Global Market Index Ltd. (GMI UK) has promoted Zaid Alkhatib, who until recently served as a chief operating officer (COO), to take on the role of its newest Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Pending the regulatory approval, the FX industry veteran takes over from the company’s CEO and majority shareholder, Ashraf Ebid, who will remain as an executive director with the FCA-regulated B2B/STP service provider.
Zaid had joined the software development and services arm of GMI Group, Finstek, back in 2019. The aggregation and bridging technology provider connects platforms, institutional brokerages and liquidity providers in order to enable brokers to control their trading environment. There, he spent a short stint in the role of operations manager.
In 2020, Alkhatib joined the UK business as head of operations and compliance. While at GMI UK, he worked his way up through several senior roles with the firm, culminating with the position of chief operating officer. Overall, he brings more than twelve years of experience in the financial services industry to the role.
Prior to GMI, he headed the operations for several large European brokers, including a seven-year tenure at Orbex LTD. There, he was responsible for all aspects of compliance, regulatory reporting, back office and technology.
In a corporate statement, Ashraf Ebid said:
“I am delighted to see Zaid moving further up in his career as I believe his experience, skills, and dedication to GMI UK will be magnified by taking on the CEO role (pending FCA approval). I have worked with Zaid over a number of years, and he has proved himself to be a highly reliable and diligent individual who is capable of enhancing all aspects of the company’s operation. I am proud of what we have accomplished so far at GMI UK.
Now is the appropriate time for a new CEO to take charge of the next phase of GMI UK’s growth and innovation as I focus more of my time on my ambitions in the technology and eCommerce fields. I will remain on the board as an Executive Director and majority shareholder of GMI UK, while Zaid will run the day-to-day activities.”
Zaid Alkhatib added in the joint statement:
“I am extremely excited to take over as CEO as I believe in GMI UK’s role as a major global player in the B2B/Institutional FX and CFD liquidity space. I am confident that we will continue to extend our range of services and supported financial products and continue to build on our current success in providing superior liquidity and technology solutions to our institutional and FX brokerage clients.”
GMI UK has made headlines over the past few months as it continues to bulk up its ranks with FX industry talents. Co-founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jeff Chao, GMI started its operations in 2009 with a focus on the Asia Pacific market and was an early pioneer to introduce ECN and STP technologies into the region. In 2015, the company has secured approval from the City regulator to operate as an STP-ECN only broker in the UK.
According to its recent reports, GMI has doubled its trading volumes more than 20 times under the leadership of Ashraf Ebid, who joined the company in 2016 after a lengthy career spanning nearly 30 years across Japan, UK, Australia, Singapore and Dubai.
