As its patented auction trading process gathered momentum in 2016, PDQ Enterprises rebranded its broker-dealer and anointed a new chief executive. The brokerage and alternative trading system operator formerly known as PDQ ATS is now CODA Markets, embodying the acronym Centralized On-Demand Auctions. In October, Donald Ross III succeeded his father, D. Keith Ross Jr. (No. 31 last year), as CEO. The Glenview, Illinois–based firm's slogan, "The power of pause," refers to a slowdown in the trade, not unlike the speed bump that brought notoriety to IEX Group and its Investors Exchange. However, PDQ and CODA explicitly serve the interests of liquidity seekers by creating a dedicated auction book — for 20 milliseconds in the case of its CODA Micro product, one second in CODA One, or 30 seconds in CODA Block. It is "an inclusive market that maximizes liquidity at the lowest cost and promotes level competition among all participants," Ross III, 34, says.
Before becoming CEO, he served for two years as chief strategy officer, contributing to "the development of sophisticated tools and analytics that will provide institutional subscribers with previously unavailable insight into liquidity profiles and market dynamics," as Ross Jr., now in what he calls "the active role of executive chairman," noted when he handed over the reins. The younger Ross, who has a BS in learning and organizational change from Northwestern University, spent most of his career with Getco, where he started as an intern during the time his father was CEO of that algorithmic trading pioneer.
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