FILE PHOTO: Mark Hemsley chief executive of BATS Chi-X Europe, speaks about issues with the IPO of Facebook during the Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P. global exchange and brokerage conference in New York June 7, 2012. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cboe Global Markets CBOE.Z said on Friday the President of Cboe Europe, Mark Hemsley, would retire from the company at the end of February and named David Howson, chief operating officer of its European operations as his successor, beginning Jan. 1.

Hemsley was a founding employee in 2008 of stock trading platform Bats Europe, which was acquired along with the rest of Bats, by Cboe in 2017, making the exchange operator a major player in equities markets and boosting its options market share.

“Mark’s many contributions include positioning Cboe Europe for future success by establishing a strong team of trading, technology and capital markets experts,” Cboe Chief Executive Officer Ed Tilly said on a conference call with analysts following the company’s quarterly earnings report.

Howson joined Bats Europe in 2013.