Liffe appoints founder as chairman

The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (Liffe) has named Brian Williamson, the chairman of the Gerrard Group, as its new chairman. At the same time, the derivatives exchange has said its chief executive, Daniel Hodson, will leave his post.

Williamson, who is a founder of Liffe and a past chairman from 1985-88, said he is confident the exchange can be made more competitive. Although still the second largest futures and options exchange in the world, after the Chicago Board of Trade, Liffe has seen its market share of the important German Bund contract steadily eroded by the Deutsche Terminborse in Frankfurt.

Hodson said his five years at the exchange were characterised by "tremendous change and, for most the part, success," alluding to the Liffe's pre-eminence in Europe in the face of the rise of exchanges which make use of electronic trading systems.

Liffe's home-grown electronic system - Liffe Connect - goes live on 30 November for equity options, while traders will be given the choice of a platform for financial futures during the second quarter of next year.