Former Bats Data Boss to Co-Head New Cboe Markets Division

Harkins was most recently head of the exchange’s US equities businesses—including the former Bats and Direct Edge market platforms acquired by Cboe—which included responsibility for sales, product development, listings, and strategy, as well as for overseeing its suite of market data and market access products. He joined Bats via its acquisition of Direct Edge, where he was chief operating officer, prior to which he was managing director of transaction services at Nasdaq, and strategic account manager at the Brut ECN prior to its purchase by Nasdaq. He also served as a technical account manager at Tradescape, and as senior electronic connectivity specialist at Instinet.

Harkins’ co-head of the new division is Andy Lowenthal, who was previously head of Cboe’s global derivatives business.

Cboe chairman and CEO Ed Tilly says Harkins and Lowenthal will “connect opportunities across our diverse set of products and drive their team towards ambitious and exciting goals. By combining teams with incredible expertise, the new Markets Division is structured to better leverage a deep pool of talent to serve our global customers even more efficiently.”