Global Relay Promotes Sahar Kayhani and Alex Viall to Key Leadership Roles

Global Relay, a provider of electronic communication compliance and archiving solutions, has promoted Sahar Kayhani to Chief Product Officer and Alex Viall to Chief Strategy Officer. Kayhani most recently spent two years as product director overseeing Global Relay’s data capture and archiving solutions, while Viall served as director of regulatory intelligence for the company.

Kayhani, who joined Global Relay as a product manager in 2014, will oversee a focused product strategy, collaborating with various departments. Viall, will help align Global Relay’s business strategy with its next growth phase and assist clients in adapting compliant communications practices for a changing financial regulatory environment.

LSEG Appoints Irfan Hussain as Chief Information Officer

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has announced the appointment of Irfan Hussain as its new Chief Information Officer, with effect from January 2024. Based in New York, Hussain will lead LSEG’s technology division and will be part of the Executive Committee, directly reporting to CEO David Schwimmer.

Before joining LSEG, Hussain held prominent positions at Goldman Sachs, including CIO for Consumer and Wealth Management. Meanwhile, Tony McCarthy, who has held the role of CIO at LSEG since January 2020, will be retiring in early 2024.

Solidatus Research Suggests ‘Data Distress’ Could Cause Data Leaders to Quit Jobs

Research by Solidatus among 300 senior data leaders in financial services across the UK and US suggests data leaders are experiencing stress in the workplace that could lead them to quit their jobs. Describing the problem as ‘data distress’, the research cites three causes: too many disparate and siloed sources of data; having to establish the appropriate sources of data for a task in hand; and the risk of fines relating to data governance and regulatory compliance.

Philip Dutton, CEO and founder of Solidatus, warns that these factors compound the others and result in a fundamental breakdown in trust, which drives even higher levels of stress. He comments: “Data has become the lifeblood of organisations, driving innovation and decision-making. However, the exponential growth of data, the atomisation of data supply chains, the tsunami of regulation and the ever-increasing rate of change of business processes and systems has created almost unmanageable complexity. The resultant demands and pressures faced by data leaders have given rise to a mounting crisis: data distress. This is particularly acute in financial services.”

Broadridge Financial Solutions Names Karin Yorfido as President of Broadridge Canada

Broadridge Financial Solutions has appointed Karin Yorfido as president of Broadridge Canada. Yorfido succeeds Michael Dignam, who will become vice chairman of Broadridge Canada and take on an advisory role. Based in Toronto, Yorfido will lead Broadridge’s Investor Communication Solutions (ICS) Canada and Global Technology and Operations (GTO) Canada businesses, reporting to Chris Perry, president of Broadridge. Since 2021, Yorfido has held the role of general manager of GTO Canada. She has 25 years of financial services and software solutions experience, including over two decades at RPM Technologies as executive vice president of business development and client solutions.

NeoXam Names Daniel Joseph as Country Lead for Australia

NeoXam has named Daniel Joseph as country head for Australia. His responsibilities include running the Australian office, growing the local team, winning new clients, managing client accounts and developing the NeoXam brand and reputation. Joseph reports to Tim Versteeg, head of sales and general manager of the Asia-Pacific region at NeoXam, and has more than 16 years’ experience in the financial services sector. He joins NeoXam from Luxoft and previously worked for BNY Mellon’s data and analytics business developing and delivering innovative buy-side solutions.

Broadridge Names Mike Sleightholme as President of Broadridge International

Broadridge Financial Solutions has appointed Mike Sleightholme as president of Broadridge International. Sleightholme, who is based in London, will be responsible for delivering the company’s capital markets technology and data solutions throughout the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions.

Sleightholme first joined Broadridge in 2022 as president of its Asset Management Solutions business where he was responsible for driving growth, the strategic execution of client and market-focused solutions, and world-class service delivery. Before joining Broadridge, Sleightholme spent five years at SS&C Technologies where he served as CEO and General Manager of the DST Systems business. He previously spent over 20 years at Citigroup in London, Hong Kong and New York, where he held a variety of senior leadership positions.

BNP Paribas Appoints New Co-Heads of Data & Digital Services

BNP Paribas’s Securities Services business has named Jean-Marc Friess and Thomas Durif as joint heads of its Data & Digital Services department, to advance the company’s data and digital services strategy, in line with BNP Paribas’s 2025 strategic plan.

Friess, the new Chief Digital Services Officer, will lead digital channels and services and take charge of the bank’s AI-driven virtual assistant. Durif, as the new Chief Data Officer, will focus on improving data quality and governance, as well as developing the company’s next-generation data infrastructure. The changes come as Philippe Ruault, the former Head of Data & Digital Transformation, becomes CEO of SLIB, a fintech majority-owned by BNP Paribas.

Industry Veteran John White Sets Up Data Management Advisory Firm, Watchdog Data Services

John White, former CEO of 3d Innovations, the market data products and consultancy organisation, has left the company to establish a new data management advisory firm, Watchdog Data Services, LLC, whose goal is to collaborate with key partners in offering clients a broad level of market data consulting and services.

White is a long-term veteran of the industry, having held previous roles at as Managing Director, Global Head of Market Data and Distribution for the London Stock Exchange Group as well as senior level data management roles at State Street Global Advisors, Columbia Management Group and Wellington Management Company where he managed large market data budgets along with data operations and data quality teams.

ANNA Appoints Cristina Ribó Sörensen as Director, Chair Dan Kuhnel Replaced by Torsten Ulrich

The Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) has appointed a new board director, Cristina Ribó Sörensen. Sörensen will become one of ANNA’s directors on behalf of Spain’s National Securities Markets Commission (CNMV), replacing the seat on the ANNA board held

by Euroclear SA/NV’s Dan Kuhnel, who is departing after 18 years as chair of the ANNA board. Following elections at ANNA’s general meeting in London this week, a new chair was also selected, with Torsten Ulrich of WM Datenservice, who is serving as vice chair, taking up the post.

Fiona Bassett to Lead LSEG’s FTSE Russell Index Business

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has announced that Fiona Bassett will join the group as CEO of its FTSE Russell global index business later this summer. She will be based in New York and report to LSEG CEO David Schwimmer. Bassett joins LSEG from DWS Group, where she held the roles of CEO DWS UK and global head of systematic investment solutions, managing more than $300 billion of assets under management. During a 20-year tenure, Bassett has held various senior leadership roles across asset management and index investing at Deutsche Bank, latterly DWS Group. She will replace Arne Staal, who is moving to another role within LSEG.