Based in London, Khakoo will report to Steve Ashley, global head of macro products at Nomura. Previously Khakoo had been global head of G-10 options at Citi in London, but was made redundant in July. He had been head of G10 options since early 2008.
Nomura’s FX business has suffered a number of key departures since the beginning of the summer. James Pearson, global head of G10 spot trading and European head of emerging markets FX trading left the firm in June and Mark Cudmore from FX sales left the same month. In July, Ged Corbett, who was head of G10 spot trading, also left, while Richard Gladwin, global head foreign exchange, left the following month along with Broeker.
Pearson's positon is yet to be filled while Gladwin's position will not be replaced. The firm has undergone a restructuring of its business, whereby its rates and FX businesses were being merged onto a single platform, called global macro products, under the leadership of Ashley, who had previously been global head of rates at the firm.
The loss of key staff has come at a crucial time for the firm as it seeks to build on its rapid rise in standing in the Euromoney FX survey. Since 2009 it has leapt 43 places. In this year’s survey it was placed in 14th position by market share. Although it is yet to break into the top 10 in any particular geographic region, it strongest growth was in Europe, where volumes grew 221%. In terms of client group, its market share with real money investors soared by 1,238%.