RJO promotes Matt Heidkamp to COO of US and Gemma Lloyd to COO of EMEA
“As we further build out our Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region and add products, asset classes and capabilities beyond our robust listed derivatives offering, Gemma will play a vital role in support of our traditional markets while helping to fuel that expansion in EMEA from an operations perspective.”
Chicago-based R.J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO) has promoted Matt Heidkamp to Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer (COO), U.S. and Gemma Lloyd to Chief Operating Officer, EMEA.
RJO is the oldest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States. The firm has recently appointed Tom Fitzpatrick as Managing Director, Global Markets Insights, after a +39-year career at Citi.
Matt Heidkamp has spent nearly his entire 29-year career at RJO in trading and operations and Gemma Lloyd joined earlier this year with more than 25 years of experience in client service and sales management roles in the listed derivatives space with brokerage firms, investment banks and asset managers.
Two top executives leading operations in the US and EMEA
The new COO of the US operation started his career at RJO on the CBOT trading floor. He worked his way up with progressively more responsibility, managing all trading floors and back-office operations as the firm grew dramatically in the 29 years since he joined, including delivering solutions on several key acquisitions. Most recently, he served as Senior Director of Operations. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois.
Gemma Lloyd, who is now COO of EMEA, joined RJO Limited in early 2023 as Chief Commercial Officer. Previously, since 2018, she was Chief Business Development Officer for G.H. Financials Group, serving on the management committee and leading all client-facing areas globally. She joined the firm in 2013 as Global Head of Service Delivery and was named Managing Director in 2016.
From 2010 to 2013, she was Vice President, Derivatives Sales and Business Development for State Street GmbH, where she helped establish a new client clearing business for listed and over-the-counter derivatives.
Prior to that role, Lloyd was responsible for technical sales and business development at SEB Investment Management. Earlier in her career, Lloyd was a Clearing Supervisor at Chase Manhattan Bank and at Goldman Sachs. She began her career working on the trading floor of the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) for ED&F Man. Lloyd earned her Bachelor of Science degree in financial services from the University of Greenwich.
RJO adding products beyond listed derivatives in EMEA region
Terry Gilhooly, Global COO, said: “Matt has tremendous expertise and experience in the space, particularly in operations, and his contributions to what we do have been invaluable. He and Gemma – who are both highly respected in the industry – will lead our teams in the respective regions, ensuring we find and implement optimal operations solutions, as well as achieve target objectives throughout our continued growth into new asset classes and locations.”
Mark Phelps, Managing Director, EMEA for RJO Limited, said: “As we further build out our Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region and add products, asset classes and capabilities beyond our robust listed derivatives offering, Gemma will play a vital role in support of our traditional markets while helping to fuel that expansion in EMEA from an operations perspective. She has already proven herself a tremendous asset to the organization.”
FX veteran Tom Fitzpatrick joined RJO to lead Global Markets Insights
Last month, RJO appointed Tom Fitzpatrick as Managing Director, Global Markets Insights. He started his career as a junior bank official for Chase Bank of Ireland in Dublin and began to specialize in foreign exchange (FX) when he joined HSBC Global Banking and Markets as a junior FX assistant.
He moved to South Africa in 1984 as an analyst for Nedbank, and then joined Citibank (now Citi) in FX sales, working out of the Johannesburg area. In 1987, he transferred to Citibank London to join Corporate FX sales, where he also covered investor, hedge fund and Central bank as well as sovereign wealth funds before assuming the role of Head of FX Institutional Sales. In 1996, he moved to New York to serve as Head of FX Institutional Sales.
From 1999 until June of this year, Fitzpatrick has been Managing Director at Citi, where he also served as Global Head of the CitiFXTechnicals product within the G10 FX business.
In that role, he produced multi-award winning, leading-edge commentary focused on macroeconomic developments across all asset classes – including interest rates, equities and commodities, in addition to FX – after evolving from a technical product centered on FX. In addition to visiting institutional Citi clients across the globe, he has been a frequent speaker at internal and external conferences and has made regular media appearances.
