At the dawn of the global financial crisis, Niki Beattie left a steady 14-year stint in investment banking at Merrill Lynch to found her own consultancy firm. Now, her Market Structure Partners boasts clients including exchanges, high frequency trading firms, global investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers, private equity firms and governments.

As well as advising clients on how to navigate the nuts and bolts of Europe's trading systems, Beattie holds board positions at firms including Aquis Exchange and French brokerage Kepler Cheuvreux. She is also a member of the Secondary Markets Advisory Committee of the European Securities Markets Authority.