The owner of the London Stock Exchange is looking for a new boss after announcing that chief executive Xavier Rolet will step down by the end of next year.
Mr Rolet has led the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) since May 2009 and embarked on a string of acquisitons including the £1.6bn takeover of US stock index Frank Russell.
But the deal that would have been his swansong – a £25bn “merger of equals” with Germany’s Deutsche Boerse – was blocked earlier this year by European regulators. Mr Rolet had planned to step down had it gone through.
Mr Rolet has been a strong advocate for the City’s role as a global financial centre to continue through the Brexit, arguing against action that could undermine London’s position.
On Wednesday he used a newspaper article to warn European leaders against dismantling the capital’s position at the heart of the world economy “just to make a political point”.
Earlier this year, Mr Rolet warned that moves to strip euro clearing – part of the “plumbing” behind the world financial system – from London after Brexit could backfire creating an extra €100bn bill for investors.
Image: The LSE is one of the world’s oldest stock exchanges
Announcing his departure on Thursday, LSEG said he had overseen “nine years of extraordinary success” taking its market valuation from £800m to nearly £14bn.
Chairman Donald Brydon said: “Under his leadership, LSEG has been transformed in scale to become a truly diversified and international leader in financial markets infrastructure.”
Mr Rolet said: “I look forward to getting on with the business of ensuring an orderly transition.”
The announcement came as the group reported a 17% rise in third quarter income to £486m as its clearing and FTSE Russell businesses grew strongly.
The LSE is one of the world’s oldest stock exchanges and can trace its history back more than 300 years.
The wider LSE Group was formed in October 2007 when the London Stock Exchange merged with Milan stock exchange Borsa Italiana.
Source: Sky