ISLA announces appointment of Griffiths as director for BizDev
The International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) announced that Alistair Griffiths has recently joined ISLA as director for Business Development. In this newly created post, Griffiths will be responsible for strengthening relationships with ISLA’s current member firms, developing member services and strategic partnerships to enhance ISLA’s membership offering as well as identifying new growth opportunities across the securities finance landscape and associated markets.
With over 180 member firms, including institutional investors, asset managers, custodial banks, prime brokers, and service providers, he will lead on enhancing the member experience, driving ISLA’s value proposition, and supporting the continued expansion of the Association’s profile and reach.
Before joining ISLA, Griffiths was director of EMEA Sales at Baton where he was responsible for growing Baton’s solutions in the region. Prior to Baton, Alistair built experience across financial services, working at some of the largest and most respected institutions in the world including BNY Mellon, BlackRock, and UBS.
ISLA CEO, Andrew Dyson, said in a statement: “This new role highlights our ambition to ensure our services meet the needs of our ever-growing membership and Alistair’s in-depth strategic view of the market, broad network, and innovative mindset will be integral to this ambition and to the organization’s long-term success.”
ISDA hires Jain as head of Solutions Adoption
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) announced the appointment of Ankit Jain as head of Solutions Adoption, a new role that will spearhead ISDA’s drive to encourage broad adoption of its suite of mutualized industry solutions.
Jain joins ISDA from SoftServe, a software development and digital services company, where he was head of Banking and Trading Domain Solutions and Transformation, responsible for managing front-office, trading, derivatives and technology transformation across banking and broader financial services clients. Before that, he led the change and oversight of large strategic transformation initiatives at Deutsche Bank from 2015 to 2022, having previously held various change leadership positions across multiple financial services companies. He started his career at Goldman Sachs in 1997.
“(Jain’s) appointment is part of a broader strategy to ensure our various products and services are fully aligned and we maximize the potential for broad adoption. Ultimately, the greater the take-up of our mutualized solutions across the industry, the better the efficiencies and cost reductions for everyone, so there will be a big focus on raising awareness, explaining the benefits and encouraging implementation,” said Scott O’Malia, chief exec of ISDA, in a statement.
Jain said in a statement: “Since 1985, ISDA has worked to make the global derivatives markets safer and more efficient to facilitate effective risk management for all users of derivatives. With the development of a suite of digital products and solutions, ISDA is once again proving to be the go-to organization for shaping the future of the derivatives industry. I am excited to lead ISDA’s products and solutions implementation drive to broaden adoption across the industry.”
Sharegain appoints Stuart Jarvis as head of Strategic Partnerships
Capital markets fintech Sharegain announced the appointment of Stuart Jarvis as head of Strategic Partnerships. Jarvis, who will be based in Sharegain’s London office, brings more than 25 years of experience in the prime brokerage and agency lending businesses, having served in various roles at Goldman Sachs, Barclays Capital and Citi.
Jarvis said in a statement: “I had the privilege of working with the Sharegain team during my former role at Citi and have been tremendously impressed by their solution, but moreover by their unique culture and big vision. I look forward to leveraging my experience and network to forge and deepen strategic partnerships that will propel Sharegain to new heights”.
Boaz Yaari, Sharegain CEO and founder, said in a statement: “As we continue to expand our partnerships with global custodians and prime brokers, we believe Stuart is a perfect fit for leading our newly formed Strategic Partnerships team”.
SFT: Citi appoints Vaghjiani as VP for collateral optimization
Citi has appointed Manish Vaghjiani as vice president in markets collateral optimization operations, within its London office, reports Securities Finance Times. He joins after an eight-year tenure with HSBC Global Banking and Markets, where he most recently acted as vice president and head of collateral treasury operations. He has held a number of roles in collateral treasury and operations, repo, and structured finance, including at UBS investment bank.
SEBI appoints Rao as executive director
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) announced that Shri Govindayapalli Ram Mohan Rao started a three-year term as executive director. He will handle the Investigation Department and Internal Inspection Department. Prior to this assignment , Rao was Regional Director of the Eastern Regional Office of SEBI and supervised diverse portfolios such as, Inspections, Collective Investment Schemes, Litigation, Recovery, setting up of Investor Service Centers , Investor Awareness, Financial Education, redressal of grievances, coordination with numerous states.
Prior to that, he has also handled portfolios such as, Inspections, Investigations and Market Surveillance . He has also served at the Northern Regional Office and Serious Fraud Investigation Office .
St. Louis Fed names Musalem as next president and CEO
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis announced that Alberto Musalem will be its next president and chief executive officer. In this role, Musalem will represent the Eighth Federal Reserve District in national monetary policymaking on the Federal Open Market Committee and will lead the 1,500 employees of the St. Louis Fed. He will begin his role in April.
St. Louis Fed director Carolyn Chism Hardy, president and CEO of Chism Hardy Investments and deputy chair of the Bank’s search committee, said in a statement: “As an experienced economist, former Federal Reserve leader, collaborator and communicator, he comes with the exceptional technical expertise and leadership abilities needed to contribute to effective policymaking and advance a large organization in service to the public. Alberto is a mission-focused leader, and I am confident he will work tirelessly to promote a healthy economy for all in representing the diverse views of the constituents across the Fed’s Eighth District.”
Musalem has more than 27 years of public and private sector experience in economic policy, finance and markets. Most recently, he was CEO, co-chief investment officer and co-founder of Evince Asset Management, a quantitative investment technology company. Prior to Evince, he was executive vice president and senior advisor to the president at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he was head of integrated policy analysis, international affairs and a member of the Bank’s Management Committee.
Prior to the New York Fed, he was managing director, partner and global head of research at Tudor Investment Corporation focusing on the interaction of economic policy, macroeconomic performance and markets. As an economist at the International Monetary Fund, he worked with IMF teams and country authorities on monetary policy and inflation targeting frameworks, fiscal responsibility rules and banking systems during the emerging market crises of the late 1990s.
Musalem said. in a statement: “I look forward to engaging with the people and communities of the Eighth Federal Reserve District to represent this part of the country at the monetary policy table. I am thrilled to lead the outstanding St. Louis Fed team in our service to the district and the nation as a fiscal agent for the U.S. Treasury, supervisor of financial institutions, research engine and innovator.”
ICMA: Paul Richards to step down as head of ICMA’s Market Practice and Regulatory Policy
The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) announced that after working for over 50 years in international capital markets and with the official sector, including the last 16 years as head of Market Practice and Regulatory Policy (MPRP) at ICMA, Paul Richards will be stepping down from this role at the end of June 2024.
He will then assume the position of senior advisor to ICMA until the end of 2024. Richards has served the financial services industry and the official sector in an exemplary manner over the decades. During his tenure as head of MPRP at ICMA, Paul has worked with members on, among other issues, the implications of the global financial crisis and Brexit as well as LIBOR transition in the bond market, where he chairs the RFR Bond Market Sub-Group at the request of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England.
Bryan Pascoe, ICMA chief exec, said in a statement: “I would personally like to thank Paul for his extraordinary dedication and commitment, and for the unique contribution he has made to ICMA and the international capital markets more broadly. I look forward to continuing to work with Paul in his current and future roles through this year.”
Kathleen Brooks joins XTB as research director for UK market
Kathleen Brooks, a financial markets research specialist in the retail investment industry, has joined XTB UK as its research director. Kathleen has nearly 15 years’ experience working with some of the leading retail trading and investment companies in the City of London.
Having started her career at BP, she worked across a variety of departments, including IT, oil and gas, before eventually moving into the retail investment industry, working at for firms such as GAIN Capital, City Index and Forex.com. Throughout her career, Kathleen’s expertise in financial markets research and analysis has featured across global financial and business media outlets.
Joshua Raymond, director of XTB UK, said in a statement: “Kathleen is one of the most talented financial markets research specialists in the UK and we are pleased to have her on board as we continue embarking upon our growth strategy in the market. Her skillset will enable XTB UK to deepen our research offering to our client base, ensuring they have Press release access to the best market insights, underlining our commitment to providing clients with industry’s best educational, technological and investment tools under our platform.”
Brooks said in a statement: “2024 will be full of major events directly affecting the financial markets, including elections in the US and the UK, against the backdrop of global geopolitical events and uncertainties, as the global economy continues the challenging road to recovery following the Covid pandemic and a high interest rate environment.”