The world of trading and market structure has no shortage of folks with strong opinions, and debates around policy direction have sometimes been known to get a bit … spirited. Despite some of the public rhetoric, however, the vast majority of these folks realize that diverse opinions are part of what makes this industry great, and bonhomie rules the day when the community comes together for a worthy cause.
Nowhere is this more apparent than with the annual Wall Street Rides FAR charity bike ride, which will be held this weekend in White Plains, New York. Organized by Melissa and Bryan Harkins, both industry veterans, the ride is now in its fourth year and is closing in on $1 million in total proceeds raised for the Autism Science Foundation.
Despite being involved in his share of industry throwdowns, Bryan Harkins, now co-head of Cboe’s markets division after rising through the ranks of Direct Edge and later Bats, has successfully reached across the aisle to get peers at NYSE, Nasdaq and IEX to help raise money for this worthwhile cause.
“The ride is a unique opportunity to interact with members of the trading community,” said Michael Blaugrund, Head of Transactions at NYSE and a member of the NYSE team that will ride on Saturday. “A tough client or fierce competitor seems a little less daunting when they’re wearing bike shorts.”
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