Lee Olesky is an American financial executive and entrepreneur. He is co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Tradeweb
Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Tradeweb) is an international financial services company that builds and operates electronic over-the-counter (OTC) marketplaces for trading fixed income products, ETFs, and derivatives. The company was co-founded in 19 ...
(Nasdaq: TW), an international financial services company that builds and operates
electronic over-the-counter marketplaces for trading
fixed income products,
ETFs, and
derivatives
The derivative of a function is the rate of change of the function's output relative to its input value.
Derivative may also refer to:
In mathematics and economics
* Brzozowski derivative in the theory of formal languages
* Formal derivative, an ...
.
Olesky is a central figure in the development of
electronic trading
In finance, an electronic trading platform also known as an online trading platform, is a computer software program that can be used to place orders for financial products over a network with a financial intermediary. Various financial products c ...
[Agini, Samuel]
Tradeweb chief wants to create Amazon for bonds.
Fn Financial News. 2018-11-16. retrieved 2021-11-19. in the global
financial markets
A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial ma ...
, an "electronic-trading pioneer" according to
Fortune Magazine who built "a $21 billion juggernaut that has completely upended the Byzantine world of bond trading.". He is a frequent commentator on technology, the modernization of markets, and the growth of electronic trading.
Education
Olesky earned a B.A. in history from
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
and a J.D. from
George Washington University Law School.
[Fixed Income Market Structure Advisory Committee Members](_blank)
Securities and Exchange Commission. 2020-09-03. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
Career
Credit Suisse First Boston
In 1989, Olesky joined
Credit Suisse First Boston
Credit Suisse First Boston (also known as CSFB and CS First Boston) is the investment banking affiliate of Credit Suisse headquartered in New York.
The company was created by the merger of First Boston Corporation and Credit Suisse Group in 1988 ...
, then known as
First Boston : ''For the company after its acquisition by Credit Suisse, see Credit Suisse First Boston (known as CSFB and CS First Boston)''
The First Boston Corporation was a New York-based bulge bracket investment bank, founded in 1932 and acquired by Cred ...
, where he worked on derivatives. From 1993 to 1999 he worked in a variety of management positions, ultimately as Chief Operating Officer for the Fixed Income Americas division. While at Credit Suisse, Olesky co-wrote the business plan for
Tradeweb
Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Tradeweb) is an international financial services company that builds and operates electronic over-the-counter (OTC) marketplaces for trading fixed income products, ETFs, and derivatives. The company was co-founded in 19 ...
, assembled a consortium of investors, and helped launch Tradeweb as a multi-bank joint venture in 1998,
creating the first multi-dealer online marketplace for
U.S. Treasury Securities.
[The 2014 Tech 50: Lee Olesky](_blank)
Institutional Investor. 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
He served as the first chairman of Tradeweb's board of directors.
[The 2016 Tech 50: Lee Olesky](_blank)
Institutional Investor. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
BrokerTec Global
In 1999, Olesky left Credit Suisse and relocated to London to co-found BrokerTec Global,
another joint venture platform. He served as the founding CEO until BrokerTec was acquired in 2002 by
ICAP plc ICAP may refer to:
Computers
* ICAP/4, analog circuit emulation software
* Internet Content Adaptation Protocol, a lightweight HTTP-like protocol
* Inter exchange Client Address Protocol for Ethereum platform
Organizations
* ICAP at Columbia Univ ...
, a UK-based inter-broker dealer business focused on electronic
financial markets
A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial ma ...
and
post-trade business for
financial institutions
Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial insti ...
.
Tradeweb
Following the acquisition of BrokerTec Global, Olesky rejoined Tradeweb as President in 2002.
[The 2013 Tech 50: Lee Olesky](_blank)
Institutional Investor. 2013-07-16. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
He remained in London, where he focused on building out Tradeweb's presence in Europe, as well as the company's expansion into derivatives and Asia, the sale of Tradeweb to
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre.
Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...
in 2004, and the acquisition of LeverTrade in 2006.
In 2008, Olesky returned to New York and was appointed CEO of Tradeweb. That same year, he led the acquisition of Hilliard Farber. In 2011, he led the acquisition of the brokerage division of Rafferty Capital Markets to expand Tradeweb's presence in the institutional market. In 2013, Olesky led the acquisition of BondDesk to further expand Tradeweb's presence in the retail market.
Following two decades of private ownership, Olesky led Tradeweb's
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on April 4, 2019. Olesky has led Tradeweb from an early-stage startup with $8 million in financing to becoming one of the most successful IPOs of 2019.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, as the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
prompted an increased shift to
remote work, Olesky highlighted the accelerated reliance on
electronic trading
In finance, an electronic trading platform also known as an online trading platform, is a computer software program that can be used to place orders for financial products over a network with a financial intermediary. Various financial products c ...
. Olesky told
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
's Matt Wirz, "The vast majority of folks inside Tradeweb and at our clients are working remotely, and that change in environment provided an opportunity for firms like us. Having a good digital source of information and ability to execute is key."
In February 2022, Olesky was appointed Chairman of the Board of Tradeweb and announced he would retire as CEO at the end of 2022.
Billy Hultwill succeed him as CEO at the start of 2023.
Other positions held
Olesky serves on the board of trustees of
Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is a hospital network in New York City. It was formed in September 2013 by merging the operations of Continuum Health Partners and the Mount Sinai Medical Center.
The Health System is structured around eight hospit ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and is a member of the board of
Credit Benchmark, a provider of consensus credit risk analytics. Olesky is a member of the International Advisory Board of BritishAmerican Business and a member of the Leadership Council of
Habitat for Humanity New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Westchester County
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
. He was previously a member of a member of the
SEC's Fixed Income Market Structure Advisory Committee (FIMSAC)
and the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Technology Advisory Committee (TAC).
Awards and Honors
Olesky has received numerous awards and honors over the course of his career, including 11 appearances in
Institutional Investor's annual rankings of the industry's top financial technology innovators.
He was named CEO of the Year b
Markets Mediain 2019, and received the BritishAmerican Business Entrepreneurial Award in 2016. In 2022, Olesky was included in the "TabbFORUM 40" list of financial market Innovators and was named "Person of the Decade" in the 2022 U.S. Markets Choice Award.
References
External links
Tradeweb.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olesky, Lee
American chief executives of financial services companies
American corporate directors
George Washington University alumni
Tulane University alumni
1961 births
Living people