Cboe European chief Hemsley to retire

Cboe Global Markets has said its European chief Mark Hemsley will retire early next year to be replaced by his number two David Howson.

The US group that operates exchanges in the US and Europe said Hemsley, who has been with the firm for 11 years and currently is the executive vice president of the group and president of Cboe Europe, will retire at the end of February next year.

Hemsley said in a statement: “Announcing my retirement is bittersweet as the last 11 years have been the most rewarding of my career. I am proud to have worked with an outstanding team to help bring competition and innovation to European capital markets.”

Chicago-based Cboe Global Markets said today that Howson, who has been chief operating officer of Cboe Global Markets since 2013, will succeed Hemsley and assume the position of executive vice president at Cboe Global Markets and president of Cboe Europe on January 1 2020.

Howson joined Bats Europe in 2013 and worked alongside Hemsley through Bats’ acquisition by Cboe in 2017.

Hemsley said of Howson: “Under David’s leadership, Cboe Europe is well-poised to continue this track record of success. During his tenure at Cboe Europe, he has helped successfully guide Cboe Europe’s strategy and vision, delivered on the execution of many successful product launches and technology initiatives and built a strong team and culture.”

Howson added: “I’m honoured and excited to lead the talented team in Europe as we continue to execute on our longstanding strategy of bringing innovation and cost-efficient competition to the European marketplace. It’s been a pleasure to work closely with Mark over the years and I appreciate his easy-going nature and leadership.”

Cboe said in a statement Howson’s current responsibilities will be assumed by Tim Lipscomb who joined Cboe Europe as deputy chief operating officer in October.

Lipscomb was latterly with Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he spent 20 years and served as managing director, EMEA Equities and Electronic Trading Technology.

Hemsley was one of the founding members of Bats Europe in 2008 and led that exchange to become the most successful pan-European equities trading platform, partly through the acquisition of its rival Chi-X Europe in 2011.

Prior to joining Bats, Hemsley was managing director and chief information officer at Liffe, now known as ICE Futures Europe.

Hemsley has been in the past decade a committed advocate of efficient, competitive markets in Europe and has become over that time a popular figure at industry events where his charm and kindness have won him many fans.

Ed Tilly, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Cboe Global Markets, said: “The entire Cboe organisation is grateful for Mark’s vision, leadership and dedication to the company and we congratulate him on a well-deserved retirement.”

Earlier this month, Cboe's senior managing director Jay Caauwe left the firm after nearly 16 years to set-up a cannabis consultancy.