Newsmakers

JPMorgan Defector to Start FpML-Tools Community
Brian Lynn, vice president of eTrading Systems at JPMorgan Chase and Co., has left the firm to launch an FpML-tools community through a new company called Gem Soup. Lynn says he left JPMorgan Chase for the opportunity to work on the adoption of FpML in the derivatives industry, an opportunity that he didn't see within the firm.

His goal is to create an organization devoted to collaborative development of software tools that will support FpML communications between firms. "There are a lot of firms working on FpML internally, but there aren't many who are communicating outside of the firm using it. Bank of America is one company that is using it internally and is one of the few to take the effort externally," Lynn says.

"I left to start the initiative to help speed up the deployment of the standard. I felt there was a latent need," he says. Lynn points out that there is an initiative called SwapsWire - a consortium that has a number of investors from the derivatives community - using FpML to communicate with each other. However, he says this consortium is focused on trade confirmation only.

Lynn's initiative is not limited to trade confirmation. Rather, it enables a number of processes, including trade validation and reconciliation. "(It enables communication on) any part of the trade cycle. It is only limited by the imaginations of people," says Lynn. The concept is to create a community that would share enhancements to tools as they are made. Gem Soup has identified seven tool sets that it will test in the first quarter.

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Fidelity Taps McColgan for President
Fidelity Brokerage Company has named Ellyn McColgan, formerly president of Fidelity Financial Intermediary Services, as president.

McColgan's initial challenge will entail the management of Fidelity's retail- and institutional-brokerage operations, as well as its direct mutual-fund sales.

Fidelity Brokerage Company is comprised of Fidelity Personal Investments, Fidelity Institutional Brokerage Group and Brokerage Operations and Technology.

In her new role, McColgan will oversee 9,000 employees located in seven regional sites throughout the United States. In addition, she oversees 87 investor centers nationwide. McColgan, who has been with Fidelity for 12 years, succeeds Kevin J. Kelly.

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Bernie Weinstein Resurfaces at Cantor Fitzgerald
Bernie Weinstein, formerly president of Thomson Financial's Sales and Trading Group and founder of ILX Systems, has joined Cantor Fitzgerald as senior managing director. Weinstein left Thomson in June for reasons that were debated. The company said he was retiring and other sources suggested that there was friction between Weinstein and top management.

In August, Weinstein began consulting with Cantor after being offered the job by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick, a friend and former client. Recently, he was offered a permanent role that began Jan. 1. He reports directly to Lutnick and will work closely with Joe Noviello, Cantor's chief technology officer.

As senior managing director, Weinstein will be working with several of Cantor's businesses on technology. He notes that he has been working on a number of projects, including new products for Cantor Market Data and eSpeed Software Solutions that will be released this year. He is particularly excited about the development of a new research product called Cantor View that will be launched in the first quarter. Cantor View will provide commentary on developments in the market, a global perspective of events, information on events as they break and commentary on the significance of those events. Although Cantor has a news service called Cantor Morning News, this is its first research service. The research will be provided by internal employees who will offer the real-time commentary. Other projects include making enhancements to the eSpeed service and basically "whatever Howard wants me to do," Weinstein says.

Weinstein notes that he is enjoying the transition from Thomson. "This firm has an entrepreneurial spirit. Because of how affected the firm was after 9-11 - one quarter of all the losses were at this one firm - people here have a sense of purpose that goes beyond normal business, as they know that a portion of profits are going to families who have lost. People have photos of their close friends on their desks and, as a result, they focus on results. There is no bureaucracy and it is an environment that I thrive in."