Brett Harrison

Brett Harrison (born May 11, 1988) is an American businessman and software developer. He is the founder and CEO of derivatives brokerage and trading technology firm Architect Financial Technologies.

Early life

Harrison was born in New York City and raised in Dix Hills, New York. He graduated from Half Hollow Hills High School West in 2006. While in high school, his mathematical research was published in American Mathematical Monthly.

He attended Harvard University, where he earned an M.S. and B.A. in computer science. His studies focused on artificial intelligence. He completed Math 55 during his time at Harvard.

Career

Harrison joined Jane Street Capital as an ADR trader in 2010. He later went on to lead Jane Street’s algorithmic trading system development groups. While at Jane Street, he met and worked with Sam Bankman-Fried.

He was subsequently a technology executive at Citadel Securities. At Citadel he managed the company’s Options, ETF, ADR and OTC technology departments.

In May 2021, Harrison became President of FTX US. While at FTX US he established the company’s regulated business operations and opened its headquarters in Chicago. In 2022 he built and managed the launch of the company’s US retail stock brokerage and trading platform.

Harrison announced his resignation from FTX US on September 27, 2022, after protracted disagreements with Bankman-Fried over formal management structure and lack of delegation of authority at the company.

In December 2022, Bloomberg reported that Harrison was raising capital for a new trading technology venture. In January 2023, he closed a $5 million seed round and founded Architect Financial Technologies, a company to develop institutional-grade trading infrastructure. Architect’s investors include Coinbase, Circle, and Anthony Scaramucci. The company became a CFTC-regulated derivatives broker in September 2023.

Personal life

Harrison is Jewish. He is vegan and owns numerous rescue dogs and cats.

He is married to Hannah Harrison. In January 2019, they adopted a child with congenital amputations from China. They adopted their second child from Thailand in 2023.

References