Rostro Group, the parent company of the popular retail trading brand Scope, has appointed two executives to senior positions, the Dubai-based fintech said in a statement today (Wednesday).

Demetra Charalambous has joined as Group Finance Director, while Sammy Christou has been named Managing Director of Systematic Market Making, marking the latest additions to the company's management structure.

Rostro Group Names New Finance Director, Trading Head

Charalambous, who will be based in Limassol, has held senior finance positions in the trading industry for the past decade and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. She has worked as Head of Finance at Binance for the past three years. Previously, she held a similar position at eToro.

Meanwhile, Christou brings 17 years of experience in trading and risk management roles at UK brokerage firms and will operate from London. In the past, Christou worked with several other companies in the industry, beginning his career as a trader at GAIN Capital. He then advanced to the role of senior trader at LCG and eventually became Head of Trading at Equiti Capital. For the past four years, he has been associated with Advanced Markets Group and Exinity as Chief Risk Officer.

“As we continue to build out the Rostro proposition into a business that delivers a wider range of products and services, I am delighted to welcome both Demetra and Sammy to the team,” Michael Ayres, CEO of Rostro Group, commented. “Their extensive industry experience will be a genuine asset to the company, not only when it comes to enhancing day to day operations, but in helping us formulate and execute the longer-term strategy, too.”

The appointments follow Rostro's recent expansion into futures and options trading, connecting institutional clients with global exchanges. This initiative is being overseen by Saul Knapp, who serves as Chief Risk Officer and Managing Director of Futures & Options.

The Year of AI and Blockchain technologies

According to the CEO, the firm plans to implement artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies later this year, as part of its strategy to handle more of the trade cycle internally. He noted increased market activity and growing interest from potential counterparties in early 2025.

“As we grow our institutional client book, committing more resource to systematic functions supports our mission of handling a greater proportion of each trade cycle in house,” Ayres added. “Even though we are less than a month into the new year, it’s abundantly clear that market activity is on the increase and a growing number of counterparties are eager to work with us.”

Rostro Group, established in 2021 by Roger Hambury, operates multiple brokerage brands and maintains investments in fintech businesses. The company provides financial products and services globally through its various subsidiaries.

“I Don't Hire More People Than I’d Like to Oversee”

Rostro, which recently rebranded Scope Markets as Scope, has been highly active in hiring financial industry experts, particularly those with experience in FX/CFD firms.

Finance Magnates recently interviewed Ayres to discuss the latest hires and expansion plans. At the end of last year, he mentioned that his company had surpassed 200 employees, and the number has continued to grow in January.

“The hires were really around certain regions... We won’t keep running at this rate; otherwise, I'll probably end up with more people than I would like to oversee,” he noted.

Key additions to Scope Prime’s team include Andrew Taylor as Head of APAC and Mirian Rostian as Head of Southeast Asia. The company also brought on Gaby Kanj, an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience, to oversee operations in the MENA markets. Additionally, Fraser Nelson joined Scope Markets earlier this year as Global Head of Business Development.