Options Technology has promoted Laura McCann to the role of chief financial officer.
She succeeds Jon Lambert, who has served as CFO since January 2016 as he transitions to senior vice president (SVP) of corporate development, focussing on the firm’s partnerships, mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Danny Moore, president and CEO of Options, said: “Laura’s promotion to CFO is the next stage in our long-term strategy of building a world-class finance team servicing the global business from our Belfast office.
“Back in 2016, Jon took on the challenge of laying the groundwork for that vision. Laura has been an integral part of the strategy from day one.
“Like many global companies, we had a patchwork of finance teams spread around the world, including larger teams in London, New York, and Chicago.
“Consolidating that footprint into one high-functioning team, all sitting together in Belfast, provides the platform to scale as the business continues to grow over the next five years.”
In September, Options Technology revealed plans to create 200 new jobs in Belfast over the next three years.
The rapidly growing company is a provider of cloud-enabled managed services to the global financial sector. It boasts all 30 of the top global banks as clients.
McCann has held the post of VP corporate controller since joining the company in 2016. Before her tenure at Options, she held pivotal roles at NYSE Euronext and Vela Trading and gained valuable experience in the FinTech sector.
She said: “Working with Jon and the team on the journey over the last seven years has been a terrific experience.
“We’ve been integral to three acquisitions, most recently the purchase and integration of Fixnetix, a carve out from a Fortune 500 company, and Activ Financial, a global market data company.
“We also supported the business in two major private equity majority investments, first with New York-based Bregal Sagemount in summer 2017, then with ABRY Partners in December 2019; truly unique international business exposure for a Belfast-based finance team.”
Her promotion to CFO is the latest in a series of key senior leadership appointments at Options, including Terry Hughes as chief marketing officer; Micah Kroeze as chief product officer; Marlena Efstratopoulou as chief risk officer; Christy O’Kane as SVP, global head of delivery; and Larry Leibowitz to the firm’s board of advisors.
In December 2019, Options received investment from Boston-based private equity firm, Abry Partners, to accelerate its growth strategy and develop its technology platform.
Founded in 1993, Options Technology began life as a hedge fund technology services provider.
Today its clients include the leading global investment banks, hedge funds, funds of funds, proprietary trading firms, market makers, broker/dealers, private equity houses, and exchanges.