Finance Magnates announces the CEOs nominated for the FM Awards 2026 CEO of the Year, recognising business leaders shaping the future of online trading, fintech and financial technology. Industry professionals can now cast their votes and have their say on this year’s winners.
The FM Awards 2026 has officially announced the nominees for its CEO of the Year categories, bringing together senior executives and founders from across the global financial services industry.
The nominations recognise leaders whose work has had an impact on business growth, product development, technology, international expansion and the wider financial markets industry.
This year’s CEO awards feature two categories:
Brokerage (B2C) CEO of the Year 2026
Fintech (B2B) CEO of the Year 2026
11 senior leaders from the global brokerage and fintech sectors have been nominated for the FM Awards 2026 CEO of the Year categories. Meet the nominees and cast your vote.
Brokerage (B2C) CEO of the Year 2026
Adam Phillips, CEO at FXT
Adam Phillips is the CEO of FXT, bringing 25+ years of institutional expertise in prime brokerage and multi-asset management. He has managed over $74M in mandates, executing $2B monthly through tier-1 banks. At FXT, Adam leads global expansion and strategic innovation, notably FXT AI - a trader "co-pilot" providing real-time position analysis and macro insights. He holds an Economics degree from USYD and extensive regulatory experience across ASIC and NFA jurisdictions.
Fazril Izwan Nor Azmi, CEO at TradingPRO
Fazril Izwan is the Chief Executive Officer of TradingPRO, leading the company’s strategic direction, global expansion, and business operations. With extensive experience in the financial trading industry, he oversees corporate strategy, business development, product innovation, and international growth. His leadership has earned industry recognition, including being named among the Top 50 Financial Markets CEOs in the Middle East.
Jun Yu, CEO at AIFO Funding
Jun, Yu is a financial technology professional with over 8 years of experience in the trading exchange industry, specialising in digital assets, cryptocurrency markets, Web3 technologies, and the development of scalable financial platforms. With a strong understanding of the evolving digital finance landscape, he has supported businesses in identifying growth opportunities and delivering innovative solutions within competitive global markets.
As a data-driven business leader, Jun has extensive experience working with cross-functional teams to develop trading platform strategies, optimise operational performance, and enhance user experiences. His expertise spans business development, strategic partnerships, product growth, and the execution of complex initiatives within fast-paced financial environments.
Throughout his career, Jun has successfully led multiple 0-to-1 projects, helping establish and scale new business ventures while contributing to significant revenue and profitability growth. He has developed a strong network across the global financial ecosystem, including relationships with payment providers, technology partners, and industry stakeholders.
Passionate about financial innovation and emerging technologies, Jun continues to explore new opportunities at the intersection of finance, blockchain, and technology. He is committed to helping businesses adapt, scale, and create sustainable value within the rapidly evolving digital economy.
Khaled Walid Basim A'yesh, CEO at FundingPips
Khaled A'yesh is the Founder and CEO of FundingPips and Trading Brands, leading global strategy, innovation, and growth. Under his leadership, FundingPips has expanded to over 3 million traders across 195 countries and paid more than $280 million in trader rewards, establishing one of the world's fastest-growing and most recognized proprietary trading ecosystems through strategic partnerships, and community-driven initiatives while driving operational excellence and long-term business growth.
Ziad Melhem, CEO at CFI Financial Group
Ziad Melhem is CEO of CFI Financial Group, leading the Group’s global strategy, operational performance and expansion across MENA and key international markets. Previously CFI’s Group CMO, he brings extensive experience across finance, technology and business development, with a focus on long-term value creation, client trust and sustainable growth.
Fintech (B2B) CEO of the Year 2026
Aeby Samuel, CEO at FYNXT
Aeby Samuel is the Founder and CEO of FYNXT, with over 20 years of experience driving growth and innovation in the fintech industry. Over the past 8 years, he has led FYNXT's growth from a single idea into a company of 100+ individuals operating across 4 offices globally, serving brokers and financial institutions worldwide with its modular Brokerage Operating System.
As CEO, Aeby is responsible for the overall strategic direction and growth of the company. This includes shaping product strategy and roadmaps, overseeing new feature and platform launches, and staying closely aligned with evolving industry needs to ensure FYNXT's offerings remain relevant and competitive. He is also responsible for driving the team in a unified direction, aligning departments around shared goals, and building an organizational culture rooted in trust and collaboration.
Beyond internal leadership, a fintech CEO like Aeby is expected to represent the company to clients, partners, investors, and industry stakeholders, ensuring regulatory awareness, market credibility, and sustainable business growth. Aeby is known for a trust-driven, client-first leadership style, building lasting relationships with clients, partners, and team members through a genuine understanding of the industry and a consistently positive, service-oriented approach.
ristian Vlasceanu, CEO at Centroid Solutions
Recognized as an authority on cutting-edge technology, Cristian Vlasceanu rose through software engineering roles to lead Centroid Solutions as CEO. He oversees a talented team, supports clients, and drives product improvement. Guided by a forward-looking vision, Cristian led Centroid to establish its One-Centroid Ecosystem, broadening the offering to include a multi-asset trading platform and CLM/CRM alongside its core connectivity bridge, risk engine, and network infrastructure solutions.
Evgenii Tiapkin, CEO at Freedom24
Evgenii Tiapkin is CEO of Freedom24, the European subsidiary of NASDAQ-listed Freedom Holding Corp.
For over a decade, he has led its transformation from an emerging brokerage into one of Europe’s fastest-growing digital investment platforms, expanding its presence across the region to serve more than 600,000 clients with a team of over 500 professionals.
With more than two decades of experience in financial services, Evgenii is responsible for the company’s strategy, growth, technology, operations and regulatory development. Under his leadership, Freedom24 has combined proprietary technology with a highly regulated operating model, positioning the business at the intersection of fintech innovation and institutional-grade governance.
Beyond scaling the company’s European brokerage footprint, Evgenii is driving the evolution of Freedom24 into a broader digital financial ecosystem, driving investment in AI-powered "neo-compliance", proprietary technology and next-generation digital financial services. His leadership has been instrumental in strengthening the company’s reputation for transparency, operational excellence and long-term sustainable growth across European markets.
Herman Shaho, CEO at Axcera
Herman Shaho is Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Axcera, shaping the company’s product vision, technology strategy, and long-term direction. With more than a decade of experience across fintech, SaaS, and software development, and over 500 commercial builds delivered across Europe and the Middle East and he is focused on advancing the infrastructure, automation, and product standards driving the next generation of prop trading.
Jonathan Squires, CEO at Tapaas
As CEO of Tapaas, Jon Squires is pioneering real-time risk intelligence, leading the rollout of Cross-Broker Intelligence - exposing trading abuse no single broker can see alone. He has shaped retail trading from every seat: Group CEO of Capital.com and Currency.com, Executive Chairman then Group CEO of Skilling, Chief Digital Officer at Exness, one of the world's largest multi-asset brokers, and, amongst many other ventures, Group CEO of iBus Media of the Stars Group (now Flutter).
Syed Abdullah Jayed, CEO at FundedNext
Syed Abdullah Jayed co-founded FundedNext in 2022 with his brother Abdullah Galib and has served as CEO since launch. He leads strategy, product, and global operations across a bootstrapped fintech that has paid over US$350 million to traders in 180+ countries, grown to 2.77 million registered users, and expanded from a single-product CFD firm into a multi-asset platform spanning CFDs and Futures, run by a 530-person team across five regional offices.
Now it’s Time to Vote
With the nominations announced, the next stage of the FM Awards 2026 CEO Awards is now underway: community voting.
The CEO Awards voting process gives the financial markets community a direct role in deciding the outcome.
Community voting accounts for 30% of the final result, while the FM Awards judging panel accounts for the remaining 70%.
This means votes from industry professionals form an important part of the final result, alongside the assessment of the independent judging panel.
Have Your Say
If you work in financial markets, brokerage, fintech, trading technology or related services, you can take part in the voting process.
Vote for your preferred CEO in the FM Awards 2026 CEO of the Year Awards.
👉 VOTE NOW
From Nomination to the FM Awards Gala
The FM Awards 2026 process is built around three key stages: nominations, voting and the final announcement. The awards programme includes an open nomination period followed by community and judging panel voting, before the winners are announced at the gala.
The FM Awards 2026 Gala Dinner will take place in Cyprus on 6 November 2026, where the winners will be announced and presented with their physical trophies.
For the nominated CEOs, the coming weeks provide an opportunity to engage their professional networks and encourage colleagues, clients and industry peers to participate in the voting process.
For the wider financial markets community, it is a chance to recognise the people leading companies across brokerage and fintech.
🗳️ Vote Now
The nominees have been announced. The decision now includes the industry.
