OANDA’s K Duker KO’d as New President and Chief Executive Officer Gets Crowned-in

OANDA, a leading international currency broker has reported that it has appointed a new 'chief'. The notification comes only eighteen months after the recent CEO, K Duker, took over from one of the firm's co-founders, Michael Stumm. Banking and Payments veteran Ed Eger joins OANDA.

In a year which saw several high-end brokerage firms call it a day with a range of acquisitions, OANDA’s new appointment shows the firm's commitment to weathering the storm. Mr. Eger joins the firm from PayPal where he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager for the Americas. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Citibank’s credit card business.

Krishna “Kittu” Kolluri, Chairman of the Board, commented in a statement to the press: “It is a testimony to OANDA that we are now able to attract the calibre of talent that Ed brings. OANDA is on the cusp of becoming a major global brand and with an IPO on the horizon, Ed is the right person to take this business forward. His role is to bring our customers the best service and tools in the world and develop our organization to be able to cater to a rapidly growing, international audience. OANDA has a phenomenal history of successful and visionary innovation and this history will be crucial to our future. K Duker has played a vital interim role in implementing a core foundation for growth and I am delighted he will continue to be part of this firm.”

Michael Stumm, OANDA Founder and Board Member, spoke about the new appointment in a media briefing: “Ed’s arrival means OANDA customers will continue to experience all the things they have traditionally loved about OANDA – efficient trading, superb pricing and excellent customer service – while bringing new innovative products and services to OANDA’s expanding customer base.”

OANDA is known for hiring key members of its team outside the immediate FX sector, in 2011 it launched its European arm with the appointment of Anthony Broadbent, a former senior manager at Alliance Bernstein and Capital One. Mr. Eger’s experience in PayPal and Citibank is more geared to payment solutions as opposed to FX derivatives.

K Duker, interim CEO and OANDA executive committee member, said, “This is a wonderful coup for OANDA. Ed has a world-class reputation for leadership and growing his people. He deeply understands the new paradigm where disruptive technology converges with finance. He has rare and proven experience in driving customer-focused technology in developed and emerging markets around the world and has my total support.”

Last week the firm announced the departure of its CFO and CMO, Tim Smart, who had served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Stacey Grant-Thompsom who held the role of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

In addition to hiring at the top, the firm has expanded its board. OANDA has appointed Fassbind, Independent Non-Executive Director at HSBC, Mich Mathews, former CMO and SVP of Microsoft Corp, and Kuno Kennel, Chairman of the Board at Schwyzer Kantonalbank. OANDA has also added Vatsa Narasimha as Chief Strategy Officer, and Graeme Whittington as Chief Technology Officer. K Duker, interim CEO, will remain with the firm and on the executive committee.