He takes over in the role from the firm's founder, who will remain at Grasshopper as chairman.

Singapore-based proprietary trading firm Grasshopper is appointing James Leong as chief executive, effective June 1, as founder John Lin steps down from the role, it announced in a statement on Friday.

Leong joined Grasshopper in 2006 and was most recently chief financial officer since 2017. He was previously chief operating officer and head of trading there. During his time at the firm, he worked with Lin to grow Grasshopper from a team of two, into a major player within the global equity and futures markets, as well as a trusted partner of governments and regulators, the announcement said.

«His drive for innovation, together with a deep sense of accountability to our team and to the local trading ecosystem, has been integral to the firm's journey to date,» said Lin about the appointment.

Founded in 2006, Grasshopper currently employs more than 60 staff spanning trading and technology. It also provides over-the-counter trading services to family offices and accredited investors through is subsidiary Tilde.