Lawrence Leibowitz has one of the longest job titles you’ll hear. He’s the NYSE Euronext Group Executive Vice President & Head of U.S. Execution and Global Technology. Sound like a big job? It is. Larry kindly answered a few of TILE’s questions about what life is like on Wall Street.
TILE: So what do you do at the New York Stock Exchange?
Larry: I am responsible for running the New York Stock Exchange on a daily basis. That includes making sure our trading day runs smoothly, our technology is the best it can be, and helping the companies that list on NYSE reach investors around the world.
TILE: How has Wall Street changed since you started in the business?
Larry: In the 25 years I have been on Wall Street, the biggest change is the fact that technology has reinvented the business from top to bottom, from executing trades in less than an eyeblink, to running financial models to value complex derivatives. It has changed the business, and it has changed the way we think about the world.
The second biggest change is probably the democratization of Wall Street – in 1980 retail trading customers got most of their information from brokers, placed orders by phone, and read the newspaper to see how their portfolios were performing. Now, people get information from the web and 24 hour news coverage of the markets, place trades directly, and manage their money online.
Finally, Wall Street has gone global. As technology, information, and capital flows have interconnected our world, Wall Street firms and investors have turned their attention from the narrow U.S.-centric view to one which spans countries and continents.
TILE: What do you see in the future of the NYSE?
Larry: NYSE is now part of a larger company, NYSE Euronext, which owns exchanges around the world, including Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, Paris, and the London Futures Exchange. We trade stocks, bonds, and derivatives all around the world, connecting traders, investors, and companies trying to raise capital to grow their businesses. NYSE Euronext will continue to grow and innovate in this globalized economy, never losing its reputation for the integrity and high standards that our listed companies and clients have come to expect.
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Tags: Larry Leibowitz, NYSE, Wall Street