London Stock Exchange chief executive Gavin Casey has quit his post in response to shareholder grievances over the failed iX merger with Deutsche Borse.
Casey, LSE chief since 1996, stepped down Friday after stormy scenes at the exchange's annual general meeting, when shareholders vented their anger over the Board's handling of the Deutsche Borse merger proposals and subsequent hostile bid from Sweden's OM Gruppen. Casey was voted out on a show of hands at one point during the meeting, only for the judgement to be reversed at a formal vote ordered by LSE chairman Don Cruickshank.
The Exchange will be keen to fill the void left by Casey's resignation as it fights off the OM takeover bid and awaits rival offers from other exchanges. Martin Wheatley, the LSE's business development director, and Angela Knight, chief executive of the Association for Private Client Management (Apcims), have both been mooted as possible candidates for the hot seat.