David Axtell

Foreign Exchange Markets Expert | Author & Audiobook Narrator | Host of The Trading Floor Podcast

35+ Years in Financial Markets
4 Continents
200+ Nostro Relationships Managed
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Practitioner-Led Expertise

David Axtell has spent over three decades operating at the intersection of foreign exchange markets, treasury management, and institutional banking across four continents. From running dealing rooms in Riyadh and Doha to building nostro networks spanning 120 currencies, his career represents authentic market experience—not academic theory.

David's work has taken him through the dealing rooms of National Westminster Bank, HSBC in Dubai, Qatar National Bank in Doha, USCB in Riyadh and SHUAA Capital in DIFC and most recently moving to the buy-side where he ran a team that built and managed a portfolio of 200 plus nostro relationships that became the infrastructure for multi-currency payments across not only majors but most importantly emerging and frontier currencies.

Three of the people David has mentored have become bank CEOs. His philosophy is simple: markets reward those who understand both the mechanics and the psychology of trading—and the best way to learn is from someone who's done it.

Treasury Management

Building and running treasury operations, balance sheet management, and institutional liquidity frameworks

FX & Money Markets

Spot, forwards, swaps, NDFs, and interest rate products across major and emerging market currencies

Market Infrastructure

Nostro network development, correspondent banking, and multi-currency payment operations

Emerging Markets

Deep expertise in African, Middle Eastern, and Asian currency markets and their unique dynamics

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Key Achievements

Market Infrastructure

For five years managed the team that built Crown Agents Partner network to 200 plus nostros as well as many more liquidity providers to service 120 currencies, with strong speciality across the African continent.

Market Innovation

First market maker in Saudi Riyal FRAs and Interest Rate Swaps. Instrumental in creating, alongside the central bank SAMA, the official fixing mechanism for the SAR IBOR.

Leadership & Mentorship

A career defined by developing talent. Three professionals mentored by David have gone on to become CEOs of financial institutions - a testament to his commitment to building the next generation of market practitioners.

Held "Boot Camps" for entry level dealers as well as for sales teams looking to understand the working of treasury departments.

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The Trading Floor Podcast

Bridging Theory and Reality

The Trading Floor podcast brings institutional FX knowledge to a wider audience. Each episode combines practical market insight with educational depth—the conversations that happen after the textbooks close.

From spot trading mechanics to complex derivatives, from emerging market currencies to risk management frameworks, David shares the perspectives that only come from decades on the front line.

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Publications

cover.jpeg FX Cash Products book cover
Foreign Exchange Markets Professional Series

FX Cash Products

Co-authored by David Axtell

Book 1 in the FX Markets Professional Series. Comprehensive coverage of spot, forwards, swaps, and non-deliverable forwards—written by practitioners, for practitioners. Real-world examples from institutional trading.

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FX Options FX Options book cover
Foreign Exchange Markets Professional Series

FX Options: Pricing, Hedging, Exotics, Risk and Institutional Practice

Introduction by David Axtell

Book 2 in the series. David wrote the introduction to this practitioner desk reference on vanilla and exotic FX options, the Greeks, volatility surfaces, structured products, and institutional risk management. Coming Q3 2026 — eBook available now; print ships from 15 September 2026.

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Foreign Exchange Markets Professional Series

Cross-Currency Swaps and Basis Trading

Co-authored by David Axtell

Book 3 in the series. Cross-currency swaps, basis trading, and the institutional mechanics that sit beneath multi-currency funding and hedging. Co-authored with Luigi Pascal Rondanini — expected end of 2026 / early 2027.

Coming late 2026 / early 2027

Audiobook Narrator

David also narrates audiobooks for Rondanini Publishing’s Wired Collection — accessible titles for neurodivergent readers, with chapter-tracked audio editions. A fifth title in the same series is on the way.

Wired Differently Wired Differently cover

Wired Differently

A field guide to neurodivergence at work — twelve workplace problems, practical strategies, research cited.

Listen / Buy
Wired to Write Wired to Write cover

Wired to Write

A gentle road to finishing a book for brains the standard writing advice was never written for.

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Wired and Money Wired and Money cover

Wired and Money

Money systems for autistic and ADHD readers — executive function, impulse spending, and practical actions.

Listen / Buy
Wired to Manage Wired to Manage cover

Wired to Manage

Coordination, time blindness, delegation, and feedback for brains that weren’t built for Gantt charts.

Listen / Buy
High Performers The High-Performer's Job Search Playbook cover
Audiobook coming soon

The High-Performer's Job Search Playbook

Same Wired Collection series — underemployment, trap jobs, and a screening system that matches how your brain actually works. Written edition available now; narration forthcoming.

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Explore The Wired Collection

Work With David

Available for consultancy on treasury operations, FX markets, risk management, and market infrastructure development. Speaking engagements and training programs for corporate treasury teams and financial institutions.

Email David