The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has named Xavier Rolet, former head of investment bank Lehman Brothers’ French operation, as its next CEO, replacing Clara Furse.
Rolet will join the LSE’s group board on 16 March, and take the helm from Furse on 20 May, ending her eight-year tenure as the exchange’s CEO. Furse will remain a director of the group until its annual general meeting in July.
Rolet served as a senior executive of Lehman Brothers (Europe) – now owned by Japanese investment bank Nomura – between 2000 and 2008, most recently as CEO of Lehman France. Before joining Lehman, Rolet held senior equity trading positions at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman Sachs.
“With his deep knowledge of the exchange’s customers and understanding of the exchange business, plus his strategic mindset, Xavier is uniquely well placed to take the Group forward in the next phase of its development,” said LSE chairman Chris Gibson-Smith in a statement.
Gibson-Smith also thanked Furse for her contributions to the group. “In her eight years at the helm, she brought the Exchange to the public markets, transformed the scale of the business and its international reputation, and most recently led the merger with Borsa Italiana,” he said.