Investment Technology Group has named Richard Herr to the new position of senior vice president, strategic and business development. Herr will be charged with oversight of strategic partnership opportunities and acquisitions at the company.

“I will be assisting senior management in looking at organic opportunities and opportunities outside of the firm,” says Herr. “Clearly I will be looking at opportunities in other asset classes, such as derivatives or FX in the short term. Longer term I’m looking forward to building a franchise.”

Herr was previously senior vice president for equity research at Keefe Bruyette & Woods where he covered brokers, exchanges and trade execution firms. “As an analyst I had the benefit of being exposed to many different business models and different industries and that will play well in my new position,” he says, adding that he has already built a team internally to assist with his strategy and business development initiatives.

“There are a lot of opportunities out there for this type of business model at ITG and given the growth we’re seeing in not only the equity markets, but in derivatives trading as well, there is plenty of work to be done,” Herr says.

In general he says that ITG management sees the opportunities available beyond its current core offerings and is working to seize those to grow the business. “Management realized that the amount of opportunities within the business, as well as out in the market, warranted giving more structure to a strategy role,” says Herr. “I’m charged with putting more formal processes in place in terms of looking at those new business opportunities…that in the past we may not have had the resources to look at.”