First Derivatives Promotes Mark Sykes to CTO

First Derivatives (FD), a product and consultancy provider for the finance industry, has a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), with the firm appointing Mark Sykes to the role with immediate effect.

Sykes assumed the role of CTO with more than two decades worth of experience in implementing strategies for enterprise technology. He has been part of the FD team since 2016, originally joining as the COO of Kx Systems.

In his new role, Sykes will be in charge of developing the product strategy for the Group’s solutions. Specifically, his priorities include embedding Machine Learning Machine Learning Machine learning is defined as an application of artificial intelligence (AI) that looks to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning is a rapidly growing field that also focuses on the development of computer programs that can access data and use it learn for themselves.This has many potential benefits for most industries and sectors, including the financial services industry. Machine Learning ExplainedMachine learning can be explained Machine learning is defined as an application of artificial intelligence (AI) that looks to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning is a rapidly growing field that also focuses on the development of computer programs that can access data and use it learn for themselves.This has many potential benefits for most industries and sectors, including the financial services industry. Machine Learning ExplainedMachine learning can be explained Read this Term in the company's solutions.

Furthermore, Sykes will work towards enabling Kx, a data analysis software developer and vendor, to work seamlessly across hybrid Cloud Cloud The cloud or cloud computing helps provides data and applications that can be accessed from nearly any location in the world so long as a stable Internet connection exists. Categorized into three cloud services, cloud computing is segmented into Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS). In terms of trading, the versatility of the cloud service allows retail traders the ability to test out new trading strategies, backtest pre-existing conc The cloud or cloud computing helps provides data and applications that can be accessed from nearly any location in the world so long as a stable Internet connection exists. Categorized into three cloud services, cloud computing is segmented into Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS). In terms of trading, the versatility of the cloud service allows retail traders the ability to test out new trading strategies, backtest pre-existing conc Read this Term environments, the statement said.

Commenting on his new role, Sykes said: “I am delighted to take on this important role at an exciting time in the Group’s development."

“Kx continues to set performance benchmarks for the analysis of vast quantities of real-time and historic data and a key part of my task is to increase its capabilities and ease of use, to help our current and future customers handle their most demanding data challenges.”

During his time with FD, Sykes has driven some big technology initiatives for the group. One of these was the launch of new features such as anymap for unstructured data.

Mark Sykes' Career Before FD

In addition to working for the FD Group, Sykes is also a Director at Brainpool AI, an artificial intelligence consultancy. According to his LinkedIn, he embarked on this opportunity in February of this year.

During his career, Sykes has worked at a number of top-tier investment banks including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he was a Managing Director, Citi, and Deutsche Bank. At the latter two firms, he was a Director.

“Mark has driven huge improvements in the performance and ease of deployment of Kx in the past three years which have helped cement its place as the world’s leading time-series database. I am delighted he has taken on this critical role as we aim to make our technology ubiquitous across multiple industries,” added Brian Conlon, Chief Executive Officer of FD.