Gregory Tusar
No. 11
Americas Head of Electronic Trading
Goldman Sachs Group
Big numbers add up to big challenges for Gregory Tusar, Goldman Sachs Group’s head of electronic trading in the Americas. He oversees trading in 69 venues by 6,000 users generating 120 million transactions a day. A major concern is “to keep up with the speed of markets,” says Tusar, 42, who came to Goldman in 2000 when the company bought execution and clearing firm Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, where he was a limited partner, for $7 billion. “It requires absolute commitment to reinventing your infrastructure. The moment you’re done with an upgrade, you’re almost certainly on the next one.” Smart order-routing, algorithms, the Sigma X alternative trading system, the REDI front-end technologies, sales functions and Goldman’s execution and clearing businesses all fall under Tusar. He has also had a hand in managing Goldman’s investments in emerging trading ventures. How does he keep an innovative edge? “We’re willing to make mistakes and try things that won’t ultimately bear fruit,” he says. The “magic,” as he puts it, is in the organization’s ability to build and manage its infrastructure at a rapid pace. Tusar counts on a veteran team whose understanding of the past 15 years of electronic trading evolution gives it the ability to perceive and prepare for the next wave of marketplace change.
