Voice of Experience: Catherine Clay, CEO, Livevol

This week The Glass Hammer is profiling successful women in the derivatives industry.

By Tina Vasquez, Managing Editor

In November 2013, Catherine Clay received a career-changing promotion: she became CEO of Livevol, which offers options analysis and trade execution software. The CEO says the company extracts data from the market and gives clients what they need “in a sea of noise.”

If it weren’t for a call from Clay’s sister, however, she may have never entered the derivatives industry. In the early 90’s, Clay’s sister got a job in San Francisco manually updating market maker quotes at what was then the Pacific Exchange. One day she called Clay and told her this was the industry for her, believing her sister’s natural competitive nature would make her a trading floor natural – and she was.

In The Beginning
Clay began her career at Interactive Broker’s market making unit, Timber Hill. She started as a clerk and worked her way up to director of floor trading and operations, spending about 12 years on the NYSE Options Floor, overseeing a staff of 20 traders, brokers, and back office staff. While at Timber Hill, she also served on NYSE Committees and was involved with floor trading, listing, membership, and arbitration.

Her involvement in Timber Hill’s mentorship program continues to be a bright spot in Clay’s career. The formal program hired aspiring option traders, with staff running the educational programs.

“We brought candidates on to the floor and taught them how to trade derivatives. It was good to help others and empower them with the knowledge to make good lifelong investment decisions,” Clay said.

Forging Her Own Path
In 2006, Clay left Timber Hill to co-found Thales LLC, a market making firm on the NYSE Options Floor and on OneChicago single stock futures exchange. Thales employed comprehensive volatility analysis using extensive historical options data. During her time with Thales, Clay noticed a demand for this type of data from professional traders and brokers on the trading floor.

“One of the challenges the industry faces is taking the enormous amounts of live and historical data from the market and harnessing it in a way that gives it meaning,” Clay said.

Making It To The C-Suite
Initially, Clay joined Livevol as Chief Strategy Officer in 2010, joining her former Timber Hill colleagues Stefen Choy and Ron Horwath, who founded the company. Clay entered the company as chief strategy officer, growing the business by directing top level strategic objectives and removing obstacles through initiatives. She succeeded at this level with the understanding that not all women make it to the c-suite.

“Statistically, women have a harder time making it to the c-level,” she said. “I believe there has to be a desire to be in that position.”

Clay credits her association with sports and her ability to be competitive with her success.

“I am competitive and work well with men,” she said. “I always thought I was at an advantage being a woman. As a trader on the floor, my voice always stood out in the open outcry environment of the trading pits. To succeed, I think women need to know how to collaborate and how to be competitive.”

Big Risk, Big Reward
Being a woman in derivatives required Clay to leverage her networks to further her career. Besides keeping in touch with old colleagues and later joining forces with them at Livevol, Clay is also an active member of 100 Women in Hedge Funds.

One of the things Clay believes is that everyone should take big risks. “Everyone says to take risks,” she said. “I say to take even bigger risks.”

One of the things Clay regrets is not leaving Timber Hill sooner to start her own company.

“I could have taken a bigger risk and gone out on my own earlier,” Clay said. “In hindsight the downside of a risk is often exaggerated.”

Derivatives: An Industry for Women
Clay also encourages women to get involved in derivatives.

“I see growth in the options space. Money managers and portfolio advisors are just starting to use options and I think we will see this area grow in the coming year,” Clay said. “Not just as a career opportunity, but having a base knowledge of derivatives will help women with financial decisions and educate them on instruments that will help their investments.”

Clay believes collaboration, competitiveness, and the desire to succeed will get women to the top. However, once at the top, women still struggle to manage professional accountabilities amongst personal and family responsibilities.

“How do I manage everything? I don’t. I make concessions and balance those concessions,” Clay said. “You just do the best you can do every day.”