Spyros Capralos, Chairman Of The Athens Exchange, Elected As New FESE President

The General Assembly of all Full and Associate Members met on Tuesday, 17th June 2008 under the chairmanship of outgoing FESE President Jukka Ruuska, Executive Vice President of NASDAQ OMX. The Assembly voted unanimously to elect Spyros Capralos, Chairman of the Athens Exchange as the new FESE President for the statutory term of two years. At the same time, Frank Gerstenschläger, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse AG, was elected Vice President. Both will assume their office as of 18th June 2008.

Jukka Ruuska, outgoing FESE President, noted: FESE overarching objectives are to foster the global competitiveness of European exchanges and to promote the recognition of the exchanges and their contribution to the European and global economy. Providing a forum for open and forward-looking debate on capital markets FESE has positioned itself as a powerful and respected voice in Europe. Its leadership in the launch of the European Code of Conduct for Clearing and Settlement is widely recognised. Similarly, FESE demonstrated leadership in the design of an efficient alternative method for derivatives transaction reporting as part of the implementation of MiFID. I am also happy to see that FESE has contributed to the understanding of European capital markets through its excellent statistics and studies. It is truly an honour to serve as the President of the Federation during a period of not only significant achievements by also exciting changes and constant progress in the exchange world. I have great confidence in the incoming President and Vice President and wish them both all the best”.

Spyros Capralos, incoming FESE President, said: “I am very honoured and pleased to take over from Jukka Ruuska as President of FESE. Our industry has undergone some very fundamental changes and faces many challenges in the months ahead including the globalization of the financial markets, the implementation of MiFID and, in particular, the launch of new trading venues. FESE welcomes increased competition and believes that MiFID has given our members new business opportunities. The key elements we are focusing on are neutrality, technology, transparency and liquidity. The Regulated Market model operated by FESE’s members is well positioned following the credit crisis which started in 2007, to help alleviate the magnitude of the crisis by providing liquidity and continuing to give confidence and transparency to investors. I intend to focus the Federation’s efforts on ensuring the competitiveness of our markets in Europe and in the world, encouraging better regulation in any new initiatives, and deepening our contacts with the regulatory community worldwide. I thank Jukka Ruuska for his excellent leadership of the Federation in the last years”.

Frank Gerstenschläger, incoming FESE Vice President, added: “I am pleased to have been elected to serve on the Board of FESE as Vice-President. In an increasingly global environment, exchanges need to position themselves on the regulatory front. FESE provides an essential forum for Europe’s exchanges allowing them to speak with one voice on policy matters and making their common voices heard. FESE’s efforts during the last years have led to concrete improvements in proposed policies or their implementation. I look forward to continuing the good cooperation.”

FESE Board

The General Assembly agreed on the nominations for the FESE Board which includes:

FESE President, Spyros Capralos, Chairman of the Athens Exchange
FESE Vice President, Frank Gerstenschläger, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse AG
FESE Chairman of the Management Committee, Ramón Adarraga, Director International Affairs, BME
Christoph Bigger, Business Development & Operations of SWX Swiss Exchange and Member of the SWX Swiss Exchange Management Committee
Bruno Colmant, Head of Euronext Brussels and Member of the Management Committee of NYSE Euronext
Hans-Ole Jochumsen, Executive Vice President, NASDAQ OMX
Adam Kinsley, Director of Regulation, London Stock Exchange Group
Nondas Metaxas, General Manager, Cyprus Stock Exchange
Diarmuid O’Hegarty, Executive Director’s Regulation and Compliance, London Metal Exchange
Marko Simoneti, President and CEO, Ljubljana Stock Exchange