Direct Edge CEO Launches Bill's Emails

Today is William (Bill) O'Brien's first day on the job as CEO of Direct Edge ECN. He began this new role by reaching out to the trading community of current and potential customers with an email that explains why he is coming back to the ECN world. I'm not familiar with CEOs in other industries so I can only say that in the ECN community, this seems to be a trend that works to attract liquidity. Direct Edge had record volume of more than 440 million shares on Thursday so it's important to get the word out.

Does this mean that Direct Edge's CEO will be following the style BATS Trading former CEO Dave Cummings in sending out his famous emails ? I don't think so. Last week we ran the email of Joe Ratterman, BATS Trading's new CEO who indicated he would be sending out monthly emails and the tone would reflect "the new management and personality of BATS." It is only fair that we share with you Bill's first email - after all, it's likely to be the first of many.Dear Current Subscribers and Potential Subscribers, As many of you know, today marks my first day as Chief Executive Officer here at Direct Edge ECN. I could not be more excited to continue to build upon what has already become a material pool of liquidity in both Nasdaq and NYSE-listed stocks. Almost three years after the Nasdaq acquisition of Brut, I look forward to re-connecting with former colleagues and friends, and starting many new relationships. I decided to join Direct Edge because I saw a unique opportunity - powered by great people, committed partners and robust technology - to provide a trading platform that was low cost while still adding a high degree of value through innovation. From our leading-edge pricing models to the unique liquidity of our Enhanced Liquidity Provider program, Direct Edge is creating opportunities for the trading community unlike any other market center. And we're just getting started. Direct Edge broke its all-time volume record twice last week, peaking at over 440 million shares last Thursday. For those of you already connected and using Direct Edge, thank you for your contribution, and please consider further usage of our platform in light of our substantial recent growth. For those not yet connected or using Direct Edge, now is the time to prioritize taking advantage of what Direct Edge has to offer. One of my early priorities will be investing in the capacity to stay several steps ahead of increasing client demand. My new contact information is below, which you're free to use in addition to the Direct Edge contacts you have already established. I look forward to hearing what Direct Edge can do to help you and your customers in this exciting time in financial markets. Regards - Bill William O'Brien Chief Executive Officer Direct Edge ECN, LLC Phone: (201) 557-6843 E-mail: [email protected] is William (Bill) O'Brien's first day on the job as CEO of Direct Edge ECN. He began this new role by reaching out to the trading community of current and potenital customers with an email that explains why he is returning to the ECN world. 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