Obituary: David Hitchins, Head of FX for EMEA at Jefferies passes away, aged 42. Colleagues raise $20,000 for his children
Just days after the extremely sad news that FX industry senior executive David Hitchins had passed away unexpectedly, colleagues and friends at Jefferies set up a memorial fund to pay for his children’s education. In just two days, $19,600 has been raised. For those wishing to contribute, read on
It is very rare that such incredibly sad news blights our industry, however last week, British FX industry senior executive David Hitchins passed away, aged 42.
Mr. Hitchins, who was Head of FX for the EMEA region at Jefferies, whose parent company Leucadia has a substantial stake in FXCM, had been a prominent and highly experienced member of London’s senior executive elite.
Last week, Jefferies released a memorandum expressing sadness at the loss, stating ““We are extremely grieved to inform you of the untimely passing of an important and well-loved member of the Jefferies family. An industry veteran with twenty years of experience trading FX and FX derivatives, David was considered a visionary leader and an incredible team player who possessed a formidable work ethic. He was a loyal and trusted friend to many and a true gentleman. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”
This week, following the extremely sad news of Mr. Hitchins’ passing, friends and colleagues at Jefferies have created a Go Fund Me page, aiming to raise $200,000 to set up an education fund for Mr. Hitchins’ children.
Only two days have elapsed since the establishment of the page, and it has already raised $19,600. Mr Hitchins is survived by four children under the age of 18, hence his colleagues have acted to do more than just wish well to his family, hence this level of benevolence is to be applauded and for those wishing to donate, here is the link.
Joining Jefferies in London in November 2015 and assuming his senior executive position, Mr. Hitchins had previously held the position of Co-Head and Founder of ALacrity FX which was a fully automated program that continuously trades thousands of algorithmic trading strategies on highly liquid spot exchange rates.
Mr. Hitchins had spent the previous 20 years within the institutional and interbank sector, beginning his career in 1997 at WestLB as an FX Options Trader, before moving in August 2001 to Bank of America where he spent five years as Global Head of FX Options.
Two years as Global Head of FX Options at Credit Agricole followed, before Mr Hitchins was appointed Global Head of FX Options at TD, a position that led to a two year tenure at UniCredit as Global Head of G10 Vanilla Trading.
Educated at the University of Leicester, Mr. Hitchins graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science (BSc), Mathematics Biology (Genetics) Geography, attaining a 1st Class Honors result.
