He will report to David Schwimmer, CEO, LSEG.

As part of this planned succession and transition, Mark Makepeace will remain with the Group during 2019 and assume the role of Non-Executive Chairman, Information Services, in addition to his existing role as Non-Executive Chairman of LSEG in the Americas region. He will continue to report to David.

Donald Brydon, Chairman, LSEG said:
“In addition to his contribution to LSEG, Mark has made a huge contribution to the evolution of indices and the development of the asset management industry. Having been chairman of FTSE in the 1980s and a party to his initial CEO appointment, I can truly say that he has more than exceeded everyone’s expectations at the time.”

David Schwimmer, CEO, LSEG said:
“As the founder of FTSE and a founder and inaugural Chairman of the Index Industry Association, Mark has been a pioneer in the development of the global index industry. Mark has successfully built a world class global business with more than $16 trillion assets under benchmark to FTSE Russell Indexes. Under his leadership, the acquisition and integration of Russell Indexes, Mergent, TMX and Citi Fixed Income Indexes and The Yield Book have been transformative in expanding the global customer base and multi-asset capabilities of the business.”

“Mark also developed a strong bench of talent and Waqas Samad, who was recruited by Mark in 2016, is a natural successor to lead ISD, including FTSE Russell. Waqas will build on the existing strong business and proven strategy to continue to deliver on our growth expectations for this business. He will also bring his industry experience in indices and analytics across all asset classes to further develop the multi-asset and data analytics capabilities, as well as continue to deepen our customer partnership approach.”

Mark Makepeace, Group Director of Information Services; CEO, FTSE Russell and Non-Executive Chairman, LSEG Americas said:
“Over the past thirty years, the index industry has gone through a period of transformative growth, playing an important role in the investment management process. I’m proud to have developed FTSE from a start-up to a global player active in more than 70 countries. FTSE Russell has been a pioneer in facilitating investment in emerging markets, including among the first to benchmark China A Shares, and has played a key part supporting investors’ increasing interest in Environmental, Social and Governance factors. I’m pleased to hand over the leadership of Information Services to Waqas to further develop it.”

Waqas Samad, CEO Benchmarks, FTSE Russell said:
“I’m honoured to be asked to lead this important business area for the Group. Mark has built a fantastic franchise in FTSE Russell and it is well positioned to continue to benefit from the underlying global trends driving both passive and active investment management strategies globally. More broadly, the Information Services Division is a great platform and I look forward to further developing the Group’s customer partnership approach and delivering even greater value and analytical insights for our customers.”