Saxo Bank, the investment and trading specialist, has appointed Ashok Kalyanswamy as its chief information officer (CIO) and a member of its executive team.

The appointment follows Ashley Latham’s decision to step down as CIO, the bank said.

Kalyanswamy joins Saxo Bank with over 20 years of experience working in various senior technology positions at firms such as Lehman Brothers and Nomura and most recently served as division director and CIO for the Macquarie Securities Group based out of Hong Kong.

In his new role, Kalyanswamy will be responsible for the strategic direction and operations of Saxo Bank’s global IT organisation, serving as the leader for the bank’s IT-team of around 500 employees. He will assume the role in January 2017 and will be based in Copenhagen.

CEO and co-founder Kim Fournais said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming Ashok, who brings with him a wealth of experience in developing innovative information technology solutions for leading global financial institutions, and have him further strengthen the excellent foundation passed on from Ashley Latham. Technology has never been more important for the financial industry and it is absolutely key to our role as a financial markets facilitator. With Ashok’s extensive experience in this area and his renowned skills as a manager, I am sure that he will be a real asset for our IT organization, the firm as a whole, and thereby further strengthen our deliveries that enable our clients to access global capital markets.”  -TradeArabia News Service