Long-serving VP Securities chief executive, Niels Olsen, has resigned from his post to pursue personal projects after Euronext completed its acquisition of the central securities depositary (CSD).
Olsen had been CEO of the Danish CSD for seven years and hands over the reins to Maria Hjorth, the current deputy CEO.
“After 30 years in management positions in the financial industry, I have now decided to resign from my position as CEO of VP Securities to look into a more flexible work life,” said Olsen. “As I hand over to Maria Hjorth, I am pleased to witness VP Securities entering a new stage of its development as it becomes part of the Euronext Group, and I wish VP Securities and Euronext all the best for the future.”
Euronext completed the settlement of shares under its offer launched on 23 April 2020 to acquire 100% of the Danish Central Securities Depository. The acquisition of VP Securities positions Euronext as one of the leading CSD operators in Europe with three CSDs – Euronext VPS in Norway, Interbolsa in Portugal and VP Securities in Denmark.
As post-trade becomes a significant contributor to the group’s revenues, Euronext’s CSDs represent €2.2 trillion in assets under custody, 31 million settlement instructions per year and 4.5 million accounts.
“Post-trade activities are at the heart of Euronext’s growth strategy, and will be an even larger contributor to our revenue following the acquisition of VP Securities,” said Stéphane Boujnah, CEO and chairman of the managing board of Euronext.
“Alongside Euronext VPS and Interbolsa, we will strengthen our positioning in this field, and continue to expand our footprint in the Nordic region with new and improved services to the benefit of the Danish economy and European capital markets.
“I would like to thank Niels Olsen for his achievements and success as CEO and welcome Maria Hjorth as the new CEO of VP Securities. I have full confidence that, under her leadership, VP Securities will continue its successful development within the pan-European framework of the Euronext Group.”
Hjorth joined VP Securities in 2019 after five years as CEO of Mercer Denmark. Previously she also worked at Danske Bank for nine years.