State Street has recruited a European sales chief for its software and data arm, Global Exchange — a three-year-old rival to the likes of BlackRock's Aladdin and one of the custodian bank's top priorities for investment.

State Street has hired Richard Irons, a former European sales director at the New York Stock Exchange's technology arm, to lead its regional sales team. Irons was most recently at Fenergo, a software provider to private banks.