Bromance of Trading Veterans Gives Viola’s Virtu a New Chairman
- Billionaire Viola passes chair role to ex-Nasdaq CEO Greifeld
- Greifeld and Virtu CEO Cifu see new opportunities in KCG deal
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The same November day that Bob Greifeld announced he was stepping down as chief executive officer of Nasdaq Inc., he met billionaire Vinnie Viola at a bistro on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
These trading veterans, friends for two decades, discussed a big idea: What if Viola’s high-speed trading firm Virtu Financial Inc. bid for rival KCG Holdings Inc.? And could Greifeld, who was poised to become Nasdaq’s chairman, play a role?