Electronic trading platform Octaura, which is backed by eight major US financial institutions, has onboraded industry veteran Jason Cohen in the capacity of the group’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer.
Cohen brings to his dual role nearly 30 years of experience and will join the company’s team after working in a variety of electronic trading venues in operations and C-level positions.
He spent the bulk of his career, which dates back to 1990, within the institutional side, having held senior roles at EBS Dealing Resources. While there, Cohen played a significant role in leading the migration of the BrokerTec and EBS platforms, integrating these businesses into the CME Group.
Prior to EBS, Cohen was Global Chief Operating Officer for NEX Markets prior to the CME Group acquisition.
Octaura is an electronic trading solution created by a consortium of banks led by Citi and Bank of America. Also backed by Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Moody’s Analytics, the independent company plans to roll out an electronic trading platform this year. The platform is also built in collaboration with Genesis Global, the low-code software development platform for financial markets.
Octaura will initially launch functionality for syndicated loans with the collateralized loan obligation (CLO) trading venue to follow next year and then expand further into asset-backed securities and other securitized markets. The company then plans to expand to other products in the credit market.
“We are delighted to have someone with Jason’s experience join our leadership team,” said Octaura’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Bejile. “Jason is a high-impact executive with a proven track record of delivering results and creating value. He brings a compelling blend of strategic vision, capital allocation discipline, and transformational leadership abilities to the role. Jason will be a strong partner that will guide our company forward as the technology leader in electronic trading for leveraged finance and structured credit.”
Jason Cohen stated, “I am very excited to join Octaura at this point in time. I’m impressed by the team’s dedication to bring comprehensive trading solutions to the fixed income market. There is a strong need to solve for liquidity strains. I look forward to working with Brian and the team to move Octaura forward on its financial, operational and market changing transformation.”
Jason Cohen joins a team of industry veterans including Brian Bejile, who was named CEO and a member of the board of directors. Previously, Brian spent more than 18 years with Citi, rising to senior roles across syndicated loan trading, financing and securitization.
