GlobeNewswire Inc | Nov 18, 2021 04:15PM EST

November 18, 2021

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIRT) a leading provider of financial services and products that leverages cutting edge technology to deliver innovative, transparent trading solutions to our clients and liquidity to the global markets, congratulates Women in Finance Americas award recipients and nominees. These prestigious awards honor highly accomplished women whose entrepreneurial spirit and leadership make unique contributions to the industry.

Virtus Women in Finance Americas award recipients include:

-- Rising Star: Erika Charnley, Equities and FX Business Development -- Excellence in Marketing and Communications:Tara Leyden, Global Head of Marketing -- Excellence in FX Trading: Laine Litman, Global Head of FX/FI and Co-Head of Crypto -- Rising Star: Rashmi Maniyar, Global Head of Virtu Execution Services Tech/DevOps

Additional Virtu women nominated for a Women in Finance Americas 2021 award include:

-- Priscila Acerbi -- Akiko Imai -- Ashley Kryshtalsky -- Cindy Lee -- Lia Mathiesen -- Lorraine Napolitano

All Virtu candidates were nominated by their colleagues.

Virtu congratulates and extends its thanks and appreciation to each of these women for their model leadership at Virtu and across the financial services industry.

It is impressive to see ten Virtu candidates recognized this year, but its not surprising given the high caliber of talented and dedicated women we have been fortunate enough to attract and retain. I see these women tackle challenging and impactful work every day, and I am excited and honored to see them recognized for it by their peers, said Douglas A. Cifu, CEO, Virtu Financial. The leadership of the women at Virtu contributes to our overall success across all aspects of the firm.

Rising Star award recipientsErika Charnley, Business Development, Equities and FX: A Boston College graduate, Erika joined Virtu via its KCG acquisition in 2017. Prior to joining the Business Development team for equities in 2019, Erika exceled at facing the daily challenges related to the Electronic Services Group, partnering directly with customers through the various planning and certification phases of Virtus user-acceptance testing protocols. In 2021, Erika added to her responsibilities by becoming a pivotal and valued member of Virtus FX team. She is also a junior member of the Security Traders Association of New York, where she participates in many industry events.

Rashmi Maniyar, Global Head of Virtu Execution Services Tech/DevOps: Rashmi joined Virtu in 2017 via its acquisition of KCG. Her one-of-a-kind personality and infectious positivity belie the perseverance, work ethic and technical acumen she brings to each project. In early 2019, Rashmi was tasked with leading Virtus Global Tech/DevOps teams through the complex ITG merger and multi-system integration. Taking this challenge in stride, Rashmi excelled and six months later earned a promotion to her current role. A staunch promoter of diversity, she is a member of Virtu's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. Rashmi is also a keen mentor for young women who code or want to code, helping them achieve their goals in STEM and Finance.

Excellence in Marketing and Communications award recipientTara Leyden, Global Head of Marketing: Tara came to Virtu through its 2019 acquisition of ITG, where she began in 2006 as a Sales and Trading Assistant. Over the course of her tenure she transitioned into marketing full-time, covering brand adherence and development, event and conference planning, thought leadership and the development of campaigns and product collateral and sales tools. Following Virtus acquisition, her focus has expanded to include a developing role within Virtus Investor and Media Relations team. A true creative, Taras influence is often seen behind many of Virtus successful marketing campaigns and she is immensely dedicated to promoting Virtus unique brand.

Excellence in FX Trading award recipientLaine Litman, Global Head of FX/FI and Co-Head of Crypto: Laine can add this latest achievement to the Rising Star award she received from Women in Finance in 2018. Laine joined KCG in 2014 prior to the firms 2017 acquisition by Virtu. Throughout her career at Virtu, she has held roles relating to bilateral Treasury liquidity, FX and metals and in 2019, her involvement was a crucial factor in Virtus successful foray into the digital assets, corporates and global ETFs spaces. In addition, she has expanded her focus to include global business development for the firms important and strategic organic growth initiatives which include fixed income, FX liquidity and cryptocurrencies. In 2020, Laine lent her support and passion to Virtus new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion committee, Culture Club and became Co-Head of the firms Community & Volunteerism committee.

About Women in Finance AwardsWomen in Finance (WIF) award winners were nominated by readers of MarketsMedia.comandTradersMagazine.com, and shortlists and winners were determined by the editorial staffs and WIF Advisory Board. The methodology in selecting nominees and then winners for Women in Finance reflects an extensive set of criteria and is based solely on the opinion of market participants.

About Virtu Financial, Inc.Virtu is a leading provider of financial services and products that leverages cutting-edge technology to deliver liquidity to the global markets and innovative, transparent trading solutions to its clients. Leveraging its global market making expertise and infrastructure, Virtu provides a robust product suite including offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology. Virtus product offerings allow clients to trade on hundreds of venues across 50+ countries and in multiple asset classes, including global equities, ETFs, foreign exchange, futures, fixed income and myriad other commodities. In addition, Virtus integrated, multi-asset analytics platform provides a range of pre and post-trade services, data products and compliance tools that clients rely upon to invest, trade and manage risk across global markets.

Contact:

Investor and Media RelationsAndrew Smithinvestor_relations@virtu.com