Information Services Division Leadership Appointments

• Waqas Samad Appointed Group Director, Information Services Division
• Mark Makepeace Appointed Non-Executive Chairman, Information Services Division

London Stock Exchange Group (“LSEG”, “the Group”) today announces that Waqas Samad is appointed Group Director of the Information Services Division (“ISD”) and a member of the LSEG Executive Committee, effective immediately. He 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 David.

Donald Brydon, Chairman, LSEG said:
“In addition to his contribution to LSEG, Mark has made a huge contribution to the evolution of indices and the development of the asset management industry. Having been chairman of FTSE in the 1980s and a party to his initial CEO appointment, I can truly say that he has more than exceeded everyone’s expectations at the time.”  

David Schwimmer, CEO, LSEG said:
“As the founder of FTSE and a founder and inaugural Chairman of the Index Industry Association, Mark has been a pioneer in the development of the global index industry. Mark has successfully built a world class global business with more than $16 trillion assets under benchmark to FTSE Russell Indexes. Under his leadership, the acquisition and integration of Russell Indexes, Mergent, TMX and Citi Fixed Income Indexes and The Yield Book have been transformative in expanding the global customer base and multi-asset capabilities of the business.”

“Mark also developed a strong bench of talent and Waqas Samad, who was recruited by Mark in 2016, is a natural successor to lead ISD, including FTSE Russell.  Waqas will build on the existing strong business and proven strategy to continue to deliver on our growth expectations for this business. He will also bring his industry experience in indices and analytics across all asset classes to further develop the multi-asset and data analytics capabilities, as well as continue to deepen our customer partnership approach.”

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.”

For Further Information: 
Media: Gavin Sullivan/ Lucie Holloway/ Ramesh Chhabra +44 (0)20 7797 1222
Investor Relations: Paul Froud +44 (0)20 7797 3322

Notes to Editors:

About Waqas Samad:
Waqas 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. 

Waqas 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 holds a Bachelors’ degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College and has completed the Investment Management Programme at London Business School.

Waqas is Chairman of the Index Industry Association.

About FTSE Russell:
FTSE Russell is a global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking, analytics and data solutions for investors worldwide. FTSE Russell calculates thousands of indexes that measure and benchmark markets and asset classes in more than 70 countries, covering 98% of the investable market globally.

FTSE Russell index expertise and products are used extensively by institutional and retail investors globally. Approximately $16 trillion is currently benchmarked to FTSE Russell indexes. For over 30 years, leading asset owners, asset managers, ETF providers and investment banks have chosen FTSE Russell indexes to benchmark their investment performance and create ETFs, structured products and index-based derivatives.

A core set of universal principles guides FTSE Russell index design and management: a transparent rules-based methodology is informed by independent committees of leading market participants. FTSE Russell is focused on applying the highest industry standards in index design and governance and embraces the IOSCO Principles. FTSE Russell is also focused on index innovation and customer partnerships as it seeks to enhance the breadth, depth and reach of its offering.

FTSE Russell is wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group.

For more information, visit www.ftserussell.com

About London Stock Exchange Group:
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) is an international markets infrastructure business. Its diversified global business focuses on capital formation, intellectual property and risk and balance sheet management. LSEG operates an open access model, offering choice and partnership to customers across all of its businesses. The Group can trace its history back to 1698.

The Group operates a broad range of international equity, ETF, bond and derivatives markets, including London Stock Exchange; Borsa Italiana; MTS (a European fixed income market); and Turquoise (a pan-European equities MTF). Through its platforms, LSEG offers market participants, unrivalled access to Europe’s capital markets. The Group also plays a vital economic and social role, enabling companies, including SMEs, to access funds for growth and development.

Through FTSE Russell, the Group is a global leader in financial indexing, benchmarking and analytic services with approximately $16 trillion benchmarked to its indexes. The Group also provides customers with an extensive range of data services, research and analytics through The Yield Book, Mergent, SEDOL, UnaVista, XTF and RNS.

Post trade and risk management services are a significant part of the Group’s business operations. In addition to majority ownership of LCH, a multi-asset global CCP operator, LSEG owns CC&G, the Italian clearing house and Monte Titoli, a leading European custody and settlement business.

LSEG Technology develops and operates high performance technology solutions, including trading, market surveillance and post trade systems for over 40 organisations and exchanges, including the Group’s own markets.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, with significant operations in North America, Italy, France and Sri Lanka, the Group employs approximately 4,500 people.

Further information on London Stock Exchange Group can be found at www.lseg.com. The Group’s ticker symbol is LSE.L