Erikson will spearhead the revamp of Neonet's Execution offering and will be responsible for expanding Neonet's Commission Sharing Agreement (CSA) business.

This hire complements the recently announced algorithmic trading partnership between Neonet and LiquidMetrix, the quantitative research specialist, and positions Neonet as a major beneficiary of the trend toward commission unbundling and independent execution.

"I am excited to join a firm with Neonet's unique position in Europe. As regulatory pressure mounts on "bundled commission", we are ideally placed to build a service that really does put clients' interests first" commented Erikson.

"We are very pleased to welcome someone of Johan's caliber into this important role. His breadth of industry understanding and market knowledge will help us differentiate our offering at a time when clients are questioning the status quo of existing broker relationships" said Tim Wildenberg, recently appointed Neonet CEO and former Head of Electronic Trading at Citi and UBS.

Johan Erikson, previously global head of trading for DnB Asset Management, spent 10 years at sell side institutions before switching to the buy side in 2000. During his tenure on the buy side, DnB AM established itself as a premier Scandinavian trading desk and initiator of advanced trading technologies, methodologies and strategies for the buy side. Erikson has also been recognised for his pioneering work through a number of industry awards.