As we approach our September launch, we want to update you on our progress as well as our plans for the next month.
This past Saturday, we successfully completed our first User Acceptance Test (UAT) with several members participating, while we connected to the CTA, SIP, and FINRA. As with any test, we uncovered some minor issues that we’ve already addressed, and overall, we are very satisfied that the majority of the functionality that was tested is working.
Our next UAT is scheduled for August 15th and our goal is for at least 25 participants to take part as we work with nearly 50 potential members in preparation for launch. We will hold a third UAT on August 29th to give members an additional opportunity to test in production prior to going live in September.
Speaking of which, our launch plan is for a phased approach. First, before we go live, we will make trading in test symbols like ZVZZT available for several days in the production environment.
We will then launch our market with five live symbols and offer these securities for several days to ensure that the full life cycle of the trade is completed. Next, we’ll roll out all S&P 500 stocks before entering our final phase, the trading of all NMS stocks. We expect the entire process to take about two weeks.
While we prepare for September, we continue to grow our team and are now up to 50 employees, with close to 30% of staff onboarded via our remote work environment. Kudos to everyone at MEMX for welcoming and integrating our new colleagues, and a special thanks to our Chief People Officer, Lindsay Gilliam, and her team for developing and implementing a smooth onboarding process.
I am pleased to report that one of our new employees is Sophie Sohn, who joins as Head of Marketing and Communications. She also is part of my management team.
Sophie brings a wealth of industry knowledge and experience, including nearly 10 years in charge of marketing and communications at GETCO and KCG. Along with strong media relationships and leadership skills, she brings creativity, social media, and public affairs expertise as well as a unique ability to navigate and communicate market complexities.
Finally, we are excited to announce our Exchange Board, comprised of the 10 individuals charged with governing our market. As chairman, I am honored to serve alongside this accomplished group:
Erica Attonito, Head of Sales, Hudson River Trading
Jenny Hadiaris, Head of Global Market Structure, Cowen
JJ Kinahan, Chief Market Strategist, TD Ameritrade
Deana Korby, VP of Finance, Investor Relations, IBM Corp.
Tom McManus, Deputy General Counsel, E*TRADE Financial
Montes Piard, Global Controller, General Atlantic
Crystal Reilly, Former Chief Corporate Compliance Officer, Bats
Hal S. Scott, Adjunct Professor, Harvard Kennedy School of Govt
Amy Wong, Former Partner and COO, PDT Partners
I look forward to working closely with them.
As we move closer to September, all of us at MEMX thank you for your continued support and for placing your trust in us.
Jonathan Kellner, CEO