G.H. Financials chair Ibbotson leaving to be replaced by Kemp

Former Liffe chief executive Mark Ibbotson is stepping down as chair of G.H. Financials after a decade with the futures broker to be replaced by Jerome Kemp, the former head of futures at J.P. Morgan and Citigroup.

Ibbotson, who joined GHF as chief executive in 2013 before becoming its non-executive chairman in 2018, is leaving the London-based futures clearer to “pursue another opportunity in the market”, according to a statement by the firm.

Ibbotson will be replaced as chairman of the G.H. Financials board by Kemp subject to regulatory approval, the firm added in the statement released on Thursday.

Gedon Hertshten, the director and founder of G.H. Financials, said: “On behalf of GHF I would like to express my sincere thanks and best wishes to Mark for the significant progress the firm made under his leadership.”

Ibbotson spent 23 years with Liffe, latterly as chief executive and global head of clearing. In his time at Liffe, the exchange was sold to Euronext then the New York Stock Exchange and finally Intercontinental Exchange, to whose London-based clearing house Ibbotson transferred the Liffe clearing business in his final act at the firm.

Since leaving Liffe, Ibbotson has also served as a non-executive director of trade body FIA, an independent non-executive director of Oberon Investments and as a non-executive on the Financial Conduct Authority’s Markets Practitioner Panel.

Hertshten added: “We are thrilled to have Jerome join G.H. Financials as the company’s new chair.  Jerome has been at the forefront of the industry for many years and brings with him significant knowledge and insight.  Jerome will be building on Mark’s legacy in helping the company to focus on growth and diversification as G.H. Financials continues to expand its footprint in global derivatives markets.”

Kemp spent 17 years at J.P. Morgan where he was latterly the US investment bank’s global co-head of futures and options, and over-the-counter clearing before joining Citigroup in 2011 as that bank’s global head of derivatives.

Kemp left Citigroup in 2020 and became in September 2021 the president of Baton Systems, a role he left in September last year to become a senior advisor at the fintech.

GHF appointed in October 2022 Sharon Shi as the firm’s group chief executive, making Shi the most high-profile female chief executive in an industry still dominated by men. Shi described at that time the firm’s ambition to expand into new regional markets, client groups and asset classes.