NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Options, provider of the Options PIPE® Private Financial Cloud services platform for the exchange, banking, trading and investment communities, today announced that industry veteran Ken Barnes has been appointed as the firm's Senior Vice President of Corporate Development.

In his new role, Mr. Barnes will be responsible for leading corporate and product strategy for the Options PIPE® Private Financial Cloud, as well as overseeing the firm's business expansion across the broker dealer and investment banking communities. Option's private cloud services include PIPE Velocity, an ultra-low latency market data, execution connectivity and application management service; Momentum, an on-demand application management service for the front-, middle- and back-office; and Core, a turnkey business technology platform.

Prior to joining Options, Mr. Barnes served as Senior Vice President in the Technologies division of NYSE Euronext, where he managed an $80 million business encompassing transactions, market data and infrastructure as a service. Mr. Barnes previous managed SFTI, launched the Mahwah colo facility in 2010, and has also held positions in business line management, business development and product marketing at firms including Wombat Financial Software, Reuters, and Salomon Brothers.

"Ken brings an incredible level of expertise and industry experience to our team, which will be pivotal as we continue to expand our business in the major financial markets," said Nigel Kneafsey, CEO of Options. "With the amount of regulatory oversight that is being implemented across the industry, combined with rapidly evolving changes that are taking place within the area of financial outsourcing, it is imperative that we have the best experience in the sector to help our customers scale with confidence."

"I am extremely excited to join the Options team and look forward to contributing to the continued growth of this company," said Mr. Barnes. "My decision to join was heavily influenced by its ability to consistently deliver high quality service to an industry in need of an industrial strength technology platform on which to build lean, aggressive businesses."

About Options

Options is the premier provider of infrastructure products to the Global Financial Services sector. Founded in 1993, the company began life as a hedge fund technology services provider focused on the London market. In 2002, the company made a strategic decision to change focus from consulting to delivering shared infrastructure products, becoming the first provider to offer cloud services to the financial sector. The result was the Options PIPE® Platform and the "Private Financial Cloud" offering. Today over 100 firms globally leverage Options PIPE®, including leading hedge funds, funds of funds, proprietary trading firms, market makers, broker/dealers, private equity houses, exchanges and global investment banks.

Options PIPE^® Platform Services:

PIPE Core
Essential business technology from email and office applications to phones and tablets

PIPE Momentum
Hosting and management of the applications that run your business, front to back

PIPE Velocity
Low latency trading, FIX connectivity, market data and computing infrastructure

For additional information, contact:

P.J. Kinsella
Spotlight Financial Marketing     
For Options
(212) 521-5908
Patrick.kinsella@spotlightfm.com

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SOURCE Options