Jack Jeffery has sprung a major surprise by deciding to leave his role as chief executive of electronic broking at Icap. Jeffery is regarded as one of the market’s nice guys and he is believed to have handed in his resignation earlier this month. He will continue working at the company until the end of June, when it is believed he will take a period of gardening leave.
Icap has moved swiftly to replace him, which is understandable given the increasing importance of its electronic division to its overall business. The company has announced that John Nixon will takeover Jeffery’s role.
Jeffery had overseen the integration of EBS into Icap after its purchase in June 2006. He was parachuted into the spot broker from Citi in February 2002 and he is widely credited of advancing EBS’s position as the pre-eminent spot FX platform in the market. As Icap’s end-2006 preliminary results showed this week, he appears to have carried out the integration task exceptionally well.
Commenting on Nixon’s appointment, Michael Spencer, Icap’s chief executive officer, said in a press release: “I am very pleased that John Nixon has accepted this new role. Icap’s electronic broking division is a central part of our strategy to create the global OTC exchange and cement Icap’s leadership position in our industry.