Nandapurkar defects to Eurex US from CME

Eurex US – a new futures exchange that is expected to gain regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) by the end of March – has appointed Satish Nandapurkar as its chief executive.

Nandapurkar was previously head of products and services at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Prior to joining the CME as head of electronic business in 2000, Nandapurkar was global head of foreign exchange options at Bank of America.

As chief executive, Nandapurkar will be appointed to the board of directors of Eurex US. The exchange also said Joseph Murphy, chief executive of futures broker Refco Global Futures has been appointed to the board.

The Swiss-German derivatives exchange announced back in September 2003 its intention to launch the US futures exchange. Since then, its relationship with the major Chicago-based exchanges - the Chicago Board of Trade and CME - has been vitriolic, making the appointment of Nandapurkar somewhat of a coup for the European exchange.