Liquidnet, the institutional trading network, has appointed Mark Pumfrey as head of EMEA and a member of the global leadership team, effective immediately.

In this role, Pumfrey is responsible for overseeing and growing Liquidnet’s European business with an immediate focus on identifying new sources of actionable block liquidity, providing asset managers with access to Liquidnet’s full product suite and adding new members to the network.

Based in London, he will report directly to John Kelly, global chief operating officer at Liquidnet.

“Our strategy remains focused on helping our network of institutional investors achieve better performance by deepening our liquidity pools and opening up as many global investment opportunities for our members as we can. In Europe, we have spent the last ten years building a critical mass of liquidity so that our community can access these opportunities while achieving best execution in this region and beyond,” says Kelly. “With Mark’s proven industry track record and established relationships throughout the European investment management community, he will be instrumental in forging deeper relationships with our members in Europe and around the world as we strive to improve investment performance and efficiency across the industry.”

Pumfrey joins Liquidnet from Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he spent more than 20 years in various roles. Most recently, he was managing director, head of senior relationship management EMEA, responsible for the bank’s relationship with CEOs/CIOs of major asset management firms in the UK and Europe. Prior to this, he was head of EMEA equity sales, worldwide, and was responsible for a sales team of more than 150 people around the world.

“Now, more than ever, institutional investors are looking for opportunities in a market where overall liquidity has become increasingly scarce and competition more fierce. The ability to connect like-minded investors through Liquidnet’s institutional trading network to enhance their execution performance is an exciting business to be in. I look forward to working with the asset management community in the UK and Europe to achieve this and with it, Liquidnet’s impact globally,” says Pumfrey.

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