The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) has appointed former OM Group president Per Larsson as its new chief executive.
Larsson stepped down as chief executive of Swedish trading technology firm OM in 2003 - after an 18 year career at the company - following the group's merger with neighbouring Finnish exchange HEX.
Since stepping down from OM Larsson has been active on the boards of a number of companies, including Swedish trading systems vendor Orc Software and hosted services firm Outsourced Supply Management.
Larsson willl take up his post at DIFX in early July 2006. He replaces Steffen Schubert, who will step down in June 2006 as scheduled at the end of his contract.
Henry Azzam, chairman of the DIFX, says: "Per's track record at the helm of a major stock exchange and exchange technology company, and his proven ability to deliver success in the fast-moving environment of financial services, will be invaluable to the DIFX as it moves into its next highly active phase of growth. His experience of cross-border financial activities will also be a huge asset."
The DIFX, which launched in September 2005, has been set up as part of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the Dubai government's initiative to create a major financial hub for the Middle East region as a whole.