The Futures and Options Association (FOA) has appointed Blake Stephenson as manager, Regulation, effective next week.
Blake joins the FOA from the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) where he was part of the exchange supervision team.
At the same time, Simon Andrews has been promoted to director of Commodities, a new role which will see him spearhead the FOAs increased activities in this sector. Andrews has been with the FOA for six years and has additional oversight of prudential regulation and taxation issues.
Both Andrews and Stephenson report to Kathleen Traynor, executive director, Regulation, who will manage the FOAs priorities within the regulatory area.
The strengthened FOA team is in response to the growing regulatory workload facing the exchange traded derivatives industry. Whether it is analysing of the impact of MiFID/MiFIR or understanding the full implications of ESMAs work programme, the FOA must have the capacity to help steer its members through the regulatory change agenda while sustaining industry growth and enhancing market integrity, says FOA chief executive Anthony Belchambers. These appointments reflect the importance of that activity.”
(JDC)