London-based bond trading startup Algomi has appointed Scott Eaton, former EMEA COO of MarketAxess, as its new CEO.
Eaton replaced Stu Taylor, the co-founder of Algomi, who stepped down from the position of CEO and left the firm. Though Usman Khan, the firm’s CTO and co-founder, took the vacant apex position for the time, he was only serving as an interim CEO with support from its executive chairman Glen Moore.
At MarketAxess, Eaton served as the EMEA COO for more than three years. He also held the position of Global Head of Emerging Markets Trading with UniCredit along with a variety of leadership roles in credit trading and structuring at ABN Amro, RBS, Deutsche Bank and UBS.
Taking over the new role, Eaton commented: “The opportunity to lead an innovative firm like Algomi through a significant period of both growth and product development is extremely exciting. What I have seen so far in conversations with the team has been very impressive, particularly the workaround Algomi ALFA. I look forward to all of us working with our clients to take Algomi to new heights.”
A vote of confidence
Algmoi runs the HoneyComb Network, which allows the potential investors to scout for the best dealer to trade corporate bond trades. The firm also launched Algomi ALFA, a fixed income data aggregation tool, to put Liquidity data from electronic venues, messaging platforms and inventory feed on a single platform.
Welcoming the new CEO, Usman Khan, CTO of Algomi, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Scott. His arrival marks a new chapter in the Algomi story. This appointment is a vote of confidence in the long-term strategy of the board as the company approaches the next stage of its growth. We look forward to working with both our existing buy and sell side clients and our Exchange partners Euronext Synapse and SIX.”
Despite the promising platforms and major client’s list, the firm has struggled financially for quite a while. According to Business Insider, Algomi lost £15.5 million in the 18 months to December 2016 and ended the year with net liabilities of £6.2 million. Though it had a revenue of £9.3 million, a massive administrative expense of £22 million pushed it towards loss.
