JAMES GORDON: FORMER TIMBER HILL OPEN OUTCRY TRADER STORY

James Gordon spent eight years working on the Cboe trading floor as a trader for Timber Hill. His experience, and how he was treated as a trader, was different from others’. He found his way to the exchange through a brother who was a clerk at the CME. Gordon was an English major and graduated from the University of Michigan. He wanted a year off before heading to law school. He started as a runner for Prudential at the CME and worked his way up by showing aptitude and interest. He was introduced to Timber Hill, took their math test and scored a 95% with one question wrong. He was told he had a better chance of getting a seat at the Cboe, rather than the CME. He talks about Timber Hill, PTSD from trading and what happened on 9/11. He eventually moved to the compliance side of the business as order flow on the trading floor diminished. He sat down for an interview with John Lothian News for the MarketsWiki Education Open Outcry Traders History Project. 

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