William O'Brien

Spun out from Knight Capital Group in 2007 and now owned by a consortium consisting of Knight, Citadel Derivatives Group, Goldman Sachs & Co., International Securities Exchange and JPMorgan Chase & Co., Direct Edge had “a fantastic year” in 2009, exults CEO William O’Brien.

“We burst on the scene and became the third-largest [U.S.] exchange,” he says. “We were the only one growing.” Direct Edge surged to that level — its 10.9 percent market share, as of April, trailing only the New York Stock Exchange (26.3 percent) and Nasdaq OMX (22.2 percent) — as an alternative trading system. Direct Edge obtained SEC approval in March to become an exchange; the transition starts in early July, and will take two to three weeks. To prepare, Direct Edge has been replacing its core technology and moving to a new data center. The platform proved its mettle during the May 6 meltdown when Direct Edge helped take a load off the overheated NYSE.

O’Brien, 39, a former Nasdaq senior vice president, has been at the helm since 2007. He joined Nasdaq in 2004 when it acquired Brut ECN, where O’Brien, a University of Pennsylvania law graduate, was general counsel and later COO.

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