BGC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGC), a global brokerage and financial technology company, has announced Howard W. Lutnick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, has been confirmed by the United States Senate as the 41st Secretary of Commerce and, as a result, has stepped down as Chairman of the Board and from his executive positions at the Company.

Mr. Lutnick has agreed to divest his interests in BGC to comply with U.S. government ethics rules and does not expect any arrangement which involves selling shares on the open market.

The Board of Directors appointed John Abularrage, JP Aubin, and Sean Windeatt as Co-Chief Executive Officers. Mr. Windeatt will retain his position as Chief Operating Officer, a role he has held since 2009.

Mr. Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 and rose rapidly through the ranks to be appointed President and CEO in 1991, at the age of 29. Five years later he was named Chairman.

In 2004, Cantor Fitzgerald spun out its wholesale brokerage business to create BGC Partners, L.P. As Chairman and CEO, he led the merger of BGC Partners and eSpeed in 2008, forming BGC Partners, Inc., which was publicly listed on the Nasdaq. The Company was renamed BGC Group, Inc. following the firm’s corporate conversion in 2023.