LONDON – The London Stock Exchange Group PLC said Friday that it has appointed David Schwimmer as chief executive officer.
The company said Schwimmer, whose appointment becomes effective on Aug. 1, will also join the board of directors and will take on the role of CEO from current interim David Warren, who will continue in his role as chief financial officer.
Schwimmer joins the stock exchange group from investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc., where he worked for 20 years.
Most recently, he served as global head of market structure and global head of metals and mining in investment banking at Goldman.
While working at the bank, he helped oversee the 2005 merger between the New York Stock Exchange and Archipelago Group, according to a Nov. 14 article in the Wall Street Journal.
Under the terms of his new contract with LSE, Schwimmer will receive a one-off payment of 1.05 million pounds ($1.49 million) as compensation for giving up his 2018 salary with Goldman.
He will also get an annual salary of 775,000 pounds, with the opportunity for a yearly bonus of more than triple that figure, although a significant portion of it will be awarded as shares.
Schwimmer’s appointment comes after the unexpected departure of Xavier Rolet.
Rolet’s departure prompted activist investor TCI Fund Management Ltd. to argue the LSE had effectively fired Rolet under the “guise of succession planning” and risked significant value destruction.
The LSE defended its actions, saying it followed proper governance procedures.
Rolet made it clear he had no plans to return to the exchange and subsequently left on Nov. 29, 2017.
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