BATS Designates Next CEO as Ratterman Prepares for Move to Chairman

Joe Ratterman, who built BATS Global Markets into the second-largest equities trading platform in the U.S., is turning the reins of chief executive officer over to Chris Concannon, who joined the company in December. The effective date for that transition is March 31.

Ratterman will replace Paul Atkins as the head of the board, and will remain closely involved with the company going forward, BATS said in a release announcing the transition. Concannon, who joined BATS in December as president, leveraged 20 years experience in the industry to help complete the strategic acquisition of Hotspot FX, which was announced on Jan. 16.

Ratterman helped found the company in June 2005 and became CEO two years later. It grew from a startup alternative trading system with 25 employees, into the second-largest exchange in the U.S. and the largest in Europe. Since 2011, Ratterman has overseen three major acquisitions: Chi-X Europe in 2011, which made BATS the largest platform on that continent; Direct Edge in 2014, which boosted the firm to No. 2 in the U.S.; and Hotspot FX, a move that Ratterman says opens new vistas for growth in the world’s largest and most liquid asset class.

“Being CEO during a time of impressive corporate growth and considerable industry change has been a great privilege and I’m grateful to the entire BATS team for their extraordinary efforts, and for the opportunity to have worked alongside them over the last 10 years. It’s truly been a remarkable time,” Ratterman said.

He noted that BATS was now experiencing record market share and profitability, and was poised for still more growth with the Hotspot FX acquisition. “I see this as a good opportunity to change the nature of my role at BATS and take on the chairman responsibilities,” Ratterman said, adding that Concannon was exactly the person the firm needs to reach new levels of success.

Concannon’s lengthy resume in the sector includes six years as executive vice president at Nasdaq, where he directed that exchange’s U.S. stock and options markets and led numerous successful acquisitions and integrations, including Brut, Inet and the Philadelphia and Boston Stock Exchanges. He also served as a chief liaison with Nasdaq’s customers and regulators, oversaw the launch of the Nasdaq Options Market and was a member of the board for Nasdaq. He left that exchange in 2009 to become president, chief operating officer and a partner at Virtu Financial, another global electronic market maker.