NYSE Euronext yesterday picked Duncan Niederauer as its new chief executive in the wake of John Thain’s surprise departure for Merrill Lynch.
Despite having formally joined NYSE Euronext as co-president and chief operating officer only in April, Niederauer, 48, was seen as a logical choice to be Thain’s successor.
He figured prominently as a Goldman Sachs adviser on the NYSE’s merger with Archipelago and has worn almost every hat possible in taking Wall Street’s equity trading into the 21st century. He also ran Goldman’s equity execution business and led Spear, Leeds & Kellogg’s global clearing and execution businesses.
One veteran NYSE Euronext floor official told The Post that Niederauer “understands the market and what the future should look like. He is a good listener and seeks consensus even if he does what you don’t want.”
In practical terms, Niederauer will have three jobs: scouting for new acquisitions to continue the NYSE’s global equity trading expansion, offering new – and higher-margin – derivative products and continuing what has been his life’s work: eliminating the “human interface” in trading.
As Goldman Sachs’ longtime “markets strategist,” Niederauer has long been a foe of the specialist system, at one point loudly declaring that he “didn’t want five guys named Vinny executing my trades.” The comments sparked trading floor outrage and Niederauer was said to have later apologized.
Nevertheless, the headcount on the NYSE’s trading floor has dropped by more than 60 percent as electronic trading has eliminated jobs and slashed profit margins. Yesterday, Susquehanna Specialists dropped its market-making operations.