2013 Cover Stories: The Sell Side

It's been a remarkably busy year for the sell side. From coping with new regulation, to the birth of swap execution facilities in the US, to continuing pressures on resources and cost, it's hard to say that it's not been a challenging environment for banks, brokers and exchanges alike.

Many have made it into a success, though, building out new technology, acquiring rivals or establishing themselves firmly in the plumbing of the market. We profiled four executives from the sell side this year, all of whom make for interesting interview subjects, and are doing remarkable things at their respectrive institutions.

Suresh Kumar, BNY Mellon
Chief Information Officer

As CIO of the oldest banking institution in the US, Kumar's challenges are many and complex. But a bit of background reading into his past shows that this isn't the first time he's grappled with issues the size of titans. After pioneering online brokerage at Pershing ─ a two-year job that turned into 26 ─ and conquering mobile at the bank, he's now turning his attention to so-called big data.

Bob Schmeider, Société Générale Corporate and Investment Bank
Chief Technology Officer, Americas

Science degrees and engineering backgrounds are easy to find in the financial services industry. The mathematical calculations and structured way of thinking are important, particularly as trading turns more and more towards algorithms and machines. For Bob Schmeider, though, interviewed just before SocGen's move to its new offices, this paid off in a different way entirely.

Iwona Sroka, Krajowy Depozyt Papierów Wartościowych (KDPW)
President and Chief Executive Officer

When it comes to spreading out from under the auspices of Soviet communism, few countries have taken such strident steps as Poland. At KDPW, the nation's central securities depository, it's been a lengthy, elaborate process to upgrade the country's market infrastructure to support the needs and particulars of modern trading, which Iwona Sroka is continuing to push forward.

Edwin Marcial, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE)
Chief Technology Officer

Edwin Marcial may not like the upstart label attached to ICE, but in all honesty, it's probably the most apt buzzword to describe the Atlanta-based exchange group, which shocked the world this time last year by announcing that it would acquire NYSE. Looking forward, Marcial's most challenging period at ICE is set to begin, as it integrates one of America's most iconic institutions.