By Tom Osborn
Of FINANCIAL NEWS
"I'm a plumber, and I'm proud of it," Walt Lukken, the new
president of the Futures Industry Association, told assembled media
at the opening of the derivatives trade body's annual conference in
Boca Raton, Fla., Tuesday, likening his new job to a man who has
been brought in to "unclog" a few blockages and fix a few
leaks.
Lukken, a former chairman of derivatives regulator the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission, was confirmed as the new president of
the Futures Industry Association in January. His predecessor, John
Damgard, served in the role for over 30 years, starting out when
almost all trading was conducted on exchange floors.
He takes over at a time of flux for the futures industry,
following the collapse of one of its largest broker-dealers in MF
Global (MFGLQ), and a slew of new regulations that will see the
proprietary trading power of the world's largest derivatives banks
severely curbed.
The specter of MF Global's collapse haunted the first day of the
FIA's annual get-together, with the trade body facing tough
questions from an audience who questioned whether the futures
industry had done enough to protect smaller clients--particularly
core agricultural clients, to whom the industry owes much for its
foundation--in the wake of MF Global's collapse.
"It takes time to rebuild trust," Lukken told his audience. "But
collectively, we can come together and help bring confidence back
to the system."
Lukken compared his ascent to the rise of technocratic leaders
brought in to deal with fiscal crises in European states most
afflicted by the euro-zone debt crisis, most obviously Lucas
Papademos in Greece and Mario Monti in Italy--both countries where
long-established diplomatic "fixers" have replaced populist elected
leaders.
CME Group (CME), the U.S.'s largest futures exchange operator,
sprung the first surprise of conference before the event had even
begun. The bourse confirmed that its chief executive, Craig
Donohue, would step down from his role later this year, with his
role to be split between Chairman Terry Duffy and President
Phupinder Gill.
Gill himself is a technical specialist, having served for most
of his career at CME in operations and then at the firm's clearing
house. Analysts at Sandler O'Neill said Gill had likely been
brought in to leverage his experience as an operations guru with
strong leadership skills.
Analyst Rich Repetto said: "He has been working closely over the
last eight years with both CEO Donohue and Chairman Duffy to
determine the CME's strategy. From our perspective, Mr. Gill has
been the key "behind the scenes" operator of the CME for some time
and has strong leadership skills."
--http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2012-03-14/the-rise-of-the-derivatives-technocrats-lukken?mod=blogheadlines-home