Technology >> CEO Interviews >> March 11, 2005
JEFFREY CITRON, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, is a technology pioneer
and visionary who transformed the financial services industry. As
Chairman and CEO of Vonage, Mr. Citron aims to redefine yet another
industry --telecommunications. Mr. Citron spearheaded some of the more
revolutionary financial services developments over the past decade. In
1995, Mr. Citron founded The Island ECN, a computerized trading system
designed to eliminate the problems associated with order execution.
Instinet Group recently acquired the Island ECN for $503 million. Today,
the newly merged company is one of the largest global financial
exchanges, and is responsible for more than one in four NASDAQ trades.
Following on the success of The Island ECN, Mr. Citron founded and
became the Chairman and CEO of Datek Online Holdings Corp. as Datek
transitioned into the online brokerage industry. Under his leadership,
Datek had grown to become the fourth largest online brokerage in the US,
and was recently acquired by Ameritrade Holdings for $1.3 billion. The
newly merged company, with nearly 3 million customers, is now the second
largest online financial services firm behind the Charles Schwab
Company. Mr. Citron departed Datek in 1999 and, recognizing a similar
opportunity, founded Vonage. Apart from his entrepreneurial activities,
Mr. Citron is continually pursuing philanthropic initiatives. He
currently serves on the board of the Montclair Art Museum and through
his family foundation routinely funds medical research, supports the
Arts and dedicates his time and resources to children's charities Profile
and a picture of the main things you're doing at the present time.
Mr. Citron: Vonage is a four-year-old startup - I
