Agency broker BTIG selected the former head of execution strategy at Millennium to take up the same role. Effective from December 2023, Stephen Ponzio joined BTIG as its head of execution strategy. In his new role, he will also co-head electronic trading and be responsible for the development of BTIG’s new generation algorithms.
Ponzio will be based in New York, responsible for managing the firm’s program trading and ETF market making businesses. He joins BTIG after most recently heading up execution strategy at Millennium – a role he held for nearly 12 years. Previously in his career, he also spent eight years at Citi, building out its US trading algorithms and systematised risk pricing on its cash trading desk.
JP Morgan appointed a new head of global equities amid wider changes to senior leadership in its markets division. According to an internal memo published on Thursday 15 February, Rachid Alaoui has been appointed head of global equities at JP Morgan.
Alaoui was most recently head of global equity derivatives trading at JP Morgan, covering flow derivatives, exotics, corporate derivatives and convertible bond trading franchises. He joined JP Morgan in 2005 as a trader on the equity exotics desk in London. He has since held multiple roles managing equity exotics and flow trading desks in London and head of global volatility trading in equities.
The news follows JP Morgan’s earlier appointment of two new co-heads of its markets division – Jason Sippel and Pranav Thakur – in January as part of wider changes to leadership in the division.
Sippel has been with JP Morgan since 2002. Previously in his career he also served at Overstock.com, Credit Suisse, and Merrill Lynch. He began his career as an analyst at Lehman Brothers in 1993. Thakur was most recently appointed head of global macro markets and emerging markets credit in 2022 after also previously leading currencies, commodities and emerging markets trading.
MUFG appointed Wael Al Sharif as head of global corporate and investment banking (GCIB) for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, effective from 1 April 2024. He succeeds Elyas Al Gaseer who had held the post of head of GCIB MENA since 2013. Al Gaseer’s role is being transformed to become vice chair of GCIB MENA, responsible for advising MUFG’s senior clients across the MENA region.