< The 2014 Tech 50: Moving Out of the Lab and Into the Cloud
18
Ron Levi
Chief OperatingOfficer
GFI Group
The interdealer brokerage’s lot is not all that happy these days. Like rivals such as ICAP (see Michael Spencer, No. 14), GFI Group faces an unsettled regulatory environment and volume and volatility trends that have constrained income from many over-the-counter products. Although New York–based GFI’s total first-quarter revenue was off a slight 1.5 percent year-over-year, to $241 million, April was down 8 percent. “We just have to cope,” says Ron Levi. Still, the 51-year-old COO notes, “all we do is innovate, innovate, innovate.” That story is written across an ever-expanding catalogue of products and services developed on in-house technology, from the 2003 launch of CreditMatch to the 2013 formation of swaps execution facility GFI Swaps Exchange. Half of first-quarter Americas fixed-income product revenue came from electronic matching. What’s more, technology sales are strong: Software, analytics and market data revenue grew 16 percent in the first quarter, to $26 million; the Trayport trading systems unit was up 19 percent. “Running a technology company is not new to us,” says Levi, who joined GFI in 1993, became COO in 2006 and engineered the Trayport acquisition in 2008. Now he is selling GFI platforms to major banks. HSBC Holdings became the first “white label” user last year, and others are knocking on GFI’s door as they consider cost-effective approaches for single-dealer fixed-income businesses.
The 2014 Tech 50
1 
Dave Cross
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1 
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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 |
6 
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7 
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8 
Photographer:Charlie Simokaitis
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9 
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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 |
11 
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12 
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13 
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14 
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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. |
16 
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17 
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18 
Todd Plitt
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19 
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20 
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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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22 
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23 
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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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28 
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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. |
31 
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32 
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33 
Paul Elledge
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34 
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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 |
36 
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37 
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38 
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39 
Photo Credit: Kevin Irby
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40 
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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 |
41 
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42 
Jeff Smith Photo
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43 
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44 
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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 |
46 
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47 
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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 |
