ITG (NYSE:ITG), an independent execution broker and research provider, has added Nick Johnston as its newest Managing Director and European Head of Sales Trading, according to an ITG statement.

In his new role as the Managing Director, Mr. Johnston will help lead ITG’s European business, with a focus on sales trading, portfolio & index trading, and exchange-traded-funds (ETF) – he will be based out of London, where he will be reporting to ITG Europe’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rob Boardman.

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Mr. Johnston joins ITG from Barclays Capital, having worked as its Head of European Sales Trading. Additional stops also include similar senior level roles at JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers.

According to Mr. Boardman in a recent statement on the appointment, “Nick has built a reputation for building high-quality sales trading franchises during his career, so I am delighted that he has joined ITG. His sales ability and knowledge will maximise our potential and reinforce ITG as a leading global independent electronic brokerage.”

“I am excited to be joining such a high quality and experienced team. I am looking forward to further developing a robust liquidity offering across a range of platforms to suit to our clients’ needs in an evolving regulatory and supervisory European equity landscape,” added Mr. Johnston in an accompanying statement.

ITG recently made headlines last month after the company and its affiliate AlterNet Securities agreed to collectively pay $20.3 million to settle charges over the breach of dark pool trading confidentiality with the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC stipulated that the broker operated a secret trading desk and misused the confidential trading information of dark pool subscribers. According to an SEC manifest at the time, the investigation found that ITG operated an undisclosed proprietary trading desk known as ‘Project Omega’ for a period of at least one year.