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Rosenthal Collins Group (RCG), a leading independent futures clearing firm, today announced that it has embarked on a strategic global growth initiative as Chief Executive Officer Scott Gordon has just taken on the additional title of Chairman and the firm has promoted Maureen Downs to President, effective immediately.
In addition, four other members of senior management have been promoted, taking on the title of Executive Vice President.
Gordon has served as President and CEO of RCG since 2004. Downs has been Executive Vice President since 2000. Taking on the additional title of Executive Vice President are Richard Horgan, Chief Financial Officer; George Recchia, Chief Operating Officer; Brian Adams, Chief Information Officer; and Gerald Fishman, General Counsel.“Maureen has terrific leadership skills, and she has great depth of knowledge about our business and our industry,” Gordon said. “In her previous roles, she has helped establish and maintain RCG’s leading position. I look forward to working closely with her as we refine and implement an ambitious growth plan that leverages our state-of-the-art technology, global reach and intense client focus.”
“I am delighted and honored to take on the role of President and to accelerate the process of aggressively expanding our business,” Downs said. “Global demand for futures, both for hedging and speculative purposes, is staggering, and we intend to build market share with particular emphasis on economies in Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia. This demand is being fuelled by a wide array of new electronic futures products, and RCG is uniquely positioned to provide access to these new markets with our extraordinary trading technology.”
As Executive Vice President of RCG, Downs was responsible for spearheading the firm’s entry into electronic trading. RCG today is widely regarded as one of the leading providers of electronic trading services for futures, options and cash foreign exchange. Downs joined RCG in 1998 as Senior Vice President to head the company’s business development, marketing and strategic planning efforts. During her tenure, she has also served as Chief Financial Officer of Rosenthal Collins Equities and Director of Rosenthal Collins Foreign Exchange Limited.
Downs brings nearly 20 years of trading, business development and financial management experience to the role of President, beginning her futures career in 1986 as a partner with Downs Capital, a proprietary trading firm with operations at the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Board Options Exchange. In 1996, she became Chief Financial Officer of an independent futures commission merchant (FCM).
Prior to entering the futures industry, Downs spent several years in mergers and acquisitions, as Executive Director of Corporate Development for Sara Lee Corporation and Northwest Industries. A Certified Public Accountant, she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, summa cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law. She began her business career as an auditor for Price Waterhouse and practiced law with Gardner, Carton & Douglas in Chicago.
Downs serves on the FCM Committee of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the National Futures Association (NFA). She also serves on NFA’s Compliance Consultative Committee, which addresses important customer protection issues, and CME’s Business Owners Industry Advisory Council, addressing issues related to the recent CME/CBOT merger.
