The TRADE is thrilled to announce the shortlisted nominees for the Industry Person of the Year Award 2025.
As one of the most anticipated awards of the year, the nomination aims to celebrate and recognise those who have made a significant impact in their own organisation and also across the industry as a whole.
These individuals each bring a commitment to bettering and future-proofing the markets for years to come.
The shortlisted individuals are repeated contributors to discussion across the markets, whether that be through panels, associations or schemes to support the next generation.
Last year, James Baugh, managing director, head of European market structure, TD Cowen won the award after a competitive vote. In his speech, Baugh recognised the key individuals and organisations who had contributed to his career thus far and reminding the room that the industry is all in this together as it moves forward.
Previous winners also include Goldman Sachs’ Ellie Beasley and Turquoise’s Robert Barnes.
The winner of Industry Person of the Year 2025 will be decided by a live industry vote at The TRADE’s Leaders in Trading gala awards night on 6 November at The Savoy.
Congratulations to this year’s shortlisted nominees!
Industry Person of the Year 2025 shortlist:
Alex Dalley, head of European cash equities, Cboe
Alex Dalley is an established industry thought leader, often recognised for his keen insight into European equities. He has long been a point of reference in his field and has built strong relationships during his career in various client-facing roles.
He boasts a wealth of experience across both equities and derivatives and has spent the last nine years at Cboe Global Markets. Dalley was promoted to head of European cash equities for Cboe Europe earlier this year, overseeing the largest pan-European stock exchange and equity trade reporting facilities. Dalley was in fact one of the first employees to join Cboe Europe back in 2008, where he leveraged his deep well of market expertise to build its MTF’s trading participant community as head of sales.
Previous roles include stints as head of Cboe’s Netherlands-based exchange (which operates pan-European equities and equity derivatives exchanges) and also co-head of Cboe Europe’s equities sales division. His established relationship with the markets is long-standing, with his career having had a keen focus on client relationship management and development across continental Europe.
He is widely respected across the industry for his proven track record and the breadth of high-profile responsibilities undertaken in his career. Notably, Dalley previously served as head of membership and exchange trading at the London Stock Exchange and also led business development for the LSE buy-side/sell-side FIX hub and spoke service.
Laetitia Visconti, head of market structure, Aquis Exchange
Laetitia Visconti is a market structure expert, boasting more than 20 years’ experience in equities execution, financial services advocacy, and regulatory change management. She joined Aquis Exchange in February 2025 as head of market structure, where she leads the firm’s advocacy and regulatory agenda, and contributes actively to the product innovation and strategy for the firm’s pan-European MTF.
Before joining Aquis, Visconti spent nearly 14 years at Barclays Corporate & Investment Bank, most recently serving as head of EMEA equities market structure and market connectivity. In this role, she oversaw Barclays’ low-latency market access product suite, led the firm’s EMEA equities market structure and policy agenda from advocacy through to implementation, and managed key relationships with EMEA exchanges and brokers.
In addition to her corporate roles, Visconti is an active contributor in the broader market community. She has been a member of the AMF Markets and Exchanges Consultative Commission since December 2022, is co-chair of the FIX Protocol Equities Consolidated Tape working group and participates in several industry groups focused on equities market structure. She has also served as a member of the AFME Equities Board and as vice-Chair of the AFME Securities Trading Committee.
Her 2025 research report titled ‘European liquidity could be bigger than you think’, which presents a contrasting view to the frequent portrayal of European markets as lacking liquidity, volumes and market depth, has been widely recognised and cited by peers across the market.
Mark Montgomery, chief commercial officer, xyt
Mark Montgomery’s international experience spans London, New York and Hong Kong, and his track record of building lasting relationships with institutional clients, deep understanding of the trading and investment community’s challenges, and experience delivering practical solutions has made him an important voice in the industry.
Having spent almost four decades working in the markets, his knowledge and client-focused innovation covers a range of bases. His expertise encompasses equities trading, sales, cash, portfolio trading and electronic execution, and a notable focus on market data. Montgomery currently serves as chief commercial officer at xyt, having joined the firm in 2018, responsible for the strategy and development of xyt’s smart data and analytics solutions to the global trading and investment community.
He began his journey on the floor of the London Stock Exchange in 1986 and his previous roles span both the buy- and sell-side. Career highlights include stints at: ITG, where he managed sales and trading from ITG’s European launch, working directly with institutional clients exploring electronic trading and transaction cost analysis at its inception; AllianceBernstein, where he established the European portfolio and electronic trading desk; and Barclays Capital, where he served as director of electronic trading sales.
A familiar face at industry events and conferences, Montgomery is a consistent thought leader across the trading landscape, continually providing key insights and unpacking industry trends.
Stuart Lawrence, head of European equities trading, UBS Asset Management
Stuart Lawrence has extensive experience spanning nearly 25 years in financial markets, holding varied roles on both the buy-side and sell-side throughout his career. He currently serves as the head of EMEA equity trading for UBS Asset Management, having previously held the position of head of UK equity trading.
During his six-year tenure at UBS, he has been the driving force of change behind the desk. He carefully navigated the complexities of merging and integrating the Credit Suisse Asset Management trading desk into the UBS environment, and subsequently helped to lead the centralisation of all European trading within London.
Prior to joining UBS, Lawrence worked at Kepler Cheuvreux (now KCx), Principal Global Investors and spent six years at Instinet as a sales trader for US clients.
Lawrence is an active member of the Investment Association’s Equities Trading Committee and is currently on the team working on the electronification of the IPO and secondary markets initiative which aims to update the market approach to ECM deals.
He can often be spotted speaking at conferences and events, where he promotes the continued evolution of the broader market and collaboration between peers. He is also committed to the nurturing of junior talent across the market. In recent times, Lawrence has taken part in two 100k ultra marathons to raise money for Macmillian Cancer Support and Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, charities close to his heart.