With technical development on the core platform now complete, testing and scaling for full operations underway, the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) awaits regulatory approval and readies itself for growth.
As part of this preparation, Tim Grant will stand down and hand over the reins to David Newns, an international capital market expert with a strong background in the regulated financial services industry. Newns's mandate will be to take SDX seamlessly into its next phase of full operations and growth.
Waiting for FINMA approval
According to Thomas Zeeb, Chairman SDX and Member Executive Board at SIX, they will need to be ready to ramp up operations, client onboarding and deployment, once SDX receives regulatory approval. As with any infrastructure, success will be defined by scale, and the biggest challenge going forward will be to develop the relationships and partnerships.
SDX has received the draft FMI licenses for SIX Digital Exchange AG and SDX Trading AG from the swiss regulator (FINMA) and hasresponded within the consultation period with no concerns or issues, so Zeeb expects the formalization of the licenses to follow shortly. Former Head of Business Tim Grant and his team have defined a roadmap for SDX to both build out the existing ecosystem and expand its franchise further as a fully-regulated operational infrastructure for the digital securities markets of the future.
Key changes to the platform
One of the key changes in this next phase is the arrival of David Newns who, subject to FINMA approval, will take over the leadership of SDX in October 2021. Newns brings with him a track record in the key spaces in which SIX operates – mission critical infrastructure, service-driven application development for banks and digital assets, and an understanding of how nascent markets are created and brought to maturity.
“I thoroughly enjoyed working with Tim and his team at SDX and now look forward to working with David as we take SDX into the next stage of maturity and development. David brings with him the background and experience to take us forward and extend the reach of the SDX platform throughout the industry.” - Thomas Zeeb, Chairman SDX and Member Executive Board at SIX
Newns believes that this is the perfect moment for the industry to redefine how it engages with its clients and stakeholders and, in turn, empowers them to serve their clients. SDX, according to the new Head of Business, is in the ideal industry sweet-spot to achieve this and he's looking forward to driving its further growth and development.
