Financial messaging network Swift has named former Citigroup executive James Donovan as head of its securities industry division, succeeding Francis Remacle who is retiring later this year.
Donovan joins Swift's New York office on 1 August 2005 and will assume executive responsibilities from Remacle following a two-month transition period.
The appointment is a key position for Swift as the bank-backed payments network bids to extend its reach into the securities markets. Swift's securities industry division now accounts for more than one-third of the co-operative's annual message traffic and continues to be its fastest growing sector.
Donovan's appointment follows a 17-year tenure at Citigroup where he held responsibility for marketing and sales, strategic planning and business development for the worldwide securities services division. He was also COO of global clearing services and managing director of the American Depositary Receipt business. In his most recent Citigroup assignment, Donovan was based in London and was managing director/regional business executive-EMEA and Japan for its global securities services division. He left the bank earlier this year following a restructuring.
In his new role, Donovan will be a key contributor to Swift's 2010 securities market strategy and will be expected to identify opportunities to extend new IP-based network services such as SwiftNet Funds and SwiftNet FIX across the securities industry.
Swift CEO Leonard Schrank says of the appointment: "Under Jim, we expect to accelerate our securities business and the delivery of customer benefits to this important market."