Ong First Tradition, the Singapore futures brokerage co-run by Swiss broker Tradition, has hired a futures market veteran as its new head of operations.

Rich Hall-Reppen, previously head of clearing and execution sales at US commodity trading giant INTL FCStone, joined Ong First as chief operating officer at the end of January. A spokeswoman for Ong First confirmed the appointment. Hall-Reppen and FCStone were not available for comment.