The 2014 Tech 50: Thomas Secunda

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< The 2014 Tech 50: Moving Out of the Lab and Into the Cloud

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Thomas Secunda
Global Head of Financial Products
and Services
Bloomberg
Last year: 1

From its start in 1982, Bloomberg was “an instrument for change” in bond trading, Thomas Secunda says. The fact that “Bloomberg brought transparency to very opaque markets,” blazing a trail toward improved price discovery and efficient trading in one type of instrument after another, is one of the accomplishments that makes Secunda, co-founder and vice chairman of the New York–based financial information company, most proud. But the growth, product proliferation and acceleration in the markets and the data volumes they generate have in a sense turned back the clock. “The overflow of information has created new problems with opacity,” Secunda observes. Even users of the Bloomberg Professional terminal network, which has more than 320,000 subscribers around the world, will say: “There is so much here. How can I find what I’m looking for?”

Bloomberg’s 3,000-plus technologists, led by Secunda, whose responsibilities as global head of financial products and services include Bloomberg Professional, are on the case. Harnessing what the 60-year-old describes as “a combination of human intelligence, domain knowledge, natural language processing and machine learning,” they are on a constant quest to simplify navigation and searchability. Historically, to get the most out of the terminal, users needed to understand its intricacies. Secunda wants the platform also to serve nonexperts — or anyone just seeking a quick answer. “We’re trying to have the machine eat the complications,” he says.

Simplification is also on offer from Bloomberg’s $1 billion enterprise business: technology, platform and data management services that Secunda says can save customers significant amounts while generating new revenue for Bloomberg. The return to the firm this year of founder Michael Bloomberg after 12 years as mayor of New York City “has increased our energy level and excitement,” Secunda notes. “He is going to push us. He is a big fan of things being intuitive.”


The 2014 Tech 50

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Dave Cross

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ICE SPRECHER
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IAN CURCIO 2011

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FayFoto/Boston

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Teri Pengilley

Thomas Secunda
Bloomberg
Jeffrey Sprecher
Intercontinental Exchange
Catherine Bessant
Bank of America Corp.
Stephen Neff
Fidelity Investments
Lance Uggla
Markit
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Photographer:Charlie Simokaitis

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Mark McQueen

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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Christopher Elston

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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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
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Lou Eccleston

Larry Lettera/ Camera 1

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XT

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Lou Eccleston
S&P Capital IQ
Lee Olesky
Tradeweb Markets
Richard McVey
MarketAxess Holdings
Seth Merrin
Liquidnet Holdings
Antoine
Shagoury

London Stock
Exchange Group
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Production

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Wayne R. Martin

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Deutsche Bank AG - Hauke Stars

Thorsten Jansen

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Adam B. Auel

Christopher
Perretta

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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Paul Elledge

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Stephen Brashear

David Gershon
SuperDerivatives
Chris Corrado
MSCI
Joseph Squeri
Citadel
Tanuja Randery
BT Global Services
John Bates
Software AG
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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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Kim Fournais &
Lars Seier Christensen

Saxo Bank
Kenneth Marlin
Marlin & Associates
Tyler Kim
MaplesFS
Jim McGuire
Charles Schwab Corp.
Jim Minnick
eVestment
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tomohisa ichiki

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David Poultney

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A.E. Fletcher Photography

Steven O’Hanlon
Numerix
Sebastián Ceria
Axioma
Yasuki Okai
Nomura Research Institute
Niki Beattie
Market Structure Partners
Mas Nakachi
OpenGamma

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