SIX, the operator of the Swiss (and partly Spanish) financial market infrastructure, which recently made headlines for several high-profile departures, announced new leadership appointments on Thursday.

According to the statement, the Board of Directors has appointed Tomas Kindler as Head of Exchanges and Member of the Executive Board effective June 1. Kindler had held the position on an interim basis since January 1, 2025, filling the gap left by Bjørn Sibbern’s promotion to Group CEO.

Kindler joined SIX in 2011, where he served, among other roles, as Head of Operating Office Exchanges, responsible for business management, operations, and change management at SIX’s exchanges. Prior to his career at SIX, he held several senior roles in the financial market infrastructure sector.

Spaniard Replaces Spaniard

Also effective June 1, Rafael Moral Santiago will become the new Head of Securities Services and Member of the Executive Board, succeeding José Manuel Ortiz, who had been leading the unit on an interim basis. Ortiz will return to his previous role as Head of Clearing and Repo Operations.

Ortiz had taken over the role in February 2025 from Javier Hernani, the long-serving CEO of the Spanish stock exchange BME, which was acquired by SIX. With Santiago’s appointment, the «Spanish element» within the leadership remains intact.

Experience at HSBC and Deutsche Bank

Santiago was most recently Global Head of Country Management Securities Services at HSBC in Hong Kong, where he was responsible for regional strategy and coordination of the bank’s securities services across all local markets. Prior to that, he held various leadership roles at HSBC in Hong Kong and London, and also spent ten years at Deutsche Bank.

Additionally, Fabienne-Anne Rehulka, who has served as General Counsel of SIX since June 2024, became a full member of the Executive Board on April 1, 2025. Rehulka was previously part of the extended executive management and brings over 20 years of experience in legal and regulatory affairs as well as extensive leadership expertise.

Strong, Balanced, and Complete

Bjørn Sibbern, CEO of SIX, commented:
«With today’s appointments, we now have a strong and balanced executive board to drive SIX forward.»

With these appointments, SIX not only has a «strong and balanced» executive team once again but also one with no major vacancies at the top.