MAS Markets, an FCA-regulated multi-asset liquidity provider, has appointed Saul Knapp as Chief Risk Officer (CRO), the company said today (Wednesday).
Knapp joins from Rostro Group's institutional arm Scope Prime, where he had served as Managing Director of Futures and Options while continuing in his Group CRO capacity since early 2025.
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In his new role, Knapp will oversee market, operational and credit risk frameworks at MAS Markets, the company said. He referenced operational resilience and technology as priorities.
"There is a strong opportunity to further enhance operational resilience, leverage technology..." Knapp said in the company's announcement.
A Three-Decade Career on the Floor and in Risk
Knapp's career in markets stretches back to 1992, when he managed a group of derivatives traders and runners on the floor of the London International Financial Futures Exchange.
After a stint as an assistant risk manager at KAS Associate Bank, he moved through proprietary trading roles at Saxon Financials covering bonds, FX and energy, eventually heading the firm's global market risk team.
He spent two years as CRO at Equiti Capital between June 2020 and May 2022, having joined the broker as a senior trader. Before that, he held a brief CRO posting at Britannia Global Markets and earlier worked as a senior trader at GKFX.
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Knapp moved to Rostro Group in mid-2022, first as Group Chief Operating Officer and then as Group CRO from January 2024.
A year later, he was promoted to Managing Director of Futures and Options when Rostro launched its direct market access offering through partnerships with order management providers TT and CQG, opening client routes into CME Group, ICE and Eurex contracts.
CEO and founder Simon Blackledge, who described the hire as a "key milestone" for the firm, said the appointment supports the company's expansion strategy, according to the announcement.
MAS Markets Builds Out After 92% Revenue Jump
The appointment continues a hiring run at MAS Markets. The firm reported full-year 2025 revenue of £6.13 million, a 92% increase from £3.19 million the year prior, with trading volumes up 81% year-on-year.
Gross profit reached £3.23 million, although EBITDA of £535,082 reflected a higher operating cost base, which the company attributed to investment in staff and infrastructure.
In January, the company appointed three institutional executives, including former Global Market Index Head of Institutional Sales Michael Quirk.
Last summer, parent MAS Group recruited former England rugby international and ex-Lehman Brothers banker Simon Halliday as Key Partnerships Adviser, broadening the firm's outreach across traditional and digital finance.
MAS Markets hosts execution infrastructure in the LD4 and TY3 data centres, the company said, with relationships across Tier 1 bank counterparties.
Liquidity Providers Stack Senior Risk Hires
Risk leadership has become a recurring theme across the institutional FX and CFD ecosystem.
Advanced Markets, an institutional FX and prime-of-prime provider, appointed Sammy Christou as Chief Risk Officer in 2021. Christou subsequently joined Rostro Group as Managing Director of Systematic Market Making in early 2025.
Multi-asset broker Sucden Financial earlier this year promoted former FCA Lead Associate Bruno Almeida to Chief Financial Officer after recruiting him as director of regulatory and financial risks.
