AFTAs 2019: Best Third-Party Technology, Vendor—Ann Neidenbach

Ann Neidenbach, chief information officer of shared services and global head of technology at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) is the winner of the best third-party technology vendor CEO or CIO category at the 2019 AFTAs. Neidenbach’s remit includes overseeing the group’s technology services, business operations and corporate services, managing teams in the UK, France, Italy, Romania, Sri Lanka and the US.

Assuming the role of CIO of shared services in mid-2018, Neidenbach drafted LSEG’s transformational roadmap, focusing on areas such as operational efficiencies, resiliency and its approach to innovation. Her vision for the group’s multi-year transformation strategy consists of three layers: technology, process and culture.

Under Neidenbach’s guidance, LSEG is developing a real-time clearing, risk management and settlement platform for its London Clearing House (LCH), allowing it to increase its capacity to clear 20 million trades per day. She is also responsible for the group’s multi-year cloud program, in which it aims to migrate 60% of its service delivery and corporate computing to the cloud. The move seeks to improve LSEG’s product development, increase its overall computing capabilities, enhance its time-to-market and strengthen its security.

LSEG is also leveraging cloud for DevOps and for deploying its services through Amazon Cloud Services. For example, in November 2019, AAX launched its digital asset exchange using Millenium Exchange in the cloud. 2020 is set to be an eventful year for the technology group with the acquisition of Refinitiv, expected to close sometime during the third or fourth quarter. Additionally, LSEG is also looking to expand its client market reach with the launch of new regtech solutions and clearing services for brokers-dealers. “We are very focused on continuing to compete and to sell software and services in the exchange and clearinghouse space, but we do see a larger opportunity to provide services to broker-dealers where there is a bigger base of customers,” Neidenbach says.