JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 27, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Direct Edge announced today that Tom McManus will assume the role of General Counsel of the Company effective August 15, 2011. In his role as General Counsel, McManus will be responsible for all legal and public policy affairs of the company. Mr. McManus, who will continue to serve as Direct Edge's Chief Compliance Officer and the Chief Regulatory Officer of its registered exchanges, will continue to report to William O'Brien, Direct Edge's Chief Executive Officer. As General Counsel, Mr. McManus succeeds Eric Hess, who is leaving the Company to pursue other opportunities.
"Direct Edge is extremely fortunate to have an executive of Tom's caliber to step into the role of General Counsel, and I look forward to continuing to work with him as we continue to move the Company forward," said Mr. O'Brien. "I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Eric Hess for his commitment and contributions to the Company. We wish him success in all of his future endeavors."
"I am honored to accept this new role," said Mr. McManus. "In the wake of our conversion to exchange status, I feel there are enormous opportunities ahead for Direct Edge."
Mr. McManus came to Direct Edge in July 2011 from Barclays Capital, where he was Head of Compliance, Americas, as well as the Chief Compliance Officer of Barclays Capital Inc. and Global Head of Compliance for Barclays Capital's Equities and Prime Services divisions.
Prior to joining Barclays Capital in 2009, Mr. McManus was a Partner with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in New York. Prior to that, he was with Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. for nearly 11 years, serving as Managing Director and Counsel responsible for their Institutional Equity and Prime Brokerage divisions.
Mr. McManus began his career as an attorney with the SEC's Division of Market Regulation (now the Division of Trading and Markets) in Washington, D.C., and followed that with a position as Associate with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in New York.
More information about Direct Edge is available at www.directedge.com">www.directedge.com.
About Direct Edge
Direct Edge, America's newest stock exchange, offers the next generation of displayed markets. Direct Edge utilizes two independent exchange platforms and unique order types to match complementary forms of liquidity based on sensitivity to transaction cost, fill rate, and fill speed, while maintaining high execution quality and low latencies. Headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., Direct Edge is owned by a consortium that includes the International Securities Exchange, Knight Capital Group, Inc., Citadel Derivatives Group, The Goldman Sachs Group, and J.P. Morgan. More information about Direct Edge is available at http://www.directedge.com. Everybody Needs Some Edge.
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