The TRADE is delighted to reveal the five individuals shortlisted for the highly celebrated Industry Person of the Year Award, 2026.
One of the most anticipated categories of the evening, the award recognises those whose influence extends beyond their own firm, playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of the industry, driving meaningful progress and helping to build better, more resilient markets.
These individuals are notable experts within the industry all five are regular voices across industry debate, contributing through panel discussions, industry associations and initiatives.
Last year, Stuart Lawrence, head of European equities trading, UBS Asset Management took home the award. In his speech, Lawrence reflected on his career in the industry, highlighting how times have changed for the better across the financial markets, and recognising the importance of mental health and supporting younger generations in their trading careers.
Read more: UBS Asset Management’s Stuart Lawrence on challenging the status quo
Lawrence also joined a list of stellar past winners, including: TD Securities’ James Baugh, Goldman Sachs’ Ellie Beasley and Turquoise’s Robert Barnes.
Attendees will cast their votes live at The TRADE’s Leaders in Trading gala awards night at The Savoy on 5 November. To have your say make sure you’re in attendance on the night – further information is available here.
A massive congratulations to this year’s shortlisted nominees!
Industry Person of the Year 2026 shortlist:
Adam Conn, head of trading, Baillie Gifford
Adam Conn is a buy-side trading veteran with more than 40 years’ experience in the markets. He started his journey as a junior trader on the London Stock Exchange floor with Scott Goff Layton & Co ahead of the 1986 ‘Big Bang’ reforms. 
He joined Baillie Gifford as head of trading in 2016, with oversight across all asset classes, and has since established its trading desks in Hong Kong and New York and integrated trading data analytics into its offering. He is also a director of Baillie Gifford Overseas and chair of the firm’s ‘regulatory engagement group’.
Previously, Conn spent six years as head of dealing at Baring Asset Management where he set up a centralised dealing desk in Seoul. Before that, he was global head of trading at hedge fund Atticus Capital, where he built trading desks in London and New York, and earlier at Instinet and GT Management. A prominent buy-side voice on various topics – in particular, market structure and regulation – Conn chairs the Investment Association’s Equity Trading Committee and has been a leading advocate for automating the IPO and placement process. He has also spoken widely on shorter settlement cycles, data ownership and the UK’s capital markets reforms.
Conn’s nomination at this year’s Leaders in Trading is not his first venture with The TRADE’s awards, and in 2017, he took home the Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of his lasting contribution to markets across his trading career.
Eglantine Desautel, chief executive, EuroCTP
Eglantine Desautel is an industry transformation specialist with more than 20 years’ experience in financial services and expertise spanning regulatory, strategic and technical matters. As chief executive of EuroCTP, she led the firm through its selection, authorisation and launch as the EU’s first equities consolidated tape in September this year – an industry first.
Under her leadership, EuroCTP established an independent advisory committee in July 2024 to help co-design the tape. Its initial members included Allianz Global Investors, Norges Bank, Bloomberg, Flow Traders, Deutsche Börse, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and investor group BETTER FINANCE. It has since grown to 12 members, including BlackRock, BNP Paribas, Cboe and Citadel.
Before EuroCTP, Desautel spent 12 years at Euronext in senior roles including chief of staff to the group chief executive and head of market operations and digital. She also led the development and implementation of Optiq, Euronext’s trading system.
She is one of the most visible advocates for Europe’s consolidated tape. So far in 2026, she has spoken at the Equities Leaders Summit USA in Miami, BETTER FINANCE’s conference in Brussels, and the International Trader Forum in Athens, alongside regulators from ESMA and the FCA. Since the launch, she has presented the tape at BAUD NextGen in Sofia and the World Financial Information Conference 2026 in Copenhagen.
Additionally, she is a strong supporter of women in financial markets and her leadership has been consistently recognised across the industry.
Paul Humphrey, chief executive, BMLL Technologies
Paul Humphrey is a financial markets and data veteran with more than 30 years’ experience spanning broking, banking, exchanges
and market data. He joined BMLL Technologies as chief executive in 2019 and has since reshaped the firm’s strategy. He led BMLL through three funding rounds, backed by investors including Nasdaq, FactSet, Snowflake and Optiver, culminating in its sale to Nordic Capital in November 2025.
BMLL now processes and standardises order book data from more than 140 trading venues. It has recently extended its futures coverage to venues including the London Metal Exchange and Euronext, and integrated Kalshi’s event contract data. It has also partnered with Simudyne on AI-driven market simulation. EuroCTP also selected BMLL to provide historical data to its licensed clients from launch.
Before BMLL, Humphrey spent three years at Euronext as global head of fixed income, currencies and commodities, driving the exchange’s diversification through the acquisitions of FastMatch and the Irish Stock Exchange. He was also chief executive of Euronext London.
Earlier in his career, Humphrey was chief executive of electronic broking and information at Tullett Prebon, where he grew the information business tenfold. He has also held senior roles at ABN AMRO, Thomson Reuters, Van der Moolen, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, Garban and ICAP.
Humphrey also actively contributes to industry debate, having most recently spoken at the World Financial Information Conference 2026 in Copenhagen.
Chris McConville, managing director, global head of execution services and trading, Kepler Cheuvreux
Chris McConville is an execution specialist with more than 27 years’ experience in financial markets. He joined Kepler Cheuvreux in 2022 as managing director and global head of execution services and trading, and now leads KCx, the group’s global execution business.
Since joining the firm, McConville has driven KCx’s international expansion, building a growing presence in North America. Under his leadership, the business has delivered strong double-digit revenue growth and record market share, and its performance has been recognised with multiple industry awards. Central to his strategy has been a determination to show that a nimbler, client-focused firm can compete head-to-head with the global bulge bracket banks.
Before moving to Kepler Cheuvreux, McConville spent 22 years at UBS, where he built a career working across both the equities and technology sides of the business.
Transparency and collaboration sit at the heart of McConville’s approach to markets. He makes a point of keeping clients regularly updated on the business, its products and its talent, and works closely across the wider market ecosystem with exchanges, venues, electronic market makers, liquidity providers, technology firms and independent data specialists. He has also hosted Rising Stars events in several countries, helping to build early relationships with the next generation of industry leaders.
Outside of work, McConville is committed to mentoring military veterans as they make the move into civilian careers, as well as young talent entering the fintech industry.
Peter Whitaker, market structure strategist, Jane Street
Peter Whitaker is a seasoned industry specialist with more than 20 years’ experience in sales, trading and analysis. He currently works as a market structure strategist on Jane Street’s institutional team, covering European and Asian markets. 
In this role, Whitaker analyses the regulatory and market structure developments that impact trading and liquidity, producing studies and sharing insights with institutional clients, including global asset managers, pension funds and wealth managers. He is also closely involved in industry and regulatory discussions.
Whitaker’s experience before joining Jane Street saw him working on the sell-side, where he headed up Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market structure at UBS. Earlier on at his time at the bank, he was chief operating officer for the firm’s European cash equity trading business.
Whitaker’s industry experience also extends well beyond his position at Jane Street. He has been a valued contributor to the wider market community, holding seats on the Association for Financial Markets in Europe’s (AFME) Equity Board and Securities Trading Committee, and serving as a director of the Plato Partnership.
Elsewhere, Whitaker also sits on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Secondary Markets Advisory Committee, to which he was first appointed in 2024 and reappointed this year. A respected voice on the industry conference circuit, he most recenrlt shared his insights on market structure at TradeTech Europe conference 2026.