I have some big news to announce. As of January 1st, 2010, I will be handing over Zecco's CEO reins to our current CIO, Michael Raneri. Michael is a world-class manager with 20 years of brokerage experience, as well as the vision and drive to take our brokerage platform to the next level. I am confident he will lead Zecco to even greater heights.
When Dino van Es and I first conceived of Zecco in 2006, I initially planned to spend 6 months to put the team in place, launch the company, and turn it over to a new CEO. Nearly 4 years later, I'm still here and the time has come, finally, for me to pass the torch.
It's been an incredible ride and I've enjoyed every challenging, thrilling moment of it. It's amazing that Zecco has come so far so fast. I still remember those first meetings in my backyard in LA in the spring of 2006. Six of us huddled around a picnic table with nothing but a dream and a few computers. I remember when we launched the community on the Fourth of July that same year. I remember standing on Wall Street outside of the NYSE when the first trade was placed with Zecco Trading and cheering as each new account was opened. And now, a little over 3 1/2 years later we've got two bustling offices with nearly 90 employees, close to 300,000 community members swapping ideas and sharing information, and over 170,000 brokerage accounts.
I want to thank each and every member of the Zecco team for their support over the past few years. I've never worked with such a talented, innovative group of people in my life. Thank you for giving your hearts and souls to make Zecco the company it is today.
And of course, I'd like to thank you, our customers, more than anyone! We'd be nothing without you.
This won't be the last you'll hear from me. After January 1st, I plan to transition into my new role on the Supervisory Board. So while I won’t be in the day-to-day, I'll still be very involved in the direction and vision of the company. It's my baby, after all.
And I love writing the blog and communicating directly with you all, so look for more postings in the coming months even as we make this transition. Michael, I wish you every success! Viva Zecco!