Horizon Software (Horizon), the world’s leading provider of electronic trading solutions and algorithmic technology, has appointed Hong Kong-based Fabrice Fischer as its new Head of the APAC region. Fischer has spent over 20 years in financial markets and IT, working across Asia, Europe and North America. At Horizon he will focus on consolidating the company’s front-running position in APAC, with a particular focus on the high-growth markets in the ASEAN and China.
Fischer’s main expertise lies in Artificial Intelligence (AI), of which he is a strong proponent, having founded the financial services AI consultancy, Blu, in 2016. Prior to this he worked with Sentient Technologies, a distributed AI Hedge Fund, having also served as Group CFO, head of cloud computing and compliance officer. His experience will be a valuable asset in helping Horizon further develop and refine its strategy in this area. Fischer’s two-decade career has also included launching a Hong Kong IT services company in infrastructure and ERP for the asset management industry, advising companies in the private equity, IT and telecom industries across Europe for Bain & Co.
Commenting on his appointment, Fischer said: “I am excited to join such a forward-looking, global team, whose advanced offering puts the power back into traders’ hands. Horizon has a special, long-term relationship with Asia as one of the first vendors to fully invest in the region’s potential. My aim here is to grow and improve our pre-existing connections and partnerships, continuing to be influential in the increasing sophistication of the local financial markets and to help them grow and develop.”
Horizon has a long-established and very successful track record in Asia, which represents approximately the same proportion of Horizon’s client base as Europe. However, with greater variation in terms of individual countries’ vastly differing requirements and levels of development, the unrivalled customisability and flexibility offered by the Horizon Platform is extremely well-suited to APAC companies.
Sylvain Thieullent, CEO of Horizon, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Fabrice to Horizon; his extensive involvement in our industry is testament to how seriously we take the job of nurturing our presence in Asia and his experience in AI will help us drive forward innovation.”
Thieullent continued: “We have a long history of partnering with tier-1 investment banks in the region, as well as more recently helping to develop market expertise in countries like Vietnam. I’m confident that he will be of great value to expanding our network across the diverse spectrum of needs and infrastructure that exists in Asia.”
Horizon has been empowering capital market players for over two decades by building powerful algorithmic technology into its electronic trading platform and offering trading opportunities through direct connectivity to more than 80 exchanges worldwide. Horizon enables clients to quickly create, test and implement automated trading strategies in real-time, in line with its ‘Trade Your Way’ philosophy. Its platform can be easily integrated with rich APIs and allows proprietary strategies to be built while keeping traders’ code confidential.