Mark Beeston has joined T- Zero, a new post-trade messaging and workflow system for credit derivatives, as President. T-Zero is a start-up platform taht aims to improve operational efficiency in the credit derivatives industry.
Derivatives industry veteran Beeston joins T-Zero as it launches its electronic platform aimed at improving connectivity and messaging in the rapidly growing credit derivatives market.
T-Zero, which was incubated by Creditex, Inc., is being spun off into a separate, independent entity. A holding company is being created that will own both Creditex and T-Zero.
“We are delighted to have Mark Beeston join T-Zero at this very important juncture in the credit derivatives market,” says Sunil Hirani, CEO of the holding company which owns T-Zero. “Given his strong experience and insights into derivatives operations, Mark is uniquely qualified to lead T-Zero in bringing the much-needed solutions to the marketplace. Automation and connectivity are crucial to helping the industry move to the next level of growth.”
“I am excited to be part of such an important industry initiative as T-Zero,” says Beeston. “The T-Zero platform represents a significant step in the maturation of the credit derivatives market. Attaining operational efficiency is paramount for the credit derivatives market, and T-Zero offers market participants the opportunity to bring significant cost-savings to the operational challenges that the industry is currently facing.”
Since 2002, Beeston has served as COO for integrated credit trading at Deutsche Bank in London. During this time, the bank’s credit platform expanded substantially and included securitized products, convertibles, credit derivatives and corporate bonds. Beeston was COO for Deutsche Bank’s OTC derivatives business from 2001 to 2002 and, from 1999 to 2001, he served as global head of money market derivatives trading. Beeston joined Deutsche Bank in 1992 and worked on the OTC derivatives desk as a cross-currency trader. He has taken part in numerous industry initiatives and associations including ISDA and DTCC.
“The electronic messaging and connectivity that T-Zero provides is exactly what the market is lacking,” says Rajeev Misra, head of global credit trading, Deutsche Bank. “We are very excited at the potential of this platform to reduce operational risk in the credit derivatives market and to provide the scale that will be required to accommodate further growth. We wish Mark the best in his endeavors with T-Zero.”
T-Zero aims to offer a post-trade messaging and workflow system for the credit derivatives market. An open communications platform connects credit derivatives dealers, hedge funds, asset managers, prime brokers, fund administrators and documentation execution providers.
Founded in 1999, Creditex is an on-line platform for trading of credit derivatives. In 2005, it pioneered the first Tradable Credit Fixings, which the firm describes as “a milestone in bringing additional confidence and transparency to the market by providing a standard benchmark and settlement rate.”
Creditex has pursued STP initiatives for the industry to reduce operational risk and transaction costs.