< The 2014 Tech 50: Moving Out of the Lab and Into the Cloud
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Kim Fournais &
Lars Seier Christensen
Co–Chief Executive Officers
Saxo Bank
In 2008, Saxo Bank co-CEOs Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen stepped away from day-to-day oversight. The online brokerage they had founded in 1992 and converted to a bank in 2001 proceeded to diversify into real estate and asset management, and profitability suffered. Taking back the reins in December 2012, Fournais, now 48, and Christensen, 51, refocused attention on the business they know best — trading, and its underlying technology — and in 2013 doubled net profits, to 162.2 million Danish kroner ($29.6 million). The Hellerup, Denmark–based bank, originally and best known as a pioneer in electronic foreign exchange trading, with customers today in 180 countries, offers a staggering array of not only currency pairs but also stocks, bonds, options, futures and more. “If financial institutions don’t deliver what people want, they’ll find it elsewhere,” asserts Fournais. “The future of distribution is very much the Internet,” allowing clients “to do their business anywhere, anytime,” especially on mobile devices. There is a growing institutional side of Saxo. It supplies technology to Citi and 126 other firms on a wholesale, or “white label,” basis and offers prime brokerage and other trading and reporting solutions for the buy side. “If you’re an investment manager and come with $20 million, we’ll do anything for you,” Fournais says.
The 2014 Tech 50Click name to view ranking profile.
1 
Dave Cross
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3 
IAN CURCIO 2011
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4 
FayFoto/Boston
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5 
Teri Pengilley
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Thomas Secunda Bloomberg |
Jeffrey Sprecher Intercontinental Exchange |
Catherine Bessant Bank of America Corp. |
Stephen Neff Fidelity Investments |
Lance Uggla Markit |
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8 
Photographer:Charlie Simokaitis
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10 
Mark McQueen
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Robert Goldstein BlackRock |
David Craig Thomson Reuters |
Phupinder Gill CME Group |
Anna Ewing NASDAQ OMX Group |
R. Martin Chavez Goldman Sachs Group |
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15 
Christopher Elston
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Deborah Hopkins Citi Ventures |
Dan Mathisson Credit Suisse |
Daniel Coleman KCG Holdings |
Michael Spencer ICAP |
Michael Bodson Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. |
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18 
Todd Plitt
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Joe Ratterman BATS Global Markets |
Dominique Cerutti Euronext |
Ron Levi GFI Group |
Gaurav Suri D.E. Shaw Group |
Charles Li Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing |
21 
Larry Lettera/ Camera 1
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24 
XT
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25 
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Lou Eccleston S&P Capital IQ |
Lee Olesky Tradeweb Markets |
Richard McVey MarketAxess Holdings |
Seth Merrin Liquidnet Holdings |
Antoine London Stock Exchange Group |
26 
Production
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27 
Wayne R. Martin
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29 
Thorsten Jansen
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30 
Adam B. Auel
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Christopher State Street Corp. |
Kevin Rhein Wells Fargo & Co. |
Peter Carr Morgan Stanley |
Hauke Stars Deutsche Börse |
Robert Alexander Capital One Financial Corp. |
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33 
Paul Elledge
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35 
Stephen Brashear
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David Gershon SuperDerivatives |
Chris Corrado MSCI |
Joseph Squeri Citadel |
Tanuja Randery BT Global Services |
John Bates Software AG |
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39 
Photo Credit: Kevin Irby
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Gary Scholten Principal Financial Group |
David Gledhill DBS Bank |
Simon Garland Kx Systems |
Cristóbal Conde FinTech Innovation Lab |
Jeff Parker EidoSearch |
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Jeff Smith Photo
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45 
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Kim Fournais & Saxo Bank |
Kenneth Marlin Marlin & Associates |
Tyler Kim MaplesFS |
Jim McGuire Charles Schwab Corp. |
Jim Minnick eVestment |
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48 
tomohisa ichiki
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49 
David Poultney
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50 
A.E. Fletcher Photography
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Steven O’Hanlon Numerix |
Sebastián Ceria Axioma |
Yasuki Okai Nomura Research Institute |
Niki Beattie Market Structure Partners |
Mas Nakachi OpenGamma |
