How exchange market structure and trading operations roles differ, why 23-hour trading, Reg NMS and consolidated tapes are driving hiring, and how to find and assess candidates.
A Head of Market Structure at an exchange works out what the market's rules, fees and microstructure should be, then argues for that position with regulators, members and the industry. A Head of Trading, or Head of Market Operations, runs the live market day to day: the matching engine, the controls, the halts and the incidents. Hire for the job you actually have. The most common mistake is expecting one person to do both, or giving a policy hire an operational title.
This guide covers what each role does, why exchanges are hiring for both in 2026, the backgrounds that work, and how to run the search so you end up with someone who can do the job.
At an exchange, market structure is about policy, product and persuasion. The role sits between the business, legal and regulatory teams, and its holder turns rule changes and competitor moves into a clear position for the exchange.
When MEMX hired Adrian Griffiths as Head of Market Structure in 2021, the exchange described the role as a dedicated resource for developing its views on market structure, with three priorities: working with members on market structure initiatives, representing the exchange at industry events, and engaging with policymakers and regulators. Griffiths came from Assistant General Counsel at Cboe and, before that, Senior Associate General Counsel at Nasdaq.
In practice the job usually covers:
Some exchanges pair the role with new products. In late 2025 LSEG appointed Simon Mason, previously Head of Equity Products and Quant Research at SIX, as Head of Market Structure and New Products. That pairing tells you something: at many venues market structure is treated as a commercial function, not just a policy one.
An exchange Head of Trading, often titled Head of Market Operations, Head of Trading Operations or Head of Market Oversight, owns the market while it is open. The policy work is someone else's. This person's job is making sure the market behaves.
In the EU the operational standard is set out clearly. Article 48 of MiFID II requires regulated markets to have resilient systems with enough capacity for peak order and message volumes, to reject orders that breach preset price or volume thresholds or are clearly erroneous, and to be able to halt or constrain trading after significant price moves. It also covers algorithm testing by members, order-to-trade ratio limits, minimum tick sizes, and fair, non-discriminatory co-location and fee structures. Operational resilience is now tied to the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).
The Head of Trading is the person who has to make those obligations work at 3pm on a volatile day. Expect the remit to include:
The two roles need different temperaments. Market structure rewards patience, writing and long-cycle influence. Trading operations rewards calm decision-making in minutes, discipline and a strong control mindset. Very few people are excellent at both.
Because the rulebook is moving on several fronts at once, and each change creates both policy work and operational work.
Add tokenised securities, prediction markets and digital asset venues seeking traditional licences, and the pool of experienced people is stretched across more employers than it used to be.
There is no single route in. The strongest candidates tend to come from four places, and each brings a different strength and a predictable gap.
Whichever pool you draw from, look for a record of positions taken and the outcomes, not just committee memberships. Ask for the comment letter they wrote, the product change they pushed through, the proposal they killed and why.
Experience of operating a live market under stress. That means evidence, not exposure.
Overnight and continuous trading make the last two points more important. People who have run 24/7 digital asset venues have solved some of these problems already, such as upgrades without a daily close and incident cover at weekends. They are worth considering, provided you pair them with someone who knows the regulated venue rulebook well.
Mostly from each other, which is the problem. The number of people who have held either title at a regulated venue is small, and many are tied in by deferred compensation or non-competes. A search that only looks at direct competitors produces a shortlist of five names the board already knows.
Widen the map deliberately:
Plan for long notice periods, garden leave and non-competes when you set the timetable. They are common at this level in listed exchange groups and banks.
Start with the brief, not the title. Before you approach anyone, agree internally on four things:
Then design the interview process to test the job:
Pay depends heavily on the size of the venue, whether it is part of a listed group, the city and whether equity is on offer. Large listed exchange groups typically pay through salary, an annual bonus and long-term share awards. Younger venues often offer a lower base with meaningful equity.
Two points matter more than the headline number. First, candidates from banks and trading firms usually carry deferred bonuses and unvested awards, so a realistic offer needs to address buy-outs. Second, operational roles that now cover overnight or continuous trading are bigger jobs than they were. Paying for the old version of the role is a common reason offers are turned down. Our salary guide sets out current ranges.
Spearpoint Search runs retained searches for exchanges, trading venues and the firms around them from London and Dubai. We will tell you if the brief is really two jobs, if the compensation will not land the people you want, or if a search is unlikely to succeed as scoped. See our exchanges and venues executive search practice, or how we work with clients. If you are a candidate considering a move to the venue side, start here.
For Sam's deeper take on what markets that never close mean for exchange leadership, read The 24/7 operator in Talent Before Capital.
This article is for general information only and is not legal or regulatory advice. Regulatory timelines referred to here were correct at the time of writing and may change.
They set the exchange's position on rules, fees, order types, trading hours and market data, then argue for it with regulators, members and the wider industry. The work includes comment letters and rule filings, member consultation, product design and the data analysis that supports the exchange's case. At some venues, such as LSEG, the role is combined with responsibility for new products.
No. A head of trading, often called head of market operations, runs the live market: market control, volatility controls, halts, erroneous trade handling, member testing and incident response. A head of market structure works on policy and design over longer cycles. The skills and temperaments differ, so most exchanges are better served by separate hires.
Common sources are exchange legal and regulatory teams, exchange product and quant teams, sell-side market structure functions and market makers' exchange relations teams. Each brings strengths and gaps. Legal hires know the filing process, while trading firm hires know fee economics and matching engines. Test whoever you hire for commercial judgement and comfort arguing for the venue.
US exchanges approved for 23x5 trading are targeting a 6 December 2026 start, with overnight price bands, limit-only overnight orders and new halt procedures. That makes trading operations a bigger job, needing overnight rotas, escalation paths and controls. Leaders who have run continuous 24/7 venues, including regulated digital asset exchanges, have relevant experience, ideally paired with deep rulebook knowledge.
It depends on how clear the brief is, how wide the candidate map is and the notice periods involved. Senior people at exchanges and banks often have long notice periods, garden leave and unvested awards, and some appointments need regulatory approval. Agree the brief, reporting line and decision rights before you start, so the timetable is driven by the market, not internal debate.