Christopher Quick - Director | Virtu Financial (VIRT) Executive Profile & Compensation

About Christopher C. Quick

Christopher C. Quick is an independent director of Virtu Financial, Inc. (VIRT), age 67, serving since April 2016. He has 30+ years in securities and financial services, including CEO of Banc of America Specialist, Inc. (NYSE member firm), Vice Chairman of Global Wealth & Investment Management at Bank of America, and leadership of specialist trading firms Q&R Specialist, JJC Specialist, and Fleet Specialists. He holds a B.S. in Finance from Fairfield University (1979).

Past Roles

Organization	Role	Tenure	Committees/Impact
Banc of America Specialist, Inc.	Chief Executive Officer	to 2006	Led NYSE specialist operations; integration after BofA acquisition
Bank of America	Vice Chairman, Global Wealth & Investment Management	n/a	Senior leadership across wealth management
Q&R Specialist; JJC Specialist; Fleet Specialists	Chairman & CEO	1982–2004	Operated floor-based trading firms; remained post BofA acquisition
NYSE	Board Member	n/a	Market structure governance experience
KCG Holdings, Inc.	Director	pre-2017	Board experience at market maker acquired by Virtu in 2017
Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation	Board Member	n/a	Civic involvement
Boys Club of New York	Trustee	n/a	Philanthropy and youth programs

External Roles

Organization	Role	Status
Mutual of America (retirement services and investments)	Director	Current
Fairfield University	Trustee	Current

Board Governance

Independence: Board determined Quick is independent under Nasdaq rules; VIRT is a “controlled company,” but Compensation Committee is fully independent.
Committees: Compensation Committee (member); Nominating & Corporate Governance (N&CG) Committee (member).
Engagement: In 2024, the board held 5 meetings; committee meetings—Audit (9), Risk (5), N&CG (4), Compensation (3). No director attended fewer than 75% of applicable meetings.
Compensation Committee authority: Sole authority to retain/terminate compensation consultants; administers equity plan; recommends executive compensation to the board.

Fixed Compensation

Component	Structure	Quick – 2024 Amount
Annual cash retainer	$100,000 for non-employee directors	Included in $145,000 cash
Committee membership fees	Audit $20,000; Compensation $15,000; N&CG $15,000; Risk $15,000	Member of Compensation and N&CG (fees apply)
Committee chair fees	Audit $40,000; Compensation $30,000; N&CG $30,000; Risk $30,000	Chair roles not disclosed by name in proxy
Total cash fees (2024)	Retainer + applicable committee fees (+ any chair/proration)	$145,000

The proxy states no meeting fees are paid; differences from the base plus member fees likely reflect proration/committee changes. Chair assignments for 2024 are not specified by director name.

Performance Compensation

Component	Grant Mechanics	Quick – 2024 Grant
Annual RSU grant	$150,000 grant upon reelection; vests on one-year anniversary	$150,000 RSUs
Performance metrics	Not applicable to director RSUs (time-based vesting)	None disclosed

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Company	Relationship to VIRT	Potential Interlock/Conflict Note
Mutual of America	Customer/competitor relationship not disclosed	No related-party transactions disclosed with Mutual of America
KCG Holdings (prior)	Virtu acquired KCG in 2017	Historical association; no current conflict disclosed

Expertise & Qualifications

Specialist market leadership and NYSE governance experience; senior bank leadership; post-merger integration expertise.
Broad board service across financial services and civic organizations; finance degree.

Equity Ownership

Item	Detail
Beneficial ownership (fully exchanged basis)	51,123 shares; <1% of outstanding
Unvested director RSUs (as of 12/31/2024)	6,681 RSUs (standard for non-employee directors)
Ownership guidelines	After four years of service, minimum stock ownership of $225,000 required
Approximate market value of shares	~$1.89M (51,123 × $37.03 close on 4/11/2025)

Based on reported holdings and the April 11, 2025 closing price, Quick’s ownership appears to meet/exceed director stock ownership guidelines.

Governance Assessment

Committee effectiveness: Quick serves on Compensation and N&CG—key levers for pay practices, governance guidelines, and board refreshment. Compensation Committee is fully independent, mitigating controlled-company exemptions.
Independence and attendance: Independent status and no <75% attendance flags support engagement.
Alignment: Annual equity grants and meaningful share ownership strengthen alignment; director ownership guideline in place.
Policies: Long-term hedging discouraged (requires pre-clearance), and Dodd-Frank-compliant clawback policy adopted.
RED FLAGS to monitor:
- Controlled company status: Founder-affiliated entity controls ~87% voting power—board elections and say-on-pay outcomes are effectively determined, which can diminish minority shareholder influence.
- Related-party infrastructure: Tax receivable agreements and large distributions to founding/employee entities reflect complex capital/tax structures; not directly tied to Quick but relevant to governance risk context.
- Committee chair clarity: Chair roles are not named in the proxy; investors may seek explicit disclosure of chair responsibilities.

Compensation Committee interlocks: None—no member was an officer/employee in 2024; no executive officer served on another company’s comp committee with a VIRT director.

Section 16(a) compliance: No delinquent filings noted for Quick in 2024; late filings were disclosed for another director and Employee Holdco.

Appendix: Board and Committee Activity (2024)

Body	Meetings Held
Board of Directors	5
Audit Committee	9
Risk Committee	5
N&CG Committee	4
Compensation Committee	3

Director Compensation Components (Policy Summary)

Cash: $100,000 annual retainer; committee membership fees (Audit $20k; Compensation $15k; N&CG $15k; Risk $15k); chair fees (Audit $40k; Compensation $30k; N&CG $30k; Risk $30k).
Equity: $150,000 RSU grant upon reelection; vests after one year.