The Swiss derivatives specialist Leonteq is reinforcing its management with three new executives, including in Asia. The move illustrates the growing pains in the nine-year-old firm's business.
Three new executives – British-South African dual citizen Justin Arbuckle, Briton Steve Downey and German Jochen Kuehn – will join Leonteq in coming weeks and months, the company said on Thursday.
The appointments, part of an organizational and strategic overhaul disclosed at first-half results, represent a significant strengthening of Leonteq's management structure.
New CTO Role
The hires spark a shuffle in Leonteq's existing management.
Kuehn, who currently works for McKinsey in Zurich, will take over Leonteq's pension solutions business. The unit is currently led by company co-founder Sandro Dorigo, who moves to the newly-created business development department.
Singapore Lab
Arbuckle (pictured above) is currently with Chef Software in London, and is a specialist for digital transformation.
He will also take over Leonteq’s recently launched Teqlabs in Singapore.
Until now, the lab has been under the responsibility of Manish Patnaik, Leonteq's operating chief.
New Trading Role
The British-born Downey joins in mid-November as head of market engine, also a newly-created position. He will be responsible for Leonteq's trading, quantitative analytics and treasury functions.
A former UBS equity and derivatives trading executive, Downey currently works for Trium Capital Partners.
The reinforcement under Chief Executive Jan Schoch widens Leonteq's top management to 11 from eight, reflecting the increasing complexity of the company's activities as a platform and provider of structured products.
Doubts on Leonteq Model
The young tech firm has long been Swiss finance's big growth story, but doubts about Leonteq's ambitious plans have surfaced following its shift to a platform strategy.
Leonteq initiated the organizational and strategic review as a result. The company said it would unveil further measures at an investor day scheduled for Nov. 16.
