Biography

Douglas Cifu is the Chief Executive Officer of Virtu Financial and was a co-founder of Virtu in 2008. Previously, he was a partner at the international law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. At Paul Weiss, Mr. Cifu served as a member of the Management Committee, Deputy Chair of the Corporate Department and co-head of the Private Equity Group.

He is recognized in Chambers USA and Legal 500 as a leading mergers and acquisitions lawyer for buyouts and private equity transactions. In 2006, Private Equity International listed him among the 30 most influential lawyers currently working in global private equity, citing his expertise in technology-driven sectors. He has been recognized by Crain’s New York Business in its “Technology 100,” a listing of the top 100 people working in technology in the New York area. In 2020, he was recognized as the #3 top FinTech CEO by The Financial Technology Report.

He serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the board of visitors of Columbia College at Columbia University.

Mr. Cifu earned his J.D. at Columbia Law School in 1990 and his B.A. magna cum laude from Columbia University in 1987 where he was also elected as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.