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CME Group taps Paul Woolman to lead Equity Index, Giovanni Vicioso to lead Crypto

Rick Steves

“Our equity and cryptocurrency businesses have experienced tremendous growth in recent years, underpinned by strong customer adoption and continued innovation.”

CME Group

CME Group has appointed two new global heads for its Equity Index and Cryptocurrency businesses amid a strong surge in growth from these two business lines.

Paul Woolman was appointed Global Head of Equity Index Products to oversee the company’s Equity Index product portfolio. He has worked in equity derivatives for more than 20 years, having joined CME Group in 2016 as Senior Director, Head of EMEA Equity Products and Alternative Investments. His career includes the role of Delta One Equity Derivatives Trading Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch for 11 years, where he managed exposure across futures, ETFs, swaps, and structured products, as well as cash equities and FX.

Giovanni Vicioso was named Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products and will assume responsibility for the company’s Cryptocurrency products. His career spans 30 years and includes 10 years at CME Group – where he began his involvement in crypto – as well as a number of years in leading positions at RBC Capital Markets and Deutsche Bank.

Both executives will report to Tim McCourt, Global Head of Equity and FX Products, and previous head of both business lines.

Tim McCourt, Global Head of Equity and FX Products, commented: “Our equity and cryptocurrency businesses have experienced tremendous growth in recent years, underpinned by strong customer adoption and continued innovation. In their expanded roles, Paul and Gio will continue to meet the needs of our clients by providing products and services to manage risk in today’s ever-changing marketplace.”

CME Group’s Equity Index trading highlights:

  • Q3 futures and options average daily volume (ADV) of 7.4 million contracts increased by more than 46% against Q3 2021.
  • September futures and options record ADV of 9.4 million contracts increased over 47% against September 2021.
  • Nearly 17.5 million Tuesday and Thursday E-mini S&P 500 options contracts have traded since launch in March, becoming the most successful options launch in CME Group history.

CME Group’s Cryptocurrency trading highlights:

  • Q3 futures and options ADV of 46.2K contracts increased over 45% YoY against Q3 2021.
  • September futures and options ADV of 59.6K contracts increased more than 72% against September 2021.
  • Bitcoin futures ADV of 11.7K contracts increased more than 66% versus Q3 2021.
  • Bitcoin Euro and Ether Euro futures launched on August 29, and Ether options launched on September 12.
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