Management Team
BATS Exchange's management team focuses solely on the Company's mission to Make Markets Better. From superior trading technology with consistently reliable performance, to innovative price and billing systems, to providing free real time Web-based market data, the management team seizes every opportunity to make the markets a better place to do business.
The BATS leadership team's commitment to its mission has in a short time catapulted BATS to its current status as the third-largest securities exchange both in the U.S. and globally.
Management Team
Joe Ratterman
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Joe Ratterman is president, chief executive officer and chairman of BATS Global Markets, the parent company of the BATS Exchange and BATS Europe. Mr. Ratterman joined BATS as a founding employee in 2005 and initially served as executive vice president and chief operating officer until mid-2007.
Prior to joining BATS, Mr. Ratterman was vice president of business development at Tradebot Systems. Previously, he was chief information officer at LabOne, the Lenexa, Kan.-based health screening and diagnostic testing company now owned by Quest Diagnostics. Before being named an officer at LabOne, Mr. Ratterman was chief technology officer at Bridge Information Systems, where he was employed from 1990 to 2002.
An accomplished water skier, rock climber, professional photographer, and instrument-rated commercial pilot, Mr. Ratterman holds a degree in mathematics and computer science from Central Missouri State University, as well as Series 7, 24, 27, 55 and 66 licenses.
Chris Isaacson
Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
Chris Isaacson is a founding employee and was promoted to chief operating officer at BATS Trading in July 2007 and is also a senior vice president of the firm.
Mr. Isaacson was previously vice president in charge of operations, a position he had held since 2006. He previously managed the trade desk at BATS and, as a developer, was instrumental in the architecture and implementation of the BATS trading platform.
"Chris has played a critical role in BATS' growth since joining us as a founding employee in 2005," CEO Joe Ratterman said. "From day one, he has demonstrated the ability to execute at a high level, and we fully expect his great knowledge of our system and our subscribers to continue to pay great dividends. He is a consummate professional and we couldn't have a more capable person in this role than Chris."
Mr. Isaacson began his career as a software engineer at Cerner Corp., the publicly traded, Kansas City-based healthcare information systems supplier. He was a software developer at Tradebot Systems from 2003 to 2005.
He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science and business from Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, Neb., and was a two-time Academic All-American while competing in the decathlon. He also earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska.
He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science and business from Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, Neb., and was a two-time Academic All-American while competing in the decathlon. He also earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska.
Mr. Isaacson holds Series 4, 7, 24, 27, 55, 63 and 65 licenses.
Tami Schademann
Senior Vice President, Chief Regulatory Officer
Tami Schademann joined BATS as a founding employee in 2005, leading the regulatory and compliance department since the company began operations and was named chief regulatory officer and senior vice president of BATS Exchange in 2008.
Leading up to the 2006 launch of BATS Trading as a US trading platform, Ms. Schademann played a central role in BATS' application with the National Association of Securities Dealers (now FINRA) to become a broker dealer, as well as the firm's application with the SEC.
"Tami has successfully guided BATS through a number of SEC and FINRA compliance requirements, and is the ideal person to lead BATS Exchange as chief regulatory officer," CEO Joe Ratterman said. "She also showed exemplary leadership of our regulatory compliance team during BATS’ transition to a licensed US securities exchange."
Prior to joining BATS, Ms. Schademann was chief compliance officer for four years at Tradebot Systems. Previously, she was a manager at Security Investment Company of Kansas City as well as in the trust divisions of Firstar Bank, Commerce Bank, and Security Bank of Kansas City.
Ms. Schademann holds Series 7, 24 and 63 licenses.
Ken Conklin
Senior Vice President, Global Head of Business Development & Marketing
Ken Conklin was promoted to senior vice president, business development, at BATS in August 2007. Mr. Conklin was the driving force behind much of the company’s European expansion and has spent the last two years in London focusing on the start-up of the BATS Europe Multilateral Trading Facility. He was also instrumental in the research and development for BATS Options.
Also, as head of global marketing, Mr. Conklin brings strong technical knowledge to the firm’s print and online material and is responsible for maintaining the BATS brand by ensuring consistent messages and branding across all media.
Mr. Conklin joined BATS as a founding employee in 2005 as a software developer and played a key role in the development of the BATS ECN. He has pioneered and led the sales and marketing efforts for BATS as an account manager, sales manager, and vice president of sales.
"In a technology-driven company such as BATS, it only makes sense that a technology professional should lead business development and marketing for the firm and Ken has played an enormous role in BATS’ growth, first leading our US sales force and then as the lead for our European expansion," CEO Joe Ratterman said.
Previous to joining BATS, Mr. Conklin was a software developer at Tradebot Systems. His experience also includes software engineering positions at Cerner Corp., Kansas City, Mo., and Cyntergy Technology, Tulsa, Okla. He spent the first several years of his career as a financial analyst and commercial lender for Bank of America and Firstar Bank (US Bank).
Mr. Conklin holds a bachelor's degree in economics and business from Kansas State University and also earned a master's degree in computer science, with honors, from the University of Kansas.
Randy Williams
Vice President, Global Head of Communications
Randy Williams was named vice president, communications, for BATS in March 2008. He joined BATS in October 2006 as communications specialist.
Mr. Williams is responsible for much of BATS' interaction with external audiences, including journalists and analysts, and his work has led to coverage from Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, CNBC, Dow Jones Newswires, Forbes, Reuters, The Economist, The Financial Times, NEWSWEEK and The Wall Street Journal, among others.
"Randy has become one of the defining personalities for BATS and he is truly one of the easiest people to talk to that I know," said CEO Joe Ratterman. "His professionalism and communication with the press, analysts, and our customer base has helped BATS develop and maintain a great standing and professional image in the public eye."
Mr. Williams began his career as a journalist at Dow Jones Newswires in New York and spent 11 years there. From 1998 to 2004, he was assistant managing editor in charge of the spot news operation, supervising a group of more than 50 journalists and statisticians. In 2001, in honor of his work for the newswire Sept. 11, 2001, he received the Dow Jones Circle of Excellence Outstanding Service Award.
Prior to joining BATS, Mr. Williams was vice president with the global public relations consulting firm Fleishman-Hilliard, running the financial practice for its fourth-largest office in Kansas City and managing clients such as the National Stock Exchange, based in Chicago. He was at Starkman & Associates, New York, as senior managing director prior to moving to Kansas City in 2006.
A former offensive lineman at the University of Illinois and Lehigh University, Mr. Williams graduated from Lehigh with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in public relations. He holds Series 7, 24, 63 and 66 licenses.
Craig Perrigo
Chief Financial Officer
Craig Perrigo joined BATS in 2007 as controller and was named chief financial officer in 2009. He is responsible for all financial functions at the firm, including financial planning and financial reporting.
"Craig has made significant contributions within the finance department as BATS has built a global presence," said CEO Joe Ratterman. "We have great confidence in him leading our finance team."
Prior to BATS, Mr. Perrigo had several years of experience in public accounting as an audit supervisor for BKD, LLP, providing service to many privately-held and public companies in Kansas City and the surrounding area. Most recently he was a financial services specialist in the financial reporting division of DST Systems, working to fulfill the company’s quarterly and annual SEC filing requirements.
Mr. Perrigo graduated from Truman State University with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants. He holds Series 7 and 27 licenses.
Eric Swanson
Senior Vice President, General Counsel
Eric Swanson joined BATS as general counsel in January 2008. Mr. Swanson leads the BATS legal team.
Mr. Swanson has a significant history with the SEC, having served at the Commission from 1996-2006 and rising to the title of Assistant Director in the Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations’ market oversight unit in Washington. His duties included supervising the Commission's inspection program responsible for regulatory oversight of trading on the securities exchanges and ECNs.
"Eric has made significant contributions to the BATS organization during and after obtaining regulatory approval to operate as an Exchange and as we expand into other asset classes and services," said CEO Joe Ratterman.
Mr. Swanson was most recently chief counsel and vice president of regulatory strategy at Ameriprise Financial. He graduated from the University of Minnesota and earned his law degree at Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minn.
Jeromee Johnson
Vice President, Market Development
Jeromee Johnson joined BATS Exchange in March 2009 as vice president of market development and has a lead role in the market structure and promotion of BATS Options, the newest US equity options exchange.
Previously Mr. Johnson was president of 3D Markets, a nationally recognized provider of software and technology for institutional equity options trading. He was instrumental in designing and launching Archangel, the first “dark pool” trading network in U.S. equity options.
Mr. Johnson is the author of a number of seminal industry titles including "Locating the Invisible: Aggregating Dark Book Liquidity" and "Trading at Light Speed: Analyzing Low Latency Market Data Infrastructure." He is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences and a regular fixture in financial media providing expert commentary on trading technology and financial markets regulation.
"We're excited to bring a well-established presence like Jeromee on board as we expand into the options market," said CEO Joe Ratterman. "Jeromee's technical knowledge and focus on innovation are just two of the reasons why we expect him to play a significant role in our growth."
Prior to 3D Markets, Mr. Johnson was a senior analyst and consultant with TABB Group, the financial markets research and advisory firm. Before TABB, Mr. Johnson was director of product development and professional services for UNX, an agency brokerage and provider of electronic trading tools for institutional investors. He holds Series 4, 7, 24, 63 and 65 licenses.
Joe Bracco
Vice President, Head of US Sales
Joe Bracco was named vice president and head of US sales for BATS Exchange in December 2009. An industry veteran, Mr. Bracco joined BATS in February 2008 as director, US sales, managing client accounts and all relationships related to the dissemination of BATS market data.
"Joe is an invaluable member of the BATS team having developed solid relationships with clients on the East Coast as a sales director and successfully working to have BATS market data published on high profile Web sites, such as YAHOO!Finance and AOL," said CEO Joe Ratterman. "We're excited about the experience and work ethic he brings to this leadership role."
Prior to joining BATS, Mr. Bracco spent the bulk of his career at Cantor Fitzgerald LLP in New York. During his 22 years at Cantor, he became a partner and senior vice president and was responsible for building, managing and maintaining relationships with large primary dealers, hedge funds, futures trading accounts and regional dealers.
Mr. Bracco is a graduate of St. John’s University, New York, and holds Series 7, 24, 55 and 63 licenses.