The departure of Turquoise CEO Natan Tiefenbrun is unconnected to declining derivatives volumes and the business' reshuffle, a source has confirmed.
The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), which owns a 51% stake of multilateral trading facility (MTF) Turquoise, alongside a group of bankers, confirmed Tiefenbrun had quit after only nine months in the job.
"Turquoise can confirm that Natan Tiefenbrun, Turquoise CEO, has decided to leave the business," the statement read. "He will remain with the Group until a replacement is confirmed."
It is understood Tiefenbrun will join Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), but the bank has declined to comment. Meanwhile, Brian Schwieger, BAML's head of execution services, is widely expected to move to LSEG as its head of equities.
Tiefenbrun is the second CEO of Turquoise to leave in less than a year, after Adrian Farnham left in November to join the London Metal Exchange.
The latest resignation comes only weeks after the LSEG announced it would transfer ownership of Turquoise Derivatives from the MTF, because of new rules under European markets infrastructure regulation that levels higher costs on MTFs, compared to regulated exchanges.
Turquoise has recently experienced a decline in volumes for derivatives trading. The MTF's latest monthly report showed the total notional value of derivatives traded fell by 60% in the year to June compared to the same period last year.
However, a source said changes in the derivatives business at Turquoise were not relevant to Tiefenbrun's resignation.
The MFT was performing well in equities, with an increase of market share peak in March at 7.7%, before falling to 7.6% and 7.5% in April and May respectively.
Tiefenbrun moved to the role of CEO after 11 months as LSE's head of products, equity and derivative markets, and roles as commercial director at Turquoise and Baikal, a trading facility operated by LSEG that merged with Turquoise after the market operator bought a stake in Turqoise.
Before joining the LSE, Tiefenbrun worked at connectivity provider XConnect and electronic trading brokerage Instinet.