Capitolis has appointed Murugan Manickam as Chief Technology Officer, bringing nearly three decades of financial technology experience to the company as it expands its engineering capabilities and increases its focus on data and artificial intelligence.
Manickam will lead Capitolis’ global engineering organization and oversee its data and AI strategy. Reporting to Okan Pekin, President of Capitolis, he will be responsible for advancing the technology behind the company’s platform while supporting its continued growth across global financial markets.
He joins Capitolis after spending 17 years at Bank of America, where he most recently served as Managing Director and Global Head of FICC Macro Trade Management & Emerging Markets Technology. His work covered technology supporting foreign exchange, fixed income, credit, rates and emerging markets.
During his time at Bank of America, Manickam led large-scale technology transformation initiatives, including efforts to modernize trading infrastructure and consolidate legacy platforms. He also worked on the adoption of distributed ledger technology and the use of AI to support software development and automation.
Before Bank of America, Manickam held technology leadership roles at Merrill Lynch and General Reinsurance. Across his 28-year career, he has developed experience spanning global markets, trade management, post-trade platforms, regulatory technology and AI-driven development.
A Bigger Focus on Data and AI
The appointment puts Manickam in charge of two closely connected areas at Capitolis: its engineering organization and its growing data and AI strategy.
His experience inside a major global bank could prove particularly relevant as Capitolis develops technology for financial institutions dealing with increasingly complex infrastructure and capital requirements.
Manickam said he sees an opportunity to build on Capitolis’ existing technology and expand the use of AI-driven solutions across its platform. His focus will include creating technology that can deliver additional value to the banks and institutional investors using Capitolis.
Pekin said Manickam’s combination of capital markets expertise and experience managing technology transformation at scale will support the company as it continues to develop and expand its platform.
Capitolis also confirmed that Amos Arev, Head of Engineering and General Manager for Israel, will remain with the company. Arev has spent the past seven years helping build Capitolis’ engineering organization and technology strategy.
Building for the Next Stage of Capitolis
Founded in 2017, Capitolis develops technology designed to help financial institutions address capital constraints and improve access to capital and investment opportunities. Its platform serves global and regional banks as well as institutional investors.
The company has attracted backing from major technology investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital. Its investors also include financial institutions such as Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered, State Street and UBS.
Capitolis said the CTO appointment follows a period of new product launches, business growth and expansion of its client network, alongside other additions to its management team.
For Capitolis, Manickam’s appointment brings extensive banking technology experience directly into its senior leadership team. With responsibility for global engineering as well as data and AI, his role will be central to how the company develops its technology platform as it moves into its next stage of growth.