NEW YORK (Reuters) - IEX Group, operator of the newest U.S. stock exchange, on Monday said it hired former Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) executive Sara Furber to help it challenge Nasdaq Inc (O:NDAQ) and Intercontinental Exchange Inc's (N:ICE) New York Stock Exchange for corporate listings.
The New York-based company, which was featured in Michael Lewis' book "Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt," has been courting potential "founding issuers," offering them significant incentives to list their shares on IEX, Reuters reported in September.
As head of listings, Furber, who has held senior positions in wealth management, investment management and investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE:BAC), aims to begin bringing companies on board beginning in 2017.
Furber will report to IEX Chief Executive Officer Brad Katsuyama.
"Flash Boys" detailed the efforts of the exchange's founders to build a more investor-focused market that included a "speed bump" to remove what they saw as unfair advantages of high-speed traders.
IEX launched The Investors Exchange on Aug. 19 after operating an off-exchange trading platform for more than 2-1/2 years.
NYSE and Nasdaq compete fiercely for corporate listings, from courting initial public offerings to luring companies already listed on their rival exchanges, both of which add to revenues and can be public relations windfalls.
NYSE offers listing companies the chance to ring the opening or closing bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, giving them exposure to the TV news channels that broadcast from the iconic location.
Nasdaq puts listing companies' names on an electronic billboard at its Times Square (NYSE:SQ) location in New York.
Bats Global Markets (Z:BATS), operator of the second-largest U.S. exchange, lists its own stock, but has focused on listing exchange-traded funds rather than companies.
Company shares can trade on all 13 U.S. exchanges, regardless of where they are listed.