President and Chief Executive Officer
BATS Global Markets
[9]
When the electronic communications network BATS, short for Better Alternative Trading System, went live in 2005, it was all too easy for the titans of Wall Street and beyond to overlook the Kansas City, Missouri–based programming team that was behind it. To say things have changed would be the height of understatement. Now the company’s name, BATS Global Markets, tells the story. Led by Joe Ratterman, a member of the founding team, BATS in just the past year launched BYX, its second U.S. equities exchange (the original BATS Exchange, rivaling NYSE and Nasdaq Stock Market, opened in 2008); agreed to buy Chi-X Europe, the Continent’s biggest multilateral trading facility (to rank second to London Stock Exchange Group in European equities); and filed for an IPO. CEO Ratterman, 45, isn’t stopping there. BATS, which also operates a U.S. options market, is eyeing expansion into European derivatives and is exploring the formation of a Brazilian exchange in partnership with asset manager Claritas. BATS plans to begin competing for primary U.S. listings later this year, emphasizing, Ratterman says, “the key differentiators that have set BATS apart from the incumbent exchanges since day one: simple and competitive pricing, innovative tools and technology, and leading customer support and education.”
