Eventus Systems has established a presence in Europe with its first key hire in the UK, saying the appointment continues the trade surveillance firm’s growth plans in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

“Since we have never marketed directly in the UK, we consider this a greenfield opportunity,” the Texas-based firm’s CEO Travis Schwab told Global Investor. “We expect to have a handful of hires out in the UK before the end of the year to address the significant opportunity for customer expansion in the region”.

Schwab added that the appointment of Roger Chandler as senior sales engineer, Europe, would help to demonstrate how Eventus tools address many of the challenging Mifid II and MAR regulations, among others.

The appointment is the third key hire since the completion last month of a $10.5 million Series A funding round to support the firm's growth effort, which includes technology enhancement as well as recruitment. Earlier this month, Eventus announced two hires in Chicago, chief strategy officer Eric Einfalt and regional sales executive, North America, David Mitchell.

“We have already begun expanding our team, including the three key roles we’ve announced in Chicago and London and other hires in the works across the organisation,” Schwab said. “We have a hiring plan in place and will continue to execute on that as we identify the best people. We’ve greatly increased our market data and exchange connectivity in the first quarter as well.”

Chandler, who will be based in London and report to Eventus global head of sales Scott Schroeder, began his career at Trading Technologies and most recently served as technology sales manager for Bloomberg. Before joining Bloomberg, he spent nearly 11 years at technology vendor Fidessa, progressing to the role of global account director.

Schroeder said Chandler brings an “outstanding mix” of technical expertise, management and sales experience, as well as in-depth knowledge of the asset classes that the company covers. “Roger will play a significant role in our effort to grow our presence and client base in the EMEA region,” he added.