Microsoft has appointed Sybase's Ian Warford industry manager for capital markets at its Emea financial services division, with a brief to help banks address issues such as algorithmic trading and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID).
Microsoft says it has hired Warford as an industry specialist dedicated to monitoring the growth of the sector and helping financial institutions to address issues such as high-performance computing and industry regulations such as MiFID.
In his new role, Warford will identify and lead new strategic business opportunities in the capital markets space.
He joins Microsoft from Sybase in New York, where he was director of industry solutions, responsible for developing and delivering solutions to the capital markets, banking and healthcare sectors.
Prior to this Warford was vice president of global financial services at integration software supplier webMethods.
His previous roles include global head of e-commerce at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, and assistant director at UBS subsidiary SBC Warburg, which was an IT role focused on equities and fixed income. Warford also worked in front, middle and back office operations for equities, fixed-income and exchange-traded product lines at UBS's London office.