Q&A with Magnus Almqvist, CEO of Exberry

What's your vision for your organisation's future role in the market? 

Exberry was created to challenge legacy exchange infrastructure. Our fundamental belief is that exchanges need more agility to meet today's market demands. 

My vision is to continue to partner closely with clients to build modern, robust, configurable market infrastructure. We see Exberry's role as enabling fast innovation without compromising on exchange-grade reliability. This means giving exchanges the tools they need to succeed in highly dynamic markets while maintaining the highest standards of performance. 

Which major industry themes or trends do you expect to shape the next two years? 

We are in a perfect storm that is reshaping exchange technology. First, demand continues to grow for speed and flexibility. Exchanges must launch new instruments and services much faster than before. 

The landscape has been transformed by retail investors who demonstrate more advanced knowledge and activity than ever, even trading options strategies, something unthinkable just a few years ago. Another example is the rise of meme stocks, which trigger sudden trading spikes, placing strain on risk functions and making market behaviour increasingly unpredictable. 

Digital and crypto-style assets continue to disrupt the status quo, compelling exchanges toward rapid innovation. Meanwhile, significant systemic risk lurks in outdated matching engines and systems that will eventually fail. 

Finally, the cost of maintaining legacy technology hampers profitability and innovation across the industry, limiting exchanges' ability to provide the services markets truly need. 

What are your organisation's greatest opportunities and the key challenges you face? 

Our greatest opportunities lie in the growing demand for SaaS-based exchange platforms. Clients increasingly expect much speedier reactions to their needs for enhancements and changes. They don’t want to focus on infrastructure upgrades, security patches or keeping the lights on 24x7. They expect it all just to hum in the background while we provide the services they need and expect. They also see us as long-term, close partners with whom they can collaborate on new ideas, bringing us into their business and strategy discussions. 

The challenges we face centre around the complicated tangle of legacy systems in client environments. Typically, it's a mix of vendor-provided and in-house developed solutions that often don't communicate through well-documented APIs. In many cases, the documentation is poor, key personnel have left and vendors are no longer in business. Untangling these deeply entrenched systems and helping institutions migrate without disruption requires careful planning, prototyping and testing. 

Can you walk us through your career journey and how it led you to this role? 

I started at OM/OMX in the late 1990s during the transition from floor trading to electronic platforms. Being there during that pivotal shift gave me a strong foundation and gut feel for actual trading. I witnessed first hand both the human and technical dimensions; looking floor traders in the eyes as they moved from an active, live environment into cubicles, often confused, lost and upset. At the same time, they were seeing explosive growth in volumes and more mature price discovery evolving rapidly, which benefited all. 

My career has spanned both the technology provider side and exchange operator side. I held a position at London Stock Exchange as a CTO for one of their subsidiaries, then transitioned to surveillance, learning about regulatory and electronic compliance systems. Later, I joined Aquis Exchange, where I was immersed in a different type of exchange operation while focusing on technology sales. 

These experiences across technology, operations and surveillance gave me invaluable insight into the heart of financial markets. When I came aboard Exberry in 2020 as Head of Sales, I brought this comprehensive perspective to help trading venues in their market development journeys. 

What excites you most about the work you're doing today? 

What truly excites me is the opportunity to reshape how exchanges operate at a fundamental level. Our deep engagement with clients as co-creators of technology means we're building solutions that enable fast iteration, testing and market-readiness. 

There's something incredibly rewarding about seeing real-world progress when clients test and implement new capabilities. We're empowering them to innovate in ways that weren't possible with legacy systems, and that creates tangible impact in the markets. 

How do you stay informed and inspired; what books, podcasts or other resources are you engaging with? 

I stay updated primarily through industry newsletters — John Lothian and Patrick Young are two great sources that provide valuable insights into market developments. Bloomberg and the Financial Times are also essential daily reading to keep pace with the rapidly evolving financial landscape. 

Beyond reading, I find conferences absolutely crucial for both information and motivation. The face-to-face interactions with industry peers offer perspectives you simply can't get elsewhere. Listening to and talking with people who are tackling similar challenges provides both inspiration and practical knowledge that helps drive our innovation at Exberry. WFE is invaluable in this respect, facilitating networking and communication with exchange peers globally. 

How do you establish credibility with highly regulated clients when they're exploring modern alternatives to entrenched providers? 

Trust comes from two primary sources. First, having deep experience and understanding of both trading and regulatory challenges, I use that experience to establish deep conversations about the true underlying requirements and needs. My background working across different exchange environments gives me that credibility. 

Second, and perhaps more importantly, we back up our claims with working hands-on demos. If prospects are seriously interested, we'll provide a fully functional environment in a matter of days. We actively encourage them to challenge what we've promised — to test our capabilities directly rather than just taking our word for it. 

Ultimately, credibility emerges through consistent follow-through, not just promises. That's why we focus on delivery and demonstrable results. 

How does your mix of regulatory and commercial experience inform your leadership style and client engagement? 

My background allows me to sympathise genuinely with the challenges clients face, both from internal business drivers and regulatory pressures. I've collaborated closely with regulators in APAC and Europe to push boundaries in asset classes and market architecture, which gives me insight into how to help clients present their plans in ways that are transparent, honest and convincing. 

As for leadership, I view the CEO role as fundamentally collaborative. I see myself as a spokesperson for the executive team to the board, with my primary job being to align us with our agreed strategy. It's not about pointing with the hand and telling people what to do. It's about listening, discussing and ensuring everyone feels comfortable with our direction, even if they don't agree with every aspect. 

Which emerging trends do you foresee having the greatest impact on infrastructure decisions in the coming years? 

We're in the midst of extreme volatility and uncertainty, which pushes technical foundations to their limits in managing peak loads and dramatic shifts in trading patterns. What used to be true, for example, equities trending down while bonds trend upwards, is no longer reliable. Correlations between assets are changing fundamentally. 

Retail-driven phenomena such as meme stocks create sudden spikes in trading and, through active options trading, push open interest to record highs, putting strain on risk functions and testing systems' ability to handle unpredictable volume surges. Exchange platforms must be adaptable enough to handle these fast-moving, unpredictable market conditions and seesawing across asset classes and securities. 

What advice would you give to exchange leaders looking to modernise their infrastructure? 

Avoid the "Big Bang" approach to modernisation. Instead, identify your low-hanging fruit and start building competency in your team to swap out systems incrementally. Even if you've identified a high-risk system, begin with something more manageable to gain experience. 

Each small migration prepares you for larger, mission-critical upgrades by building confidence and institutional knowledge. Early wins teach your team valuable lessons about how your technology ecosystem truly functions, creating a foundation of expertise that becomes invaluable as you tackle more complex systems. 

The journey to modern exchange architecture doesn't need to be daunting if approached step by step, with each success building momentum for the next phase of transformation.