Exhibit 99.01
[LOGO OF KNIGHT TRADING GROUP, INC.]
CONTACTS FOR KNIGHT
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Margaret Wyrwas
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
201-557-6954 or mwyrwas@knight-sec.com
Kara Fitzsimmons
Manager, Corporate Communications
201-356-1523 or kara_fitzsimmons@knight-sec.com
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Judy Pirro
Manager, Investor and Shareholder Relations
201-356-1548 or judy_pirro@knight-sec.com
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 18, 2001
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CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER PASTERNAK
TO RETIRE FROM KNIGHT TRADING GROUP
KNIGHT PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER HAJAS
NAMED INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
KNIGHT DIRECTOR DOHERTY ELECTED NEW CHAIRMAN
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES RETAINED TO CONDUCT CEO SEARCH
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (December 18, 2001) - Knight Trading Group, Inc.
(Nasdaq: NITE) today announced that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth
D. Pasternak will retire from his Chairman and CEO positions as of January 31,
2002. He will serve out his remaining term as a Director, which expires at
Knight's annual meeting in May 2002, and he will continue to act in a consulting
capacity until his contract expiration on July 8, 2002.
Peter S. Hajas has been named interim CEO, effective February 1, 2002, while the
search for a permanent CEO is underway. Mr. Hajas has been responsible for the
day-to-day operations of the Company since he was named President and Chief
Operating Officer in July 2001. Before that, Mr. Hajas was the CEO of Knight
Financial Products, Knight Trading Group's options market-making business, where
he leveraged its trading platform to improve operations, manage risk and
profitably grow market share. Mr. Hajas joined Knight in January 2000 upon
completion of the Company's acquisition of Arbitrade Holdings LLC. Before
joining Arbitrade, Mr. Hajas gained experience building companies and growing
businesses overseas at Swiss Bank Corporation, where most recently he was
Managing Director of Global Fixed Income and Derivatives.
Charles V. Doherty has been elected by Knight Trading Group's Board of Directors
to serve as non-executive Chairman of the Board for Knight, effective February
1, 2002. Mr. Doherty is a veteran Board member of Knight Trading Group and
former President and Chief Operating Officer of the Chicago Stock Exchange. He
has served as a Director on Knight's Board since the Company's initial public
offering in 1998. As Chairman, Mr. Doherty will oversee the search for a new
Knight CEO, for which the Company has retained leading executive search firm
Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.
"We are grateful for Ken Pasternak's leadership and vision over the past six
years," stated Mr. Doherty. "Since the Company's founding in 1995, Ken's ability
to lead the firm and our employees has been a driving force in Knight's rapid
ascent to market leadership. Over the past year, in an orderly effort to support
the growth and complexity of the business, the Company has appointed new leaders
and added significant depth of management at the subsidiary operating level
while augmenting the leadership team with Peter Hajas at the parent level. The
Board is confident in Peter's ability to lead Knight through this transition
period, and the Company is well positioned for the next chapter in its growth
cycle."
Mr. Pasternak has decided to retire to explore elective and appointive
opportunities for public service.
"I have spent my entire career working within the framework of the capital
markets," Mr. Pasternak said. "I have enjoyed helping build this company, and
have had the pleasure of forging relationships with our employees, clients and
many friends in the financial services community. Like many in this close-knit
community, I have also felt the pain of losing some of those friends on
September 11. Over the past several years, I have devoted increasing amounts of
time, resources and energy to help improve the communities where I grew up, and
where I live and work. With Knight's key operational management in place and our
strong balance sheet, the Company is poised for the future. The time is right
for me to step down. Now I look forward to devoting all my energy to public
service. I enjoyed good fortune and success during my career on Wall Street. I
intend to work just as hard to ensure the same result in public service."
Knight is the liquidity center that offers superior execution services to its
broker-dealer and institutional clients in over-the-counter (OTC) and listed
equity securities, and in equity options. In so doing, Knight helps its clients
meet their fiduciary obligation of obtaining best execution for the securities
orders that they route on behalf of their customers. Knight also maintains an
asset management business for institutional investors and high net worth
individuals through Deephaven Capital Management LLC.
Knight has the power to commit capital for market orders and also maintains one
of the largest limit order books in the OTC market. The Company has
approximately 1,300 employees worldwide and is one of the largest destinations
for stock orders placed via the Internet. Knight traded 112 billion shares in
the year 2000, a volume behind only those posted by Nasdaq and the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE). Ultimately, Knight plans to enable its clients to trade
all types of equity securities and options at any time, from anywhere in the
world. More information about Knight can be obtained at
www.knighttradinggroup.com.
The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made
pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve a
number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond the Company's control,
which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results,
performance or other expectations and from any opinions or statements expressed
with respect to future periods. These factors include, but are not limited to,
the Company's ability to implement its growth strategies, economic, political
and market conditions and fluctuations, government and industry regulation,
interest rate risk, intellectual property rights, and other factors detailed in
the Company's registration statement and periodic reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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