Citadel Securities announced Thursday morning that it has hired Kevin Turner away from Microsoft to be CEO.
Turner was COO running Microsoft's enormous sales operations.
He had been at Microsoft for 11 years and was a major part of former CEO Steve Ballmer's administration.
Turner was at one time in the running to be named CEO of Microsoft after Ballmer announced his retirement.
Prior to Microsoft he worked his way up at Walmart, starting as a cashier while in college and later becoming CIO responsible for many of the company's industry-setting technology initiatives. He later became CEO of Sam's Club.
Here's the press release:
Citadel Names B. Kevin Turner as Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Securities
Turner Also to Serve as Vice Chairman of the Firm
CHICAGO, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Citadel, a global financial firm, today announced the appointment of B. Kevin Turner as Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Securities and Vice Chairman of Citadel. Turner, who spent 11 years as Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft, will join Citadel Securities after a short transition period from Microsoft.
"Kevin is a world-class business builder with experience managing large and complex organizations. He will be an outstanding leader for Citadel Securities," said Citadel Founder and CEO Kenneth Griffin. "Kevin is a proven innovator who brings expertise in technology and operations with a client-first focus. I'm confident that under Kevin's leadership we will further distinguish ourselves as the partner of choice for our clients."
Turner has a successful track record across diverse disciplines. At Microsoft, he led a team of more than 51,000 employees in 191 countries. Turner was the driving force behind the sales and marketing efforts of Office 365 and the widespread customer adoption of Azure cloud. Turner's leadership resulted in the highest customer satisfaction scores in company history and more than $90 billion in revenues for Microsoft in 2015.
Prior to Microsoft, Turner spent nearly 20 years at Walmart. He joined the company as a cashier while pursuing his undergraduate degree, and at 29, he was named the youngest corporate officer in Walmart's history. On the merits of his insight, talent and work ethic, Turner quickly rose to positions of leadership and was responsible for many game-changing technology initiatives. Turner was named Walmart's Chief Information Officer and later President and CEO of Sam's Club, a $37 billion division of Walmart. Turner was the first to ever receive the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Walton family.
"It is an incredible honor for me to serve in this important role, and I am grateful to Ken Griffin and the entire Citadel Securities team for the trust they are placing in me," said Turner. "Citadel is a global technology leader, recognized for its work to level the playing field for investors and make markets more fair, transparent and efficient. I look forward to leading this exemplary team as we grow this global business." Turner added, "I also want to express my sincere personal thanks to Satya Nadella for his leadership and mentorship, and to colleagues at Microsoft for their friendship, hard work and dedication."
About Citadel Securities
Citadel Securities is a leading global market maker across a broad array of fixed income and equity securities. Our world-class capabilities position us to meet the liquidity demands of our diverse group of institutional clients in all market conditions. In partnering with us, our clients, including asset managers, banks, broker-dealers, hedge funds, government agencies and public pension programs are able to gain a powerful trading advantage and are better positioned to meet their investment goals. For more information visit www.citadelsecurities.com.
