(Bloomberg) — Jeromee Johnson, who helped get exchange operator Bats Global Markets Inc. into U.S. options trading, is poised to work at a competitor, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Johnson will join Princeton, New Jersey-based Miami International Holdings Inc., which runs the Miax Options Exchange that competes with Bats in stock options, and focus on international markets, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the shift hasnt been made public.
Miami International expressed ambitions in 2011 to open a stock market focused on listing companies from Central and South America. That never happened, but the company did launch an options market in 2012 that accounts for about 6 percent of U.S. trading.
The Miax Options Exchange has won business in part by touting the sophistication of its technology, luring some of the worlds fastest traders, including Citadel Securities LLC, Optiver US LLC and KCG Holdings Inc.
Thomas Gallagher, Miami Internationals chairman and chief executive officer, declined to comment.
We thank J.J. for his time and contributions at Bats and wish him and his family the very best in the future, Randy Williams, a Bats spokesman, said in an e-mail.
The Bats exchange that Johnson helped create opened in 2010 and now handles roughly 10 percent of the market for U.S. stock options. Bats earlier this year hired Kapil Rathi as vice president for options business strategy.
