at JP Morgan and most recently Head of EMS and Analytics Sales at Instinet. For a number of years, Scott has been actively involved within the FIX Trading community and is currently co-chair of the Global Membership Services committee representing the EMEA region. Scott holds a BA (Hons) Finance from the University of Manchester and is currently part way through his MBA at Warwick Business School.
Phil ChevalierPhil Chevalier is the Head of Workflow Technology (Asia) at Virtu Financial covering Asia Pacific product management for Triton, Algo Wheel, and RFQ Hub. Phil has spent the past 11 years in the financial technology space specializing in execution management (EMS), portfolio management and order management systems (OMS). Previous firms include Advent Software and Eze Software Group. He holds a Bachelors of Art degree from Boston College in both Political Science and Communications.
Rahul DashRahul handles Electronic Trading for Sanford C Bernstein India, where he is a Vice President based out of Mumbai, and is responsible for all Foreign & Domestic clients. Before Bernstein, he managed Electronic Trading for ICICI Securities, & prior to that, worked across product & sales at Edelweiss.
Rahul has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering & a Masters in Microelectronics from IIT Bombay.
Roland de MarsangyRoland has helped Liquidnet expand its geographical presence since joining in 2012. An initial focus on continental European members quickly expanded to include several strategic London accounts. He has also developed the trading platform expansion in emerging markets, including the launch of the on-shore South African market in 2015. In September 2016, Roland relocated to Hong Kong to lead Liquidnet’s business development and market structure efforts in the Asia-Pacific region (currently active in 13 markets).
With the MiFID II legislation effect, Roland’s recent focus has been on breaking down the complexities of the European regulation for Asia-Pacific based clients.
Roland has a depth of industry experience, previously working at Bloomberg in 2005 before working in Seychelles on the equities desk of an Austrian quant-driven hedge fund in 2009. Roland was listed in Brummel Magazine’s “30 Ones to Watch” in 2014 and Financial News’ “40 Under 40 Rising Stars in Trading and Technology” in 2015.
Joy FrancisJoy Francis is part of the Electronic Product Distribution Team – Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. His work involves providing an understanding on algorithmic analysis and suitability in line with APAC microstructure, as well as best execution.
Before moving to Singapore, Joy lead the India Electronic Trading Desk for UBS, based out of Mumbai. Prior to joining UBS, he was Head of the Electronic Trading business for ICICI Securities in India.
Joy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Mumbai University and an MBA in Finance from ICFAI.
With an interest in numismatics, Joy is keen collector of old coins and has a passion for experimental cooking.
Colm FurlongColm is the Regional Head of Product Marketing for ION’s Fidessa trading platform in Asia and is currently based in Hong Kong. Over the past decade Colm has held a variety of key senior product leadership and commercial product strategy responsibilities for the Fidessa offering globally.
Prior to his time working with ION and Fidessa, Colm has held senior roles in technology and business at SunGard where he led equity trading solutions globally at Front Arena and led SunGard's technology solutions designed to meet European MiFID regulation and compliance.
Colm has extensive experience in the inception and creation of new products, workflow design and market leading trading technology. This includes time spent at brokers GNI and MF Global in London where he led the technology team pioneering the electronic trading of CFDs.
Colm graduated in Pure Economics from University College Dublin.
Ofir GefenOfir Gefen is the Head of Asia Pacific, Itiviti. In this role he oversees Itiviti operations across the Asia Pacific geography and responsible for all commercial, operational & marketing activities in the region. Ofir joined Itiviti as head of the region in 2017, prior to that he filled various management positions at ITG, finally serving as the Co-Head of Execution responsible for electronic & algorithmic trading in the last 3 years. Ofir has over 20 years’ experience in technology for capital markets across multiple geographies including Europe and the US. He holds a B.Sc. in Information Systems Engineering and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Niamh GoldenNiamh Golden heads the Virtu Analytics group in Asia Pacific which supports Virtu’s multi-asset product suite including pre-trade, real-time and post-trade analytics. Niamh has been with Virtu (previously ITG) for the past eight years and previously held roles managing the Analytics Client Services team in London and looking after the FX TCA product for the European client base.
Niamh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from University College London.
Julien HageJulien Hage is based in Hong Kong and runs APAC Cash Equity Execution for Societe Generale which covers Portfolio Trading, Electronic Trading (Algos & DMA), High Touch Sales Trading and Quant Trading teams.
Prior to this, Julien Hage was head of Portfolio Trading and Dealing at BNP Paribas in Asia and before that, he was on the buy side, deputy head of trading for AXA Rosenberg in London.
Julien Hage holds a Masters degree in computer science as well as a Postgraduate degree in financial engineering from SKEMA business school in France.
Andy JiAndy joined BlueFire AI last July as Head of Research. At BlueFire, he is responsible for various aspects of systematizing capital market intelligence, ranging from data design to product prototyping. Prior to joining BlueFire, he worked at UBS, RBS and CBA as an FX and Rates Strategist. Andy started his career at Central Bank of Finland as an Economist. He held similar roles subsequently at ECB and MAS. Andy graduated with a PhD in Financial Economics, specialising in behavioral asset pricing models.
Jyotindra KanekarJyo is part of CLSA’s APAC Electronic Equity Trading desk covering all APAC markets; he is based in Singapore.
James KeeleyJames is responsible for addressing client’s connectivity, data and trading requirements as well as sourcing for new business across the region.
He has than 20 years financial services experience, spanning across Europe, Hong Kong and Australia.
James is currently focused on sharing insights with clients and prospects on ASX market structure and dynamics as well increasing trading services revenue for the exchange.
Prior to ASX, James worked for RBS and on the open outcry trading floors of LIFFE (now ICE) in London and SFE (ASX) in Sydney. James holds Business and Finance qualifications from University of West of England.
Ferris KwanFerris is currently the Head of Trading Technology at GIC. He responsible for overseeing and leading technology solutions globally for trading, trading analytics, securities financing, treasury, as well as portfolio management of index strategies. Previously, he spent 15 years at BofA Merrill Lynch, most recently as a technology manager in the Electronic Trading space.
KC LamMr. KC Lam joined SGX in October 2013. He has overall responsibility for FX and Interest rates and holds the position as the Head of FX and Interest Rate business, FICC in SGX. He is responsible for rolling out new innovative FX and Rates products, driving adoption globally, diversification of customer base and in the promotion of the OTC FX Clearing solutions.
Mr. Lam joined SGX from CME Group, where he was Executive Director heading the FX / OTC Business Line Management in Asia. Prior to CME Group, Mr Lam was Head of Sales for EBS Asia (ICAP E-Broking, NEX group, now part of CME Group), where he led the firm's new and existing product sales efforts throughout the Asia Pacific.
Mr. Lam also previously held regional leadership positions with Siebel Systems, Commerce One, Oracle Corporation with consulting roles with Booz-Allen & Hamilton and PWC.
Mr. Lam holds a Bachelor of Engineering and an MBA degree.
Daniel LeeDaniel Lee has 23 years of experience in stock broking. He is responsible for the Electronic Trading (DMA) and ETF business. Prior to joining DBS Vickers, Daniel worked in equity sales, sales trading and research with WI Carr. Before that he was doing research at the University of Cambridge.
Daniel holds an first class honours degree from the Queen's University of Belfast. He also holds an MBA and a LL.M.
Edward ManglesEdward Mangles has helped support The FIX Trading Community’s Asia Pacific committee for the past 18 years, playing a key role in promoting institutional trading standards and FIX adoption across the region, and facilitating cross-industry collaboration. In March 2009, Edward was appointed Asia Pacific Regional Director for the FIX Trading Community, and works closely with the buyside, sellside, regulator, exchange and technology provider members of the institutional trading community to support efficient trading.
Roger McAvoyRoger McAvoy joined HKEX in August 2017 as head of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“SEHK) and Hong Kong Futures Exchange (“HKFE”) Singapore branches, both wholly-owned subsidiaries of HKEX. He is responsible for marketing, investor education and promotion of HKEX-listed products and services of the SEHK & HKFE, including market updates on Connect initiatives such as Stock Connect and Bond Connect.
Before joining HKEX, he was responsible for Asia institutional sales and relationship management of Deutsche Boerse’s OTC FX electronic trading technology, data and analytics. In prior roles, he led MSCI’s Equity Index Benchmark Data and Portfolio Management Analytics businesses in Asia Pacific and the EMEAI regions, and had spent his earlier career leading client coverage and commercial product management teams at Thomson Financial and Tradeweb International helping buy-side customers with their investment management and trading technology, data and analytics.
Mr. McAvoy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Boston College, and a Masters of Business Administration from the New York Institute of Technology. He has been a member of the FIX Trading Community’s Asia Pacific Education & Marketing Committee and the Global OTC Products Committee. He is also a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors and ACI Singapore – The Financial Markets Association.
Patrick MohrMr. Mohr spent the first two decades of his career in Tokyo working as a quantitative analyst and equity market strategist for Merrill Lynch Japan, Mizuho and Citigroup Japan. In 2011 he moved to Hong Kong and shifted his research focus to trading. At Instinet, Mr. Mohr has spearheaded big data and machine learning efforts to transform Instinet’s TCA offering from a “trade reporting” function to a “strategic consulting” process. Mr. Mohr’s primary interests lie in the application of data science principles to help clients discern signal from noise in their trading decisions. He regularly publishes reports concerning APAC microstructure topics and trading conditions in global markets. In addition to Execution Consulting role, Mohr also heads the index research team for Instinet in APAC.
Andrew PalAndrew has had 25 years’ experience in the futures industry and more recently in fintech and FX prime broking. He is currently the Chief Strategy Officer of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange Group and is based in Singapore. His role involves the Finance-Blockchain Complex: the interplay of exchanges, brokerages and fintech companies in providing more efficient, equitable and accessible capital markets within ASEAN++.
He previously advised a leading multi-asset brokerage and prime services provider on enhancing their Greater China client offering.
Prior to this he advised the Shanghai International Energy on their now launched RMB denominated crude oil future. This is a "One Belt, One Road" initiative to utilise listed derivatives (futures) as official commodities benchmarks.
His experience is grounded in various management, sales and technology roles at UBS over a 20 year period in Singapore and Sydney, including that of CEO UBS Futures Singapore.
Education: Bachelor Degrees in Economics and Arts from the University of Sydney.
Mark PortlockMark is the Regional head of Liquidity Management for EBS’ Direct trading platform. EBS is the Cash Markets division of CME Group.
Mark joined EBS in 2016 and specialises in helping clients to access liquidity effectively, employ best execution practices and benefit from the use of EBS’ Quantitative Analytics platform.
Mark started working in FX in 1994 in London. He has subsequently worked for several international Banks as a Spot FX/eFX trader in Düsseldorf, Zurich, HK and Singapore.
Vishtaspa RanaVishtaspa Rana has been at Tata Asset Management for the past 15 years. As part of the Trading desk he is been managing dealing in Indian Equity cash market, Derivatives, Arbitrage, ETF’s as well as Electronic trading.
He obtained his graduate diploma in Business Administration from S.I.E.S College of Management, and Bachelor Degree in Commerce from University of Mumbai.
Tom RobinsonTom Robinson is the EMEA Head of FX Sales for Jefferies the US investment bank. He joined Jefferies in 2017.
Tom started working in Foreign Exchange at Barclays Capital in 2002 where he was an associate director in eFX sales for 5 years.
In 2007 Tom joined Goldman Sachs where he worked until 2015. Tom was the managing director responsible for the eFX sales team globally and the FX bank sales team in Europe.
Tom left Goldman in 2015 to work at MahiFX a fintech start up specialising in FX risk management and trading technology.
Tom holds a BSc from Bristol University.
Laura RyanLaura Ryan is the Director of Sales, Southeast Asia & Pacific and General Manager, Singapore at Orbital Insight.
Laura joined Orbital Insight in May 2019 and oversees the sales and client success organization across both private and public sector. Orbital Insight sources petabytes of raw geospatial data from the world's sensors- including satellite, aerial, AIS and IoT devices. Using computer vision and machine learning technologies, Orbital Insight processes and interprets this data to create intelligence, enabling financial institutions, corporates, governments, and NGOs to make better informed decisions on economic, societal and environmental trends at scale.
Holding leadership positions across Refinitiv, Eze Software Group and Tora Trading, Laura has over 15 years of experience in global financial technology supporting Asia’s Asset Managers, Hedge Funds and Family Offices. Her career began at Cantor Fitzgerald/BGC Partners where she focused on FX and fixed income trading platforms. Laura holds a bachelor degree in Business Management from Bucknell University.
Manu SharmaManu Sharma is the Trading Solutions Head of APAC Sales at FactSet. He is responsible for growing the Electronic Trading franchise for FactSet throughout the region. Manu comes to the role with 12 years industry experience promoting best practices of multi-asset electronic trading for Bloomberg. During his tenure, Manu successfully advanced the electronification of complex trading workflows across numerous markets in the region, capturing market share for their multi-asset class trading solutions. Outside work, he has a keen interest in machine learning and its applications to mainstream finance. Manu holds a Master of Science degree in Global Finance from New York University.
Jeremy SonJeremy is a Fixed Income Trader and Vice President at AllianceBernstein based in Hong Kong, responsible for transacting credit, FX and rates products across the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to assuming the trading role, Jeremy worked as an Associate Portfolio Manager for AB's portfolios in Asia. Before joining AB, Jeremy worked as an investment banking analyst at BNP Paribas. Jeremy holds a BA (cum laude) in History from the University of California at Berkeley and an MA in History from Cornell University. Jeremy is a CFA charterholder.
Hugh SpencerFor the past 8 years Hugh has worked at and now runs Equity trading at Janus Capital Singapore, recently merged to be Janus Henderson Investors. This role has oversight over the trading of regional cash equities, futures, OTC derivative and forex. Prior to his time on the buyside, Hugh worked on the sell side with large firms such as NewEdge and UBS Securities. As the Head of Trading at Janus Henderson Investors, he is best suited to give his insights on block trading, technology developments and broker relationships in Asia.
Khashayar SurtiKhashayar Surti has over 15 years of experience trading equities, derivatives, FX and fixed income across proprietary desks, hedge funds, traditional asset managers on the buy side and sales trading & market making in investment banks.
He is currently a senior trader at UBS AM focusing on India/ASEAN equities, passive/index trading and EM rates. Prior to joining UBS AM, Khashayar worked at Barclays for 6 years across various positions in sales trading, facilitation desk and FX market making in Singapore and Hong Kong. He began his career at Edelweiss in Mumbai, India before moving to Singapore in 2008 to work at a hedge fund.
Khashayar is a CFA charterholder and graduated from Mumbai University as a Bachelor of Engineering.
Ambrose TanHe is responsible for the central dealing team for Asia Pacific covering Equities, Fixed Income, Derivatives and FX. Prior to this, he was Head of Treasury – Asia. Ambrose joined Aberdeen in 2006 from Bangkok Bank, Singapore where he was head of the Money Market team, in charge of liquidity and statutory reserves management. Previously, Ambrose worked for Banca Intesa as senior dealer, FX forwards/corporate team. Before that, Ambrose worked for United Overseas Bank Ltd, Singapore as assistant vice president, regional forwards. He started his career with ANZ Bank where he spent 15 years dealing in foreign exchange and money markets.
Leo TayLeo Tay is a Managing Director and Head of FX Trading, Asia with ING Bank in Singapore. He leads a team of FX, swaps, NDFs, and options traders based in 5 locations, and oversees Asian trading activities in London. He is also responsible for eFX trading and the electronification of the Asian FX business.
Leo holds an MSc in Financial Mathematics from Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Germany and BSc/BA in Management Engineering and Economics Honours from the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.
Adam TomsAdam Toms is CEO of OpenFin Europe and also serves as a Non-Executive Director on the board of RSRCHXchange. In his role at OpenFin, Adam is focused on driving industry-wide adoption of OpenFin’s vendor-neutral platform, which enables rapid, secure innovation for all market participants.
Prior to OpenFin, Adam served as CEO of Instinet Europe. Under his leadership, the firm ranked #1 for customer volume on the London Stock Exchange, #3 for Pan-European equity customer volume, achieving record market share and profitability.
TK YapMr TK Yap CFA, is Managing Director and Head of Institutional Trading and Execution Services at CGS-CIMB Securities (Singapore).
His 35 years in the securities industry has involved roles across local and global firms, buy and sell sides, distribution and origination, as well as research and sales functions.
In the last 20 years, his focus was on agency execution flow in regional cash equities. His customer proposition at CGS-CIMB is a convergence of high and low touch service models, combining local market knowledge and service coverage, low touch low latency trading connectivity, together with operational solutioning. Clients comprise multi-desk global broker dealers, private banks, buy sides and proprietary trading firms.
TK is an IBF Fellow and serves on both its CMFAS Exam Board and Capital & Financial Markets Workgroup. He also chairs the BSc Finance Program Advisory Committee of the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
He was on the CFA Institute Board of Governors and was Past President and Advisor CFA Singapore.
