Block trading firm OptimX Markets has appointed John Cosenza as a strategic advisor.
Cosenza, who has spent 25 years in global markets, joins OptimX from Goldman Sachs, where he was head of Americas electronic trading and global co-head of product, research and development. Cosenzo spent seven years at Goldman, and was a board member at IEX Group, Bids Trading, Purestream ATS, and CBOE Equity Advisory Committee during that time. He also spent four-and-a-half years at Cowen Group, leaving the firm as head of electronic trading.
Earlier in his career, Cosenza held roles in US equity trading at UBS, Robertson Stephens and Deutsche Bank.
Cosenza also launched his own strategic advisory firm, Leap Minds, in September this year. The firm is designed to foster partnerships between global markets and fintech businesses.
David Barnett, OptimX Markets founder and CEO, said: “As one of the prominent visionaries in our industry, John will be an invaluable asset in helping shape our strategic initiatives. His guidance and insight will be vital as OptimX launches in both the US and Europe later this year.”
On his new appointment, Cosenza said: “Having first-hand experience with the liquidity challenges across the equities market ecosystem, I am inspired by the OptimX vision and committed to help them bring to market truly innovative technologies which deeply align broker-dealers and institutional investors.
“I look forward to working with their exceptional team and building off the current excitement and momentum in the market”.
In August, Aquis Exchange acquired a minority stake in OptimX Markets. The deal will see OptimX folded into Aquis’ wider product suite for capital markets. In September, Aquis reported strong results for the first six months of 2023, with net revenue up 17% to GBP9.7m and profit before tax up 64% to GBP1.1m.
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