Dave Howson is set to step down from his role as executive vice president and global president of Cboe Global Markets, effective 1 August 2025.
Dave Howson
The move sees Howson returning to the UK after serving three years in the role, based in Chicago. Howson joined Cboe in 2017 following its acquisition of Bats, where he served as European chief operating officer since 2013.
He became Cboe’s European president in January 2020, and took on additional responsibility for Asia Pacific in June 2021. In 2022, he relocated to Chicago to take on his current role as global president, overseeing Cboe’s global business lines including equities, derivatives and data.
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The departure will see greater expansion within the company, and Cathy Clay, executive vice president and global head of derivatives will widen her role to provide oversight of the Cboe data vantage business, alongside her current responsibilities covering the global derivatives business of equity and index options and futures.
Similarly, Chris Isaacson, who currently oversees technology, operations and risk in his position as executive vice president and chief operating officer, will expand his role to include coverage of cash equities, global FX and clearing.
Speaking on his departure and the new expansions, Howson said: “While it was a difficult decision to leave this great organisation, I am looking forward to returning home to the UK to be closer to family. As I step away, I do so with immense pride in what we have achieved together. Cathy and Chris are strong leaders and I have the utmost confidence that Cboe is well-positioned for continued success.”
Cboe has said that aligning global derivatives and Cboe data vantage under Clay’s direction and expanding Isaacson’s leadership will help drive the firm’s growth strategy.
The new expansions build on Clay’s extensive industry experience and time at Cboe, which she joined in August 2015, and played a foundational role in the early development of the Cboe data vantage business. Prior to this, she also served as chief strategy officer, and later chief executive of Livevol Inc.
Isaacson joined Cboe as chief information officer in March 2017 before stepping up to the role of chief operating officer in January 2019. He has also held the role of global chief information officer at BATS Global Markets.
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Howson’s departure will also see recently appointed Cboe chief executive, Craig Donohue assuming the title of president.
“Cathy and Chris are highly respected leaders with a deep commitment to excellence in all they do. I have great confidence in their ability to continue driving innovation and growth in their respective business portfolios and I look forward to working closely with them in their new roles, along with the rest of our deeply experienced executive leadership team,” said Donohue.
“Dave has played a pivotal role in Cboe’s growth and global expansion during the last several years and his contributions will have a lasting impact on Cboe.”