Meet our Management Team

Robert Lempka - Executive Chairman

Robert is co-founder and co-manager of Next Generation Finance Invest AG which invests in business models and technologies leading to more efficiency in financial markets. He led a consortium of investors in Gekko in 11/2009 and actively supports the CEO in developing Gekko into a leading edge provider of financial services. Robert invested successfully in companies like OANDA, ayondo and Brady. Robert was CEO of ABN AMRO marketindex, and prior to that he held trading management positions at Goldman Sachs International and Dresdner Kleinwort.

Edward Drake - Chief Executive Officer

Edward joined Gekko at inception in 2008, initially as Managing Director.  He was responsible for operations, including the creation and continuing development of many internal systems and business processes.  Edward brings over a decade of experience in the Spread Betting and CFD industry.  After graduating from Durham University, Edward started his city career at IG Index before moving onto Cantor Index where he was responsible for the Options and Financial Fixed Odds trading operation.  He has extensive experience in the creation and development of pricing and risk management tools.

Akshay Kapoor - Business & Product Development Director

Akshay joined Gekko in 2011 to help deliver the strategic agenda and transform the product offering. He brings a wealth of Global Markets expertise gained over a long career with leading global investment banks. After starting his career with Citibank as a Management Associate, he spent the majority of his career at ABN Amro/RBS and Standard Chartered Bank. He has a track record of building successful cross asset institutional businesses across MENA and Asia; and also has expertise in risk and trading management. He particularly enjoys working across boundaries to deliver organisational goals. A keen follower of the Austrian school, Akshay holds a BA (Hons) from Delhi University, an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and a Masters in Finance from London Business School. 

Ben Butterworth - Head of Sales

Ben joined Gekko in 2011.  Ben started his financial career as an advisory broker before moving into the Spread Betting and CFD industry where he now has over 7 years of experience.  This includes roles at City Index and latterly IG Index where he was responsible for the management of both the Spread Betting and CFD teams.

Sarah Brylewski - Head of Gekko Germany

Sarah joined Gekko in 2011 as head of Gekko Germany. Sarah worked for ABN AMRO Bank for 10 years where she was a pioneer of the retail certificates market in Germany. Sarah also headed the Retail Derivatives Team for Germany and Austria. After spending time in Hong Kong where she introduced Mini Futures Certificates to the Asian market, Sarah was Global Head of ABN AMRO’s CFD-Trading platform marketindex. Sarah started her financial career as an Options & Futures Broker at Commerzbank.