Citi announced yesterday that it has promoted Richard Evans to global head of its electronic execution business. Evans will continue to be based in London, providing another example of the growing influence of London as a power base for global heads.
In his new role, Evans will report to Pete Santoro, global head of equity trading. Evans will lead the development and distribution of product lines including direct market access (DMA), agency program trading, Citi subsidiary Lava Trading’s smart order routing technology, transaction cost analysis (TCA) and Citi’s OpenPort EMS product strategy.
“As the execution landscape of our business develops, we will be required to deliver a more coordinated and holistic approach in what are a number of complementing areas. Evans’ leadership in this space in Europe will help develop further success in what has become a critical area for the firm both today and in the coming years ahead,” comments a representative of the firm.
Electronic execution is one of the fastest-growing parts of Citi’s core equities business. “The trends we have seen in the US are now growing in Europe,” comments Evans. “Fragmentation of the marketplace and the adoption of trading technology solutions are now snowballing in Europe. We need this role because our customers are demanding more global solutions. They want consistency of service from us both in the quality of trading and the way they access the marketplace,” he adds.