Block crossing network operator Liquidnet has appointed former Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank executive Bob Garrett as its new head of technology.
Garrett will be based in New York and will join the firm’s management team. He will report to Liquidnet chief operating officer, John Kelly.
According to a statement, Garrett will coordinate “with business leaders and product managers in the development of products, solutions and processes”.
“We continue to accelerate the growth of our businesses including the rollout of new technologies and solutions, expanding into fixed income and opening up new markets,” said Kelly, noting Garrett’s technical and industry expertise, as well as his experience at both large and small firms.
Most recently, Garrett was head of equity trading and prime services technology at Wells Fargo Securities, having served as chief technology officer of Merlin Securities – a prime brokerage technology platform provider to 500+ hedge funds – when it was acquired by Wells Fargo. The San Francisco-based brokerage rebranded Merlin as Wells Fargo Prime Services in December 2012.
Previously, Garrett was global head of execution services technology at Deutsche Bank, and has held roles at Bank of America Securities, Sapient and AT&T.
Liquidnet offers block crossing and related trading and execution services to asset managers across 42 markets. The firm recently expanded into fixed income from its home territory of equities with the purchase of bond trading platform Vega-Chi in March. Vega-Chi operates a central limit order book for both US and European high-yield bonds and trades convertible bonds in Europe as a multilateral trading facility.