Our Pillars
No other Wall Street institution has a story like ours. Our company was founded upon six core pillars:
Global Capabilities with Bespoke Service
Cantor offers a full suite of global capabilities—including investment banking, capital markets, prime services, research, and asset management—backed by a team that provides tailored support to meet clients’ unique financial needs.
Exceptional Talent
We recruit and hire exceptional talent to ensure our clients receive unparalleled service with a customized approach. We’re passionate about the continued growth and development of our employees so they can take their careers to the next level.
Continuous Innovation
We’re an innovation company. Why? Because more than 75 years of experience has taught us that the next 75 years belong to those who not only invest in but invent the future. Our commitment to fueling continuous innovation – both for ourselves and our clients – keeps us at the cutting edge of finance, where we deliver smarter, more personalized financial services to our clients.
Experienced Leadership
Howard W. Lutnick, Cantor Chairman & CEO, has been at the helm for more than three decades, making him one of the most experienced leaders on Wall Street. His visionary approach, relentless drive to succeed, and commitment to supporting the community in which we work and live carries through the organization.
Resilience and Perseverance
Not only have we persevered through every market fluctuation over the past seven decades, but we’ve built a global financial services powerhouse in the wake of unprecedented hardship. In 2001, we tragically lost 658 of our 960 New York-based colleagues in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. Due to the unwavering dedication, determination and ingenuity of our employees, we stand stronger now more than ever before.
Private Partnership
As a private institution, we stand apart in our capacity to focus exclusively on the things that matter most to our clients. Our independence allows us to put their success first every single day, and to foster dynamic, innovative approaches across all our businesses.
Executive Leadership
Howard W. Lutnick
Howard W. Lutnick
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Howard W. Lutnick is Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., one of the world’s leading financial services firms, Chairman and CEO of global brokerage and financial technology company BGC Group, Inc., and Chairman of Newmark Group, Inc., a world leader in commercial real estate services.
Mr. Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 and rose rapidly through the ranks to be appointed President and CEO in 1991. Five years later he was named Chairman. In 2004, Cantor Fitzgerald separated out its voice brokerage business to create BGC Partners L.P. In 2008, Mr. Lutnick led the merger of BGC and eSpeed, forming BGC Partners, Inc. In 2011, BGC completed its acquisition of Newmark, and subsequently invested heavily in the growth of the commercial real estate services business. Newmark completed its IPO in 2017 and the Spin-Off from BGC in 2018.
Following the tragic losses suffered on September 11th, 2001, which included the loss of his brother Gary Lutnick, Mr. Lutnick rebuilt the firm and dedicated himself to supporting the families of the Cantor Fitzgerald employees lost that day. In the days after the attack, he launched The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund which committed $180 million to the 9/11 families over 5 years as well as healthcare coverage over 10 years. The Relief Fund is still active today and looks to aid victims of terrorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies.
Since 9/11, Mr. Lutnick has been recognized as a symbol of resilience, and his story has been widely covered by top financial publications. Mr. Lutnick was named The Financial Times’ Person of the Year in 2001 and Ernst & Young’s United States Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010. In 2023, Mr. Lutnick celebrated his 40th anniversary at the Firm, making him one of the longest-standing CEOs on Wall Street.
Mr. Lutnick is a member of the Board of Directors of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Partnership for New York City, Weill Cornell Medicine, and the Horace Mann School. Mr. Lutnick is a recipient of the highest honor granted to non-military personnel by the Navy: the Department of the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award.
Mr. Lutnick is a graduate of Haverford College and holds a degree in economics.
Stephen Merkel
Stephen Merkel
Executive Vice Chairman
Executive Managing Director
General Counsel
Stephen M. Merkel is the Executive Vice Chairman, Executive Managing Director, and General Counsel for the Cantor Fitzgerald L.P. group of companies, which includes Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., BGC Group, Inc., and Newmark Group, Inc. Mr. Merkel is also on the Board of Directors of BGC Group’s FMX business.
Prior to joining Cantor Fitzgerald in 1993, Mr. Merkel was Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Goldman Sachs & Co., dedicated to the J. Aron Division. He began his career at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Mr. Merkel graduated with a B.A. Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.
Lori Pennay
Lori Pennay
Senior Managing Director
Global Head of Human Resources
Chief Employment Counsel, the Americas
Lori Pennay is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Human Resources and Chief Employment Counsel for the Americas for Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P., overseeing all Human Resources functions globally, and employment law in the Americas, for the firm.
Previously, Ms. Pennay served as a Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, providing legal advice and representation to Cantor and BGC Group with respect to employment and partnership matters. Before this, Ms. Pennay worked as Employment Counsel for Credit Suisse Securities (USA), LLC, where she was primarily responsible for providing legal advice and representation for the private banking and certain back-office divisions. She began her career as an employment lawyer with the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP.
Ms. Pennay holds a B.A. from Pennsylvania State University with high distinction honors and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Danny Salinas
Danny Salinas
Senior Managing Director
Chief Financial Officer
Danny Salinas is a Senior Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Cantor Fitzgerald L.P. As CFO, Mr. Salinas is responsible for financial operations, including accounting, finance, regulatory reporting, treasury, financial planning and analysis, as well as taxation, risk management, and investor relations.
Mr. Salinas is a seasoned veteran with over 20 years of experience. Prior to joining Cantor, he held various executive positions for over a decade at TD Bank Group, most recently as Chief Financial Officer in TD Securities. Mr. Salinas also practiced as a tax attorney at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, where he advised on strategic corporate transactions. He began his career at Deloitte & Touche, where he received his CPA.
Mr. Salinas holds FINRA Series 27 and 79 licenses. He earned a J.D. from Georgetown University, where he graduated magna cum laude, and a B.S. in accounting from Rutgers University.
Mark Kaplan
Mark Kaplan
Senior Managing Director
Global Chief Operating Officer
Mark Kaplan is a Senior Managing Director and Global Chief Operating Officer of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. In that role he assists senior management in running the day-to-day operations of the firm.
Mr. Kaplan joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 2018. Previously, he spent 10 years as Chief Operating Officer for Société Générale in the Americas, where he was responsible for managing its regional operations, including the IT, operations, finance, product control, operational risk, IT security, business continuity planning, sourcing, and real estate departments. In that role, Mr. Kaplan helped develop and build many of Société Générale’s business initiatives, complete several significant mergers and acquisitions, and lead several regional strategic initiatives.
Prior to that position, from 2001 to 2007, Mr. Kaplan was the General Counsel for Société Générale for the Americas, leading its legal and compliance departments. Before joining Société Générale, he was General Counsel for CIBC World Markets Corp.’s U.S. operations, and previously served as a Managing Director, and the Director of Litigation at Oppenheimer & Co., Inc.
Mr. Kaplan holds a B.A. from Bucknell University, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. from Columbia University Law School.
Sage Kelly
Sage Kelly
Senior Managing Director
Global Head of Investment Banking
Sage Kelly is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Investment Banking at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
Mr. Kelly has 30 years of experience in investment banking. Prior to joining Cantor, he served as the Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at Jefferies from 2009 to 2015. Before that, Mr. Kelly was a Managing Director at UBS, where he worked from 1999 to 2009, and at Citibank in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group from 1994 to 1999.
Mr. Kelly also spent three years working in the biotechnology industry for Genetics Institute.
Mr. Kelly is a graduate of Boston College and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, and chemistry.
Pascal Bandelier
Pascal Bandelier
Senior Managing Director
Global Head of Equities
Pascal Bandelier is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Equities at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
Mr. Bandelier joined Cantor in 2017. Previously, he was the Head of Equity Execution Trading at Barclays from 2013 to 2017, where he was responsible for the trading, sales trading, desk analyst, and low-touch electronic businesses. Before that, he was Head of TMT Cash Equity Trading at Morgan Stanley, and Head of Cash Equity Trading & Risk at Nomura, where he grew the business from 67th to 10th in market share in less than one year.
From 2001 to 2010, Mr. Bandelier worked at Lehman Brothers/Barclays, starting his career as a Cash Equity Trader and later joining Barclays in the merger as the Managing Director, Head of TMT Cash Equity Trading & Co-Head of Equity Risk.
Mr. Bandelier is a graduate of Northwestern University and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics.
Christian Wall
Christian Wall
Senior Managing Director
Global Head of Fixed Income
Mr. Wall joined Cantor in 2017 as the Head of the Structured Products Group (SPG) and a member of the Fixed Income Operating Committee. In this role, he helped build and led the sales, trading, and banking teams across the SPG platform. Prior to joining Cantor in 2017, Mr. Wall spent seven years as a Managing Director in Non-Agency trading at Credit Suisse, which was the number one ranked Non-Agency trading business in the US at the time. Before Credit Suisse, he worked at Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and UBS, trading various Agency-backed and Non-Agency mortgage products.
Mr. Wall holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.