Goldman's former head of electronic trading has just left his top job at KCG Europe
Rob Crane, the head of European client execution at KCG Holdings, is the latest senior figure to depart the firm’s London operation following Virtu Financial’s $1.4bn takeover of its high-frequency trading rival.
Crane is the former co-head of electronic trading for Europe at Goldman Sachs, and quit the bank in 2015 to head up KCG Holdings’ electronic execution business. He departed KCG on 21 July, according to new filings on Companies House and the Financial Conduct Authority register. Crane confirmed his departure.
Before joining KCG in 2015, Crane spent 16 years at Goldman Sachs, having joined as an associate in 1999. He was named managing director in 2008, and led the bank’s electronic trading team in London alongside Michael Seigne.
Seigne also joined KCG, in June 2016, as head of one delta sales, but he has moved across to a sales role at Virtu Financial. Virtu agreed to take over KCG in April, and sealed the deal on 20 July.
Phil Allison, the chief executive of KCG in Europe, also left in July, according to Financial News. He spent 17 years in equity trading at UBS before joining KCG in 2014 and is likely to receive a $7m parachute payment following his departure.
In May, KCG said that around 100 jobs would be at risk following the takeover, and that it would close offices in Singapore and Mumbai. KCG has been cutting headcount since its creation in 2013, when it merged with high-speed trader Getco. It had 1,400 employees at that time and now has around 920 people.
When announcing the completion of the KCG acquisition, Virtu said that its "central focus" would be to grow KCG's client-facing business. Virtu trades off its own account, rather than relying on clients, and is utilising KCG's salesforce to license its technology to other traders. This is indicative of high frequency firms looking for new revenue streams, as they've struggled in low volatility markets.
Contact: pclarke@efinancialcareers.com
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