Learn about Rotimi Akinyele appointment as CTO at Deriv

Direct link: Learn about Rotimi Akinyele appointment as CTO at Deriv

Rotimi Akinyele Named CTO at Deriv

Deriv, a global online trading company, has appointed Rotimi Akinyele as chief technology officer. He will lead Deriv's engineering organization as the company advances its AI-native strategy.

Akinyele's New Role

Akinyele joined Deriv in July 2024 as vice president of security. His responsibilities have since expanded to cover security, data, compliance, finance, trading, and antifraud.

As CTO, he will focus on automating work across the company, strengthening its internal AI systems, and developing a self-improving process for software development. Deriv also plans to maintain strong security controls as AI agents gain broader access and responsibilities. The company wants security to remain central as it increases the use of AI across its operations.

Akinyele's Previous Experience

At Deriv, Akinyele first led security and data. He then took on automation work across compliance, data, and finance, followed by responsibilities in trading and antifraud.

Before joining Deriv, he was a director in the Group Information Security Department at Dubai Holding. In that role, he oversaw cybersecurity across the company's hospitality, real estate, information and communications technology, media, and education businesses. Earlier, he led information security and business continuity for a government authority in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.

What Deriv's CEO Said

Deriv CEO Rakshit Choudhary said Akinyele had grown into a key leadership role at the company. He explained that Deriv is building an AI-native business and sees Akinyele as an important leader in that effort. As automation expands and AI agents take on more responsibility, Choudhary said, the company will need to protect more systems and operations. Deriv plans to build security controls into the way it develops and deploys technology.

Akinyele said he was honored to take on the role at an important point in Deriv's development. He noted that the engineering teams had spent the past year changing how they develop software. His priority is to continue that work while keeping security measures aligned with each new system the company automates. He also said he looks forward to working with Deriv's engineers to advance the strategy.

About Deriv

Jean-Yves Sireau founded Deriv in 1999. The company began as Regent Markets Group, with the goal of making online trading accessible to more people. Today, Deriv offers CFDs and other derivatives on forex, stocks, indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and derived indices. It operates several trading platforms for its customers.

Deriv's AI Strategy

Akinyele's appointment supports Deriv's move toward an AI-native operating model. His experience will inform the company's engineering plans as it works to automate 75% of its manual workflows by the end of 2026.