London Stock Exchange appoints Waqas Samad as Group Director, Information Services Division
Mark Makepeace will remain with the Group during 2019 and assume the role of Non-Executive Chairman, Information Services.
London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LON:LSE) is making changes at the top of its Information Services Division. LSEG has just announced the appointment of Waqas Samad as Group Director of the Information Services Division (ISD) and a member of the LSEG Executive Committee. Waqas Samad, whose appointment is effective immediately, will report to David Schwimmer, CEO, LSEG.
As part of this planned succession and transition, Mark Makepeace will remain with the Group during 2019 and assume the role of Non-Executive Chairman, Information Services, in addition to his existing role as Non-Executive Chairman of LSEG in the Americas region. He will continue to report to Mr Schwimmer.
Mark Makepeace, Group Director of Information Services; CEO, FTSE Russell and Non-Executive Chairman, LSEG Americas said:
“Over the past thirty years, the index industry has gone through a period of transformative growth, playing an important role in the investment management process. I’m proud to have developed FTSE from a start-up to a global player active in more than 70 countries. FTSE Russell has been a pioneer in facilitating investment in emerging markets, including among the first to benchmark China A Shares, and has played a key part supporting investors’ increasing interest in Environmental, Social and Governance factors. I’m pleased to hand over the leadership of Information Services to Waqas to further develop it.”
Waqas Samad, CEO Benchmarks, FTSE Russell said:
“I’m honoured to be asked to lead this important business area for the Group. Mark has built a fantastic franchise in FTSE Russell and it is well positioned to continue to benefit from the underlying global trends driving both passive and active investment management strategies globally. More broadly, the Information Services Division is a great platform and I look forward to further developing the Group’s customer partnership approach and delivering even greater value and analytical insights for our customers.”
Waqas Samad has spent almost 25 years in the financial services industry, the last 15 of which were in leadership roles in the index and portfolio analytics industry. As CEO of Benchmarks at FTSE Russell, Waqas Samad is currently responsible for leading FTSE Russell’s continued global growth into indexes across all asset classes. He led the firm’s expansion in fixed income through the acquisition of the Citi Fixed Income Indexes and The Yield Book businesses. He is also responsible for the FTSE Canada business in North America.
He joined LSEG from Barclays in 2016, where he was CEO of Barclays Risk Analytics & Index Solutions (BRAIS). Prior to joining Barclays in 2007, he spent three years at Deutsche Bank as Head of the Index Research Group in Europe and Asia and he spent five years at Credit Suisse in a variety of quantitative and technology roles. Waqas Samad holds a Bachelors’ degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College and has completed the Investment Management Programme at London Business School.
