LONDON – (July 10, 2012) – OTC Europe LLP is expanding into the freight derivates market with the additions of Rob Dennis, Stephen Slater and Anthony Timmings. Combined, the trio brings more than half a century of experience to the company including more than 20 years in shipbroking.
“Entering any market is all about timing, and we are confident that we are starting this new desk at a point when market share is available for a competitive, dynamic and forward thinking group like Rob, Stephen and Anthony,” said Joe Kelly, president and chief operating officer of OTC Global Holdings, the parent company of OTC Europe. “Their skill sets are a great complement to our rapidly growing European presence here in London.”
A 20 plus year veteran who will head the new desk, Dennis joins OTC Europe from Simpson, Spence & Young Shipbrokers where he worked for nearly five years and was a senior director of Tanker forward freight agreement (FFA) derivatives. Prior to that, he was a self employed interest rate futures trader for three years. Dennis also has worked at GFI Group as a weather broker and as the head of the company’s European gas desk, and as a spot foreign exchange broker for Tullett Prebon and MW Marshalls.
Slater also brings more than 20 years of experience to his new position at OTC Europe. He was a senior dry FFA broker at Imarex in Oslo before joining the company. He also worked on TFS Brokers’ FFA dry desk from its inception and played an instrumental role in raising its profile. In addition, Slater worked at Simpson, Spence & Young, Knight Securities International Ltd. and Charles Schwab Europe as well as at Nikko Europe Plc, where he was the head of Japanese Warrant Trading.
Timmings has worked as a freight futures broker for the last decade with various companies including Tullett Prebon/Braemar Futures Ltd., GFI Holding Group/ACM, Simpson, Spence & Young and Capital Shipbrokers Ltd. In addition, he was a retail service provider for Knight Securities International Ltd. and he worked as an equity dealer at Charles Schwab Europe for three years after starting out at the company as an office clerk.
“The opportunity to help OTC Europe further expand their portfolio of companies into the energy sector by adding freight derivatives inspired me,” added Dennis. “Traders need to be able to trust their broking company, and with OTC Europe’s pedigree it won’t be long before we gain significant traction.”