John Hewitt Joins NITE Sec. as president!
From : PR Newswire Jun 28 1999 8:48AM
Re : John G. Hewitt Joins Knight Securities as President; Hewitt to Drive Knight''s Expansion into the Options and International Securities Markets
Monday June 28, 09:47 AM Eastern time
Company Press Release
SOURCE:Knight/Trimark, Inc.
John G. Hewitt Joins Knight Securities as President; Hewitt to Drive Knight''s Expansion into the Options and International Securities Markets
JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Knight/Trimark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NITE) announced today the appointment of John G. Hewitt, formerly vice president of Electronic Trading at Goldman Sachs, as president of its Knight Securities subsidiary. Hewitt, 48, is charged with diversifying the leading market maker's revenue stream by expanding the firm into the options and international equities market making arenas. He also will orchestrate the development of a next-generation trading platform that will bolster Knight/Trimark's trade execution capacity.
Before joining Goldman Sachs, Hewitt was senior vice president and chief operating officer of the New York Futures Exchange at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from 1978 to 1986. In 1986, Hewitt joined Goldman as chief administrative officer of the Trading and Arbitrage division. In that role, he helped lead Goldman's worldwide expansion of its equities business. In his most recent position at Goldman, Hewitt helped formulate the firm's electronic trading, connectivity and Internet strategy. He also spearheaded many of Goldman's recent electronic trading joint ventures such as Optimark, BRUT, Archipelago, Primex and Wit Capital.
"John will complement our existing management team and help us stay ahead of the fundamental changes taking place in the world's financial markets," said Kenneth D. Pasternak, president and chief executive officer of Knight/Trimark Group. "His deep understanding of electronic trading and strong track record in the options and international securities markets make him the perfect match to achieve our vision to become the largest market maker in the world."
"Knight/Trimark has displayed an enviable ability to execute the right idea at the right time," said Hewitt. "The company is in the very early stages of its life cycle, yet already its business model and technology platform set it apart from others. I relish the opportunity to help Knight/Trimark shape the evolution of the global marketplace."
Knight/Trimark plans to play an active role in European equity markets by early 2000. The firm recently opened a London-based subsidiary, Knight Securities International Ltd., which operates as an institutional sales office, arranging transactions in U.S. equity securities between U.S. institutional customers and Knight Securities.
Knight/Trimark Group is the leading market maker in both Nasdaq/OTC securities and the over-the-counter market for NYSE- and American Stock Exchange (AMEX)-listed equity securities -- the Third Market. The firm, the largest destination for on-line trade executions, is the unseen "processing power" behind the explosive growth in securities trading via the Internet.
On account of its cutting-edge technology and customer support services, Knight/Trimark has the capacity to handle 1.2 million trades per day. In the first quarter of 1999, the four-year-old company executed on average 306,000 trades per day, a 147 percent increase over the prior year's first quarter. Knight/Trimark is the largest destination for on-line trade executions. Since going public in July 1998, the company's market capitalization has grown from 750 million to approximately 5.7 billion, and its stock continues to be one of the best performing listings on Nasdaq.
NOTE:
Knight/Trimark, as a market maker, performs the essential task of buying shares when retail or institutional customers want to sell and selling shares when they want to buy. Orders are sent via computer or phone to Knight/Trimark -- all of which are processed in a matching environment where incoming orders are compared against the company's large limit order book. If Knight/Trimark holds a matching order (e.g., sell order for a buy order and vice versa) a trade is made.
If no match is found, Knight/Trimark provides liquidity by committing its own capital and trading on a proprietary basis. For example, if a customer wants to buy 1,000 shares of XYZ stock at 100 apiece, and only 100 shares are for sale at that price, a Knight/Trimark trader will fill the order by selling the remaining 900 shares out of the company's inventory.
Knight/Trimark generates much of its profit through volume of trading -- the larger the volume, the greater the opportunity for net trading revenue. The firm has a market making capability in all publicly traded U.S. securities (from IBM, a NYSE stock, to Microsoft, a Nasdaq stock) and can commit capital in all of them.
A photo will be available via The Associated Press photo network and on the Internet at newscom.com.
Copies of this release and other information about Knight/Trimark Group can be obtained via the Internet at knight-sec.com.
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Contact:
Marge Wyrwas, Vice President, Corporate Communications &
Investor Relations of Knight-Trimark Group, Inc., 201-557-6954; or Russell
Dubner or Chuck Dohrenwend of Edelman Public Relations, 212-704-4538 or
212-704-8102, for Knight-Trimark
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