NEW YORK, NY – (May 16, 2012) — BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP) (“BGC Partners” or “BGC”), a leading global brokerage company servicing the wholesale financial and property markets, today announced the appointment of Michael A. Riffice as Managing Director and Head of Futures and Options, Americas. In this role, Mr. Riffice will be responsible for spearheading the growth of BGC’s futures and options business in the Americas.
Mr. Riffice joins BGC with more than 18 years’ experience in the financial services industry, most recently in the Inter Dealer Broker sector. He has held senior roles at a number of financial services firms including Barclays Capital and SBC/UBS. Mr. Riffice began his career in the military, serving as a naval aviator in the First Gulf War. Based in New York, Mr. Riffice will report to JP Aubin, Executive Managing Director and Global Head Listed Products & Structured Solutions.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Aubin said: “Mike joins at an exciting and pivotal time for BGC, as we seek new opportunities to expand our futures and options business in the Americas and continue the successes we have delivered in this key business area across Europe. Mike’s wealth of industry knowledge and management experience makes him a tremendous asset and a natural fit for our Company.”
Louis Scotto, Executive Managing Director and General Manager, BGC North America, said: “This appointment underscores our continued commitment to strengthening BGC’s presence in key markets and expanding our product offerings to meet client demands. With Mike’s help we expect to expand this division and drive growth in the Americas, a region with tremendous opportunities for our business.”
Mr. Riffice said: “I am delighted to join BGC and immediately set to work on contributing to its continued growth and success. With BGC’s reputation, record of performance, talented management and brokers, and prospects for continuing growth, this is an outstanding time to join JP and his team.”
About BGC Partners:
BGC Partners is a leading global brokerage company primarily servicing the wholesale financial markets. The Company specializes in the brokering of a broad range of products, including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equities, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, commercial real estate, commodities, futures, and structured products. BGC also provides a full range of services, including trade execution, broker-dealer services, clearing, processing, information, and other back-office services to a broad range of financial and non-financial institutions. BGC’s integrated platform is designed to provide flexibility to customers with regard to price discovery, execution and processing of transactions, and enables them to use voice, hybrid, or in many markets, fully electronic brokerage services in connection with transactions executed either OTC or through an exchange.
Through its eSpeed, BGC Trader™, and BGC Market Data brands, BGC offers financial technology solutions, market data, and analytics related to select financial instruments and markets. Through its Newmark Grubb Knight Frank brand, the Company offers commercial real estate tenants, owners, investors and developers a wide range of services including leasing and corporate advisory, investment sales and financial services, consulting, project and development management, and property and facilities management. BGC’s customers include many of the world’s largest banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments, corporations, property owners, real estate developers, and investment firms. Named after fixed income trading innovator B. Gerald Cantor, BGC has offices in dozens of major markets, including New York and London, as well as in Atlanta, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Moscow, Nyon, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington D.C. and Zurich. For more information, please visit www.bgcpartners.com.
Discussion of Forward-Looking Statements by BGC Partners
Statements in this press release regarding BGC Partners’ business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see BGC Partners’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors set forth in our public filings, including our most recent Form 10-K and any updates to such risk factors contained in subsequent Form 10-Q or Form 8-K filings.
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