Key Takeaways
- • Cboe Global Markets appoints JJ Kinahan as Senior Vice President, Head of Retail Expansion and Alternative Investment Products, creating a new dedicated business vertical focused on retail-targeted alternatives.
- • Kinahan will oversee product strategy, regulatory alignment, and go-to-market execution for emerging asset classes including event-based trading, prediction markets, crypto derivatives, and tokenized instruments.
- • The hire brings significant retail brokerage and fintech leadership experience: Kinahan was CEO of IG US Holdings (parent of tastylive, tastytrade, tastycrypto, and The Small Exchange) and former President of tastytrade, plus prior roles at TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab.
- • This appointment reflects Cboe's strategic shift to capture growing retail investor demand for non-traditional derivatives and alternative products, leveraging Kinahan's track record scaling retail trading platforms and market structure innovation.
Summary
Cboe Global Markets has announced the appointment of JJ Kinahan as Senior Vice President, Head of Retail Expansion and Alternative Investment Products, effective October 31, 2025. The role represents a newly established business vertical within the exchange operator, signaling Cboe's commitment to expanding its footprint in the retail derivatives and alternative investment space.
In this position, Kinahan will lead product development and commercialization across a portfolio of innovative offerings designed for retail customers. His mandate encompasses product strategy, regulatory alignment, and go-to-market execution for emerging asset classes, specifically including event-based trading, prediction markets, crypto derivatives, and tokenized instruments. This strategic focus positions Cboe to capitalize on evolving retail investor preferences for non-traditional derivatives and alternative assets.
Kinahan brings substantial industry experience anchored in retail trading platform leadership and market structure innovation. Most recently, he served as CEO of IG US Holdings, Inc., the parent company of tastylive, Inc., tastytrade, Inc., tastycrypto, and The Small Exchange. In this capacity, he oversaw a diversified suite of retail-focused trading and investment platforms. Prior to this, he was President of tastytrade, a retail brokerage and trading platform with significant market presence. His earlier career includes senior roles at major brokerages: Managing Director of Market Structure Strategy and Client Advocacy at TD Ameritrade, and Managing Director of Trading Platforms at Charles Schwab. He began his career as a market maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange and held positions with ING Bank and Van Der Moolen.
Kinahan's appointment underscores Cboe's long-standing positioning as a derivatives pioneer. In his statement, he emphasized Cboe's legacy of developing first-of-their-kind products that have transformed financial markets and expanded investor opportunity sets. His hire extends this innovation trajectory into retail-focused alternative products, reflecting broader industry trends toward democratization of complex derivatives and alternative assets for individual traders and investors. The newly established business vertical suggests Cboe views retail expansion and alternative products as material growth drivers within its corporate strategy.
In this position, Kinahan will lead product development and commercialization across a portfolio of innovative offerings designed for retail customers. His mandate encompasses product strategy, regulatory alignment, and go-to-market execution for emerging asset classes, specifically including event-based trading, prediction markets, crypto derivatives, and tokenized instruments. This strategic focus positions Cboe to capitalize on evolving retail investor preferences for non-traditional derivatives and alternative assets.
Kinahan brings substantial industry experience anchored in retail trading platform leadership and market structure innovation. Most recently, he served as CEO of IG US Holdings, Inc., the parent company of tastylive, Inc., tastytrade, Inc., tastycrypto, and The Small Exchange. In this capacity, he oversaw a diversified suite of retail-focused trading and investment platforms. Prior to this, he was President of tastytrade, a retail brokerage and trading platform with significant market presence. His earlier career includes senior roles at major brokerages: Managing Director of Market Structure Strategy and Client Advocacy at TD Ameritrade, and Managing Director of Trading Platforms at Charles Schwab. He began his career as a market maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange and held positions with ING Bank and Van Der Moolen.
Kinahan's appointment underscores Cboe's long-standing positioning as a derivatives pioneer. In his statement, he emphasized Cboe's legacy of developing first-of-their-kind products that have transformed financial markets and expanded investor opportunity sets. His hire extends this innovation trajectory into retail-focused alternative products, reflecting broader industry trends toward democratization of complex derivatives and alternative assets for individual traders and investors. The newly established business vertical suggests Cboe views retail expansion and alternative products as material growth drivers within its corporate strategy.
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