Former Citi Global Head of Securities Services and longtime Capitolis Board Member brings over three decades of experience driving innovation and scaling global enterprises
Capitolis, the financial technology company, announced the appointment of Okan Pekin as President. Based in London and reporting to Gil Mandelzis, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Okan will help scale Capitolis and drive the company's next phase of growth.
Okan brings over 35 years of global financial services experience, including senior leadership roles at Citi (NYSE:C) until his retirement in April. Most recently, he served as Global Head of Securities Services, a $5 billion global business where he drove significant client growth. Previously, Okan led Equity Prime Finance, Futures & Clearing, and FX Prime Brokerage, and earlier held global leadership positions in Investor Services, FX, and Local Markets. He also led Derivatives Sales in Europe and Debt Capital Markets for Frequent Issuers. Throughout his career, Okan has consistently built and scaled high-growth global franchises.
Okan has also served as a Board Member at Capitolis for five years on behalf of Citi and understands the ins and outs of its business and the overall market it serves.
"Capitolis has grown tremendously and now, we're preparing for our next phase and focusing on what's needed to continue our momentum. With that growth comes complexity across our business, products, clients, and delivery, and getting this right is critical to maximizing our potential," said Gil Mandelzis, CEO & Founder, Capitolis. "I'm thrilled to welcome Okan, someone I know and trust, who brings exceptional experience and a proven track record of delivering at scale in global financial services with the highest level of professionalism. I am confident about our future and excited about the opportunity to continue to deepen strategic client relationships, drive further product innovation, and advance our long-term growth."
"I am honored to join Capitolis as President at this pivotal moment and believe we are building a truly consequential global company that will have a lasting, meaningful impact on the financial services industry," said Okan Pekin, President, Capitolis. "Having worked with this talented team over the years, I'm eager to get started and look forward to partnering with Gil to scale the business by driving excellence and expanding our platform as we continue to innovate."
"The directors and senior management of Capitolis have gotten to know Okan from his distinguished service on our board," said Tom Glocer, Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, Capitolis. "We are excited that among many options he has now chosen to join us as President and are confident that Okan is the right leader to propel Capitolis into its next stage of growth."
Capitolis has recently achieved strong momentum, launching new products, expanding its client network, securing additional strategic bank investments, and acquiring Capitalab. Okan's appointment follows other key hires supporting Capitolis' next phase of rapid growth and expansion, including Richard Schiffman as Chief Product Officer, Amol Naik as Chief Operating Officer, and Melanie Carucci as Global Head of Sales.
About Capitolis
We believe the financial markets can and should work for everyone. Capitolis is the technology company helping to create safer and more vibrant financial markets by unlocking capital constraints and enabling greater access to more diversified capital and investment opportunities. Rooted in advanced technology and deep financial expertise, Capitolis powers groundbreaking financial solutions that drive growth for global and regional banks – and institutional investors alike. Capitolis is backed by world class venture capital firms, including Canapi Ventures, 9Yards Capital, SVB Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, and S Capital, as well as leading global banks such as Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered, State Street and UBS.
Founded in 2017, our team brings decades of experience in launching successful startups, technology, and financial services. Capitolis was recognized on the Inc. 2024 Best in Business list in the Financial Services and Innovation & Technology categories, and honored for the third consecutive year in the 2025 Euromoney Foreign Exchange Awards. The company has been included on CNBC's World's Top Fintech Companies list for the past three years, Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 list in consecutive years and was named to Fast Company's prestigious annual list of The World's Most Innovative Companies for 2023. American Banker recognized Capitolis among the Best Places to Work in Fintech, and the company was named by Crain's New York Business as one of New York City's Best Places to Work in 2025 for the fourth consecutive year. For more information, please visit our website at www.capitolis.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251208838642/en/
Shannon Mullins
Sloane & Company
smullins@sloanepr.com
Brian Zilberfarb
Capitolis
brianz@capitolis.com