US-based exchange Nasdaq has onboarded Roland Chai, head of post-trade division at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), to join the executive team as Chief Risk Officer.
Chai, who was a member of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) bid team, has departed Hong Kong earlier this month and returned to Europe for family and career reasons. He joined HKEX in June 2017, and his departure came barely two months after his firm dropped its $39 billion bid for London's 300-year-old exchange, as Hong Kong's bourse apparently failed to convince shareholders about the merits of a higher takeover offer.
Hong Kong has been rocked by anti-government protests for several months, with escalating violence prompting western executives to reconsider where they would like to be based.
Seven years at LCH.Clearnet
During his two-year tenure, he led HKEX's clearing and Risk Management for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, and fixed income and currency products, as well as the company's market surveillance and monitoring functions. Before that, Chai spent seven years at LCH.Clearnet, where he held several leadership roles as a specialist in risk management and strengthening controls, including head of equities.
As a member of the executive management committee, he will lead Nasdaq's risk functions globally, reporting to CEO Adena Friedman. He will take on his new role effective June 2020, and will be based in Stockholm, Sweden.
"Nasdaq is committed to building and maintaining an industry leading culture of risk management that is able to support our long-term objectives. Roland brings extensive experience in establishing and implementing risk frameworks across functions as well as strong management capabilities that will further strengthen and enhance our decision making and business operating processes. We look forward to welcoming Roland to the Nasdaq team," said Adena Friedman, President and CEO at Nasdaq.
"Nasdaq also is recognized as a leader in providing risk management solutions for its own markets, regulators and other industries. I'm thrilled to be joining the company to continue bolstering its global, enterprise-wide risk culture," added Chai.
