Rostro Group Appoints New Group Finance Director and Eyes Systematic Trading Growth with New Head of Market Making

Dubai-headquartered fintech group Rostro has strengthened its executive team with two senior appointments, reflecting the company's push into systematic trading and institutional services.

The company has named Demetra Charalambous as Group Finance Director and Sammy Christou as Managing Director, Systematic Market Making - a newly created position that signals Rostro's ambitions in automated trading technology.

Speaking about the appointments, Rostro Group CEO Michael Ayres said: "As we continue to build out the Rostro proposition into a business that delivers a wider range of products and services, I am delighted to welcome both Demetra and Sammy to the team. Their extensive industry experience will be a genuine asset to the company, not only when it comes to enhancing day to day operations, but in helping us formulate and execute the longer-term strategy, too."

Charalambous, who will be based in the group's Limassol office, brings a decade of senior finance experience from the trading sector and holds Fellowship status with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Christou, who will operate from London, has accumulated 17 years of experience across trading and C-suite risk positions at several major UK brokerages.

The appointments come as Rostro reports increasing market activity and growing institutional interest. Ayres elaborated: "As we grow our institutional client book, committing more resource to systematic functions supports our mission of handling a greater proportion of each trade cycle in house. Even though we are less than a month into the new year, it's abundantly clear that market activity is on the increase and a growing number of counterparties are eager to work with us. The vision has always been to build our pricing and execution around AI and Blockchain enabled technologies which will be doing later this year."

These appointments follow the recent expansion of Rostro's derivatives offering, with the launch of futures and options services connecting institutional clients to major global exchanges. This initiative is being spearheaded by Saul Knapp, who serves as both Chief Risk Officer and Managing Director of Futures & Options.

Rostro Group, established in 2021 by Roger Hambury, operates multiple brokerage brands and maintains investment interests in fintech businesses. The group has diversified beyond its original brokerage focus to encompass banking, payments, and mergers and acquisitions activities.