LME’s Garry Jones steps down
GARRY Jones stepped down as chief executive of the London Metal Exchange (LME) after three years at the helm of the world’s biggest metals bourse.
Jones, 58, will retire from his position at the exchange and serve as an adviser until the end of this year, according to Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, which owns the LME. The chief operating officer, Matthew Chamberlain, will become interim chief executive.
Jones is the second senior LME executive to leave in two months, and his departure comes as the 139-year-old exchange faces broker complaints over higher fees and a slump in trading volumes.
“Garry had a difficult job to do at a difficult time,” said Michael Overlander, the chief executive of Sucden Financial. “He was a tough negotiator, but a perfect gentleman as well.”
The LME recently suffered setbacks in two major outages. On January 12, electronic trading was delayed by five hours during the Asian trading day due to a connectivity issue.
Garry had a difficult job to do at a difficult time. He was a tough negotiator, but a perfect gentleman as well.
The next chief executive needed to tackle rising volatility that was problematic for industrial hedgers using the exchange, and soothe broker concerns over the rise of algorithmic trading, said Malcolm Freeman, a director at Kingdom Futures and broker on the LME.
“The general consensus is that they’ve got to get someone out of the industry who already understands the way the LME works,” said Freeman.
While Chamberlain had taken on the position on a temporary basis, he could be a suitable permanent candidate, Overlander said. Chamberlain was previously head of business development at the LME.
“His time at the LME has been relatively short, but that doesn’t mean he’s incapable of picking up the reins that have been handed to him on a temporary basis,” he said.
LME executives responded to criticism, saying traders are blaming the exchange after a tough year for the industry.
Average daily volumes last year were down 7.7percent from the previous year.
Still, Jones presided over rising profits during his time at the LME as higher trading and clearing fees benefited the exchange.