Listen to the Article: Frequent Executive Turnover at iS Prime - A Coincidence or A Major Shakeup?

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iS Prime, a leading provider of multi-asset execution and prime brokerage services, has recently undergone a series of executive changes. The reason behind these moves is unclear, but they are not uncommon in the financial industry. 

But first, we need to back up a little further to this January when iSAM rebranded itself, as covered by Fazzaco, changing its name from ISAM Capital Markets to iSAM Securities​. The rebranding seems to aim at creating a consistent brand story that includes its sub-brands iS Prime, iS Prime Hong Kong, and iS Risk.

Hong Kong Office Head Leaves

iS Prime is a multi-asset broker and a part of iSAM Securities, offering comprehensive brokerage services to institutional clients, with a range of products covering liquidity, agency execution, technology, and risk solutions. iS Prime has cooperated with Fazzaco several times in the past, and we had the opportunity to interview Will Robbins​, the Head of Asia of its Hong Kong branch, exclusively in 2021. Robbins was also given the title of one of the Fazzaco FX People of the Year award in 2022. That's why we were quite surprised when we heard, and covered the story, earlier this month of Robbins deciding to leave​. This reminds us, too, of another high-profile resignation that shocked the industry shortly after iSAM's rebranding. It was none other than the two co-founders of iS Prime who stepped down from their positions.

Co-Founders Are Leaving Too

In early February, the two co-founders of the company, Raj Sitlani and Jonathan Brewer, announced their departure at the same time, saying that they had accomplished what they set out to do when they launched iS Prime in 2014 and were now ready for new challenges. "Both Raj and I are ready to focus on the next chapters in our lives. The time is right for the very talented team at iSAM to take the business forward, and we wish them all every success," they said.

At the same time, the company appointed Phil Kim as the head of sales for the APAC region​. Phil Kim had previously worked as a senior executive at Sucden and has a wealth of experience in the field.

In 2014, they teamed up with ISAM to establish iS Prime, which offered high-quality services to institutional clients using its cutting-edge proprietary technology and liquidity relationships.

Similar Stories Are Happening Elsewhere

Before the founders from the London headquarters left, Marco Maggioni, the sales director who had worked for iS Prime for over five years, had quietly departed and announced in March 2023 that he had joined the institutional trading service company Finalto in the same role​.

Like Marco, Will Robbins has been with iS Prime for over five years as well. He studied at Radley College and Durham University before joining the company in 2017. As the head of Asia in the newly established Hong Kong company, he took on the task of breaking into the Asian market. Will Robbins' role in iS Prime HK was as significant as the two co-founders' positions in the London headquarters.

iS Prime Had A Good Year in 2022 & Thoughts

So, what is the reason behind this round of executive changes? Similar events have happened at other financial services companies. For example, Fazzaco reported that Fiserv, a payment and financial technology provider, has changed several chief positions​, including Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to further its growth strategy.

Despite the speculation surrounding the departure of its executives, iS Prime has shown strong performance in the past year​. The company reported a revenue of 35 million GBP and a pre-tax profit of 16.2 million pounds in 2022, an increase of 15% from the previous year. It also maintained a stable business model and a loyal customer base, as well as a leading position in the market.

​As of April 13th, the LinkedIn pages of Raj Sitlani, Jonathan Brewer, and Will Robbins still show that they are employed by iS Prime. Follow Fazzaco to learn more about executive dynamics in the financial industry.