Equiti Group, which was recently licensed by the UAE regulator to trade OTC derivatives and currencies, has appointed Christoffer Rosenkilde Nielsen as the company’s new Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
A former Euronext Securities’ CTO, Nielsen will be responsible for leading the development and delivery of Equiti’s products and services. As its chief information officer, he will play a key role in the management and development of the group’s technological capabilities. His appointment also comes after several similar roles at other venues over the course of a career spanning 14 years.
Previously, Nielsen held a variety of senior positions including roles in product management and software with a focus on forex systems. Prior to his appointment at Equiti, he held an analogues position at Pan-European exchange operator Euronext.
Nielsen spent nearly two years as global head of open API and senior director at Danish forex bank and broker, Saxo Bank. There he managed a team of 90+ engineers in Denmark, India and U.S., and then expanded to Netherlands and China.
Other stops include working as head of technology at the asset management division of ATP, the fourth largest pension fund in Europe. Christoffer holds an executive MBA degree from Copenhagen Business School, a master’s and PhD degree in computer science from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
Iskandar Najjar, Equiti Group CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome Christoffer to the Equiti team as our new CTO. His extensive fintech experience will support the company’s ambitions to further transform our product offering and operations, which will be critical to our continued success as we explore new ways to leverage our technology and propel future growth.”
Commenting on his appointment, Christoffer added: “The vision and ambition at Equiti captured my attention immediately. Particularly the vision to deliver a world-class user experience and innovate the way clients trade. We are all technology users, and success is determined by how we adopt and use that technology. Equiti has a great culture and I look forward to working closely with the talented team of engineers to enhance our product offerings further.”
This new appointment comes on the heels of Equiti becoming one of the first international brokerage firms to offer OTC margin trading in the UAE. Under the regulatory purview of the Securities and Commodities Authority, Equiti’s licence covers spot trades on equity, commodities, FX, and other financial instruments.
