A lexander Gerko is a mathematician and financial trader who founded XTX Markets, a leading quantitative trading firm based in London. Born in Moscow, Gerko earned a doctorate in mathematics from Moscow State University before embarking on a career in finance. He worked as an equities trader at Deutsche Bank and later as a quantitative researcher at a hedge fund, where he honed his skills in algorithmic trading.

In 2015, he founded XTX Markets, which quickly grew into one of the largest market makers in the world. The firm uses sophisticated statistical models and massive computing power to trade across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, currencies, and commodities. Unlike traditional trading firms, XTX has no human traders; all decisions are made by algorithms. Gerko's success has been meteoric, and he has become one of the UK's top taxpayers. He is known for being media-shy but is also a significant philanthropist, focusing on mathematics education and research.