About Gato Systems: Trading Technology Infrastructure
Gato pairs global expertise with regional insight, helping firms navigate local norms and build partnerships that last.
Built for What's Next
Gato was founded on a simple idea: firms should be free to focus on growth, not weighed down by outdated infrastructure. Too often, organizations are forced to choose between rigid, costly legacy systems or lightweight tools that lack institutional depth.
That's where Gato comes in. We deliver enterprise-grade, modular infrastructure for trading and operations, with compliance built in and the flexibility to scale.
Our Leadership
Tim Connelly
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Tim Connelly has built market systems for nearly 40 years. He is a fintech entrepreneur with deep U.S. regulatory know-how. He also knows how markets work outside the U.S. At Gato, he leads the work on trading tools that stay reliable and compliant. The goal is simple: help firms grow with confidence.
Sajjad Somjee
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Sajjad Somjee has worked in financial tech his whole career. He has built trading platforms, order management systems, and reporting tools. That work spans North America, Europe, and the GCC. Before Gato, he led product and engineering teams. The platforms he built serve broker-dealers, clearing firms, and global market firms.
Joanna Connelly
Chief Administrative Officer
Joanna Connelly is the Chief Administrative Officer at Gato Systems. She runs day-to-day operations and owns company governance. She spent more than 25 years in the legal field. That work grounds her in the rules, and in clear, careful process. Joanna also gives back. She writes grants for nonprofits at no cost. She serves on Human Relations and Participatory Budgeting Committees.
Muhammad Badar
Chief Experience Officer
Muhammad Badar is the Chief Experience Officer at Gato Systems. He has led client service and delivery in markets around the world. His clients include Tier-1 banks and large buy- and sell-side firms. That work lifted client satisfaction, revenue, and daily efficiency. Badar is known for linking business goals to technical work. He leads projects that span teams and keep clients close.
Kirit Teli
Head of Business Development
Kirit Teli is a fintech leader with deep brokerage experience. He knows market operations and business development across regions. At Gato, he drives growth and expansion into new markets. He builds the partnerships and client ties the firm runs on. His style is steady and practical. Every client gets a clean launch and strong day-to-day support.
About Gato Systems
Gato Systems builds trading and operations software for broker-dealers, proprietary trading firms, hedge funds, and clearing firms. The platform covers the full order lifecycle. Order management and routing. Pre-trade risk. CAT and CAIS reporting. Onboarding, corporate actions, cash, fees, and client reporting.
The team comes from trading desks, clearing firms, and vendor engineering. That mix shapes the product. We have run the systems we now build, and we have felt the cost of the ones that do not fit.
Firms rarely need a full replacement. They need one process fixed without breaking the rest. So every Gato module runs on its own, against the books and records a firm already keeps.
What ties the modules together is one data model. An order, an account, and an instrument mean the same thing in every part of the platform. That is why a second module is a setup task rather than a new project.
We work in the United States market first, and we build to its rules. SEC Rule 15c3-5 for market access. FINRA rules for supervision and margin. CAT and CAIS for reporting. Controls sit in the order path, not in a report written after the close.
Our approach to delivery is plain. Start with the workflow that costs the most. Run it in parallel until the numbers match. Retire the old path. Then move to the next one.
Who does Gato Systems build for?
Broker-dealers, proprietary trading firms, hedge funds, and clearing firms. That includes introducing and self-clearing broker-dealers with market-access and reporting duties. Firm type shapes the starting stack more than firm size does.
Is Gato a full platform or a set of modules?
Both. Each module runs on its own against your current stack. Because they share one data model, running several together needs configuration rather than a new integration project.
Where is Gato Systems based?
Our office is in Hazlet, New Jersey, near the New York market centres, with team members working remotely across regions. Support follows US market hours.
How does an engagement usually start?
With a short review of the process a firm wants to fix and the data behind it.
From there we scope one module, run it in parallel with the current path, and move over once results match.
What kind of company is Gato Systems?
A financial technology company building trading and post-trade infrastructure for regulated firms.
We are a software vendor, not a broker-dealer: we do not hold customer assets, route flow for our own account, or take positions.
How is the company organised?
Around the product suite rather than around accounts.
Engineering, implementation, and support teams are aligned to the trading, risk and compliance, and operations and data families, so the people who build a module are the people who help you run it.
What is it like to work at Gato?
Small teams with direct ownership of a module, close to the firms using it.
Most engineers here have worked inside a broker-dealer or an exchange, and product decisions are argued from operational experience rather than from a roadmap deck.
How do we get in touch about a partnership or a role?
For platform and partnership conversations, request a demo and we will route it to the team covering your firm type and region.
For roles, see the careers page: open positions list the team, location, and what the first ninety days look like.