Dubai's DME CEO Thomas Leaver Resigns, Transition Committee Appointed

DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Dubai Mercantile Exchange, or DME, said Wednesday that its chief executive officer Thomas Leaver has resigned to pursue other interests and that a transition committee has been appointed to oversee the search for his replacement.

Leaver who was appointed CEO in 2008 will remain in his post during the transition period and will be assisting the bourse in its search for a successor, DME said in an emailed statement.

"This is purely my personal decision and it won't affect the strategy of the exchange," Leaver told Zawya Dow Jones.

Last month, CME Group Inc. (CME) doubled its stake in the DME to 50% in a recapitalization plan, as the U.S.-based exchange operator looks to consolidate its global footprint.

"We have already started the process of identifying my successor...he or she won't come from CME or any other shareholder," Leaver said.

The DME's flagship contract is in Oman sour crude oil futures, linked to Middle Eastern crude oil output that is heavier and contains more sulfur than the light, sweet varieties represented by Nymex's West Texas Intermediate crude oil and Brent crude oil, that are traded in London on markets run by Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE).

DME is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority and all trades executed on the exchange are cleared by CME Group's Nymex, which is regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

-By Summer Said and Iman Dawoud, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

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