Euronext has reshuffled its top management team; a move it said will strengthen the business and enable it to target growth opportunities.
The European exchange operator became a subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) last year when its parent company, NYSE Euronext was acquired. ICE has already announced plans to float Euronext in an IPO later this year.
Dominique Cerutti will remain chief executive of Euronext. However, he will step down as CEO of Euronext Paris, with Anthony Attia, former senior vice president and chief of staff at Euronext taking over as CEO of the Paris exchange.
Lee Hodgkinson, formerly head of sales and client coverage for EMEA and APAC, will become CEO of Euronext London once the business is granted regulated investment exchange status by the UK regulator. He will also head up Euronext’s markets and global sales teams, a new division created to combine the firm’s commercial capabilities into a single unit.
Amaury Dauge will become CFO of Euronext NV. He was previously head of corporate planning an analysis for NYSE Euronext. Euronext is also recruiting a chief operating officer.
All positions will report directly to Cerutti, with Attia, Hodgkinson and the new COO taking a position on the Euronext NV board once LIFFE has been separated. The London-based derivatives exchange will remain part of ICE and already uses the firm’s European clearing business, ICE Clear Europe.
ICE is reportedly looking to get European banks to take a stake in Euronext in order to facilitate its disposal of the business. An IPO of Euronext, which cannot take place until jointly-regulated LIFFE has been separated, could require ICE to enter into a lock-up agreement, preventing it from fully exiting Euronext for a period of time after the IPO.
However, if banks were encouraged to remain as long-term investors in Euronext then ICE may be able to fully dispose of its stake more quickly.