Obituary
Barney Frank, the former US congressman and one of the architect of the post-crisis financial reforms, has died at the age of 86. The Massachusetts Democrat served more than three decades in the House of Representatives, where he chaired the House Financial Services Committee during the 2007–2008 financial crisis and helped lead the legislative response, including the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He has been widely recognised for his role in shaping modern financial regulation as well as for his advocacy on civil rights.
John Ruth, a well-known member of the Chicago futures community and a member of the Chicago Board of Trade for nearly 50 years, passed away at the age of 91. He started his career with Harris Trust and Savings Bank (now BMO Harris). In 1976, John became a member of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Board of Options Exchange. He joined the Goldberg Group of companies, a clearing firm, as executive vice president and director. After Goldberg was acquired by LIT America in 1988, John served in various roles including President and COO, and he eventually became chairman and CEO when Spear, Leeds & Kellogg acquired LIT in 1993. At Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, he became managing director and partner. During his career, he served on numerous industry committees, including serving as a director of the Futures Industry Association and a governor of the Board of Trade Clearing Corporation.
People News
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has appointed Patrick Schorno as chief economist. Schorno joined from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, where he served as deputy chief economist. Earlier in his career, he held roles as an executive director at Ally Financial and as a financial economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
Stephane Pellerin has been appointed as head of the Americas at BNP Paribas Securities Services. Pellerin has taken on the role in addition to his existing responsibilities leading derivatives execution and clearing and foreign exchange prime brokerage in the region. He also serves as a board member of FIA.
The London Stock Exchange Group has appointed veteran operations leader Helen Gordon as chief operating officer of LCH Ltd., its UK clearinghouse. Gordon has worked in the futures industry for more than 20 years, most recently as global head of derivatives clearing product at JP Morgan. She also served as global head of futures operations at Barclays and as executive director in ETD operations at UBS.
ICE Futures Europe has promoted Penny Cheung to head of interest rate derivatives, based in London. Cheung has been with the firm since 2023, most recently serving as director, interest rate derivatives. Prior to joining ICE, she has worked in listed derivatives sales at RBC Capital Markets, and earlier in futures and options sales at BGC Partners. She replaced Stelios Tselikas, who moved into a new role at the exchange as senior director, business development.
Cboe Global Markets plans to appoint Boudewijn Duinstra as executive vice president and chief risk officer. He has most recently served as chief executive officer of ABN AMRO Clearing USA and has previously held senior roles including head of risk management at ICE Clear Europe and global chief risk officer at ABN AMRO Clearing Bank. He has more than three decades of experience across risk management, clearing and derivatives markets.
SIX has named Michael Gort head of clearing. Gort joined SIX in 2017 and has worked in various senior roles across the clearing business, including senior product manager, head of product and business development for clearing products. He replaced Laura Bayley, who moved to Eurex as head of clearing in February.
Broadridge has appointed Natalia Díez Riggin as head of government affairs in Washington DC. Riggin joins from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, where she has most recently served as director of legislative and intergovernmental affairs and senior advisor to the chairman, leading the agency’s Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs under Chair Paul Atkins. She has earlier spent more than nine years in the US Senate.
Broadridge also has appointed Richard Terblanche as vice president, global distribution data solutions, within its data-driven fund solutions business, based in London. The role has been newly created as part of Broadridge’s broader investment in data and analytics capabilities. He brings more than 20 years of experience in investment management and data. Most recently, he has led the EMEA business at Fishtank, working with asset managers on data and distribution challenges, and has previously held senior roles at Strategic Insight.
Eventus has appointed Eric Litz as chief technology officer and Sarah-Jane McColl as chief customer officer. Both Litz and McColl report to chief executive officer Cameron Routh. Litz joined from Copperhead Technology Group, a consultancy he founded in 2025. He previously served as chief technology officer at Klarivis from 2022 to 2025 and at Delta Data from 2013 to 2022. McColl most recently served as a consultant to Eventus from 2025. Prior to this, she spent seven years at Beacon Platform, now part of Clearwater Analytics, where she joined the executive leadership team in 2021 as senior vice president of operations and later led solutions and delivery. She earlier spent 15 years at Goldman Sachs in London and New York, leading technology initiatives within asset management.
JP Morgan has appointed Skye Saltzman as commercial product director for Kinexys, its blockchain business, based in London. Saltzman has joined from SIX Digital Exchange, where he has most recently led crypto business development and strategy, supporting the growth of institutional digital asset markets.
ProphetX, a sports betting company, has received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to operate what it describes as the first federally regulated sports-native exchange in the US. The firm has strengthened its legal and compliance leadership with the appointments of Bruce Fekrat as chief legal officer and Gabriel Wong as chief compliance and risk officer. Fekrat joined from Crypto.com, where he was counsel and chief compliance officer for its futures commission merchant subsidiary. Before that he served as chief counsel to CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson and worked in the legal department at CME Group. Wong joined from Crypto.com where he was involved in the company's efforts to obtain regulatory approval for its futures commission merchant subsidiary. Before that he worked at ICE Clear Credit as a senior director, risk management.
Apex Fintech Solutions has appointed Travis McGhee as global head of digital markets. McGhee joined from Crypto.com, where he has most recently served as executive vice president and global head of capital markets, leading expansion into prediction markets, retail trading and regulated derivatives. He previously served as chief executive officer of Nadex, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated derivatives exchange, and held senior roles at TradeStation, OptionsHouse and TradeMonster, as well as earlier experience on the trading floor at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Ripple has appointed Cassandra Cox as business development director, based in London. Coxx has joined from LMAX Group, where she has served as director of institutional sales at LMAX Digital, working on the growth of the institutional crypto trading ecosystem. In addition to her new role, Coxx continues to serve as a corporate advisory board member at Tender, a UK-based charity focused on promoting healthy relationships through education initiatives.
TS Imagine has expanded its North America sales team with the appointments of Terrance Baum as director of sales, US, and Anthony DeRosa as sales executive, both reporting to Chris Pielock, head of sales, North America. Baum has joined from Vermeg, where he most recently served as sales and key accounts director, bringing more than two decades of experience across collateral management, liquidity risk and post-trade infrastructure. DeRosa has joined from SS&C Technologies, where he worked with institutional clients on portfolio and order management solutions.
ING has appointed Andrea Cesaroni as chief risk officer, succeeding Ljiljana Čortan, who has moved into the role of head of wholesale banking. Cesaroni has joined the Management Board Banking and will be proposed for appointment to the Executive Board at an extraordinary general meeting on 31 July, with the role subject to shareholder approval. He has served as head of Integrated Risk since 2022 and has additionally acted as head of risk on an interim basis since February 2026, overseeing day-to-day risk management activities. Prior to joining ING, Cesaroni held senior risk roles at UniCredit, including head of group financial risk and head of group risk models and credit risk governance. He began his career as a consultant at Deloitte and Arthur Andersen and has more than 25 years of experience in financial services and risk management.
Dentons has promoted Maria Tomescu to partner and Angelica Pintilie to counsel in its Bucharest office. Tomescu is a banking and finance lawyer whose practice spans project finance, acquisition finance, derivatives and financial regulation, with a particular focus on renewable energy projects across Central and Eastern Europe. Pintilie advises clients in the energy sector on regulatory and transactional matters, including renewable energy projects, power purchase agreements and market compliance.
Retirements
Clear Street has announced that Ed Tilly will retire from his role as chief executive officer next month, following a period of leadership during which the firm has scaled its global operations. Tilly joined Clear Street in 2024 and led its expansion across North America, Europe and Asia and the broadening of its product offering. He will continue to serve on the board of directors and has taken on an advisory role focused on the firm’s international relations. Uri Cohen, founder and executive chairman, has transitioned to chief executive officer having previously served as co-chief executive officer.
Jeff Arnold has retired as chief operations officer of ABN AMRO Clearing USA after more than 12 years with the firm. He previously held roles as a director and as vice president and head of business development. In these positions, he has overseen global application support, led strategic technology initiatives, and managed major system migrations, including the development of a proprietary back-office clearing platform. Prior to joining ABN AMRO Clearing, he worked as a software development consultant developing trading algorithms, and as a derivatives trader at Belvedere Trading.
Bill Metzger, operations manager at Straits Financial LLC, has retired after more than 40 years in the futures industry. Starting as a CBOT runner in 1983, he built a distinguished operations career with firms including Gelber Group, Lind-Waldock, JP Morgan, Citi, and Deutsche Bank. A dedicated FIA leader since 1987, he was part of the FIA Operations Americas Division board and served as Division President from 2011 to 2013. Bill will be greatly missed as he begins retirement and is looking forward to golf and travel with his wife.
After 20 years of dedicated service to FIA, Beth Thompson has retired leaving behind a lasting impact on the FIA Operations Americas and Law & Compliance divisions. She was a driving force behind coordinating committees, supporting working groups and spearheading webinar. She also executed key initiatives such as the annual L&C conference and the annual Chicago charity golf outing. Known for her reliability and willingness to go above and beyond, Beth has been a trusted partner and central connection point across the industry, and she will be missed by all who worked with her. Beth is looking forward to spending more time at the beach with her dogs, Popi and Fenway.
