Portware Hires Eskandar from Liquidnet As New CEO

Portware hired Alfred Eskandar, a recognized leader formerly with Liquidnet, to become the company’s chief executive officer.

While announcing the new management structure, Portware said that Scott DePetris, currently chief operating officer, becomes president and COO effective immediately. Founders Eric Goldberg and Ary Khatchikian will chair the newly formed Board.

The company said the new management structure would add critical strategy; sales and marketing expertise, while streamlining operations to better manage Portware’s explosive growth and global expansion.

In hiring Eskandar, Portware is bringing on a founding member of Liquidnet, the global institutional trading network, where he most recently served as head of US equities. Eskandar held several critical business roles during his Liquidnet tenure. He initially served as head of marketing to shape the firm’s global brand identity, before moving to become global head of corporate strategy, overseeing all strategic initiatives, alliances and investments. According to the release, Eskandar led Liquidnet’s acquisition of Miletus Trading, LL, a quantitative program trading broker-dealer, and during the integration served as president and CEO.

Commenting on the hiring of Eskandar, Larry Tabb, CEO of Tabb Group, stated: “Bringing in Alfred as CEO with a new and slightly different perspective, will help Portware expand its franchise to different market participants, geographies and asset classes.” In his remarks, Tabb noted, “Alfred is a charismatic leader who was instrument in helping Liquidnet build and sustain their franchise. He will be a great fit at Portware, and we expect him to help extend Portware’s strong footprint across the financial markets.”

Offering his own comments on the career move, Eskandar said Portware’s founders Eric Goldberg and Ary Khatchikian were “pioneers in automation.” Eskandar continued, “Together they have built a truly impressive global business by delivering highly customizable and sophisticated solutions to the world’s largest and most demanding institution.” Looking to the future and hinting at where he sees growth, Eskandar cited Portware’s new cloud platform, which “now enables institutions of all sizes, from around the world, to benefit from Portware’s ingenuity faster while still receiving exceptional customer service.”

Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio