Deriv names Rotimi Akinyele CTO as it pushes to automate engineering across the business
The company’s Vice President of Security, who has also led automation in Compliance, Antifraud, Finance, Data and Trading, will now run Deriv’s engineering function.
Online trading provider Deriv has promoted Rotimi Akinyele to Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Akinyele joined Deriv in July 2024 as Vice President of Security and has since been given responsibility for a growing number of functions.
In his new role, he will head Deriv’s engineering teams. Key priorities include extending automation across every function, strengthening the company’s internal AI intelligence layer, and developing a self-improving agentic loop for software development. Hiring and retaining engineering talent will also remain a focus. Security will stay at the centre of the work as AI agents are given wider access and responsibility.
An internal promotion built on security and automation
Rotimi first led Security and Data at Deriv. He then took on automation across Compliance and Finance, and more recently across Data, Trading and Antifraud. In each role, he has kept security and access controls central to how the company uses AI.
Before joining Deriv, he was a Director in the Group Information Security Department at Dubai Holding, where he oversaw cybersecurity across hospitality, real estate, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), media and education businesses. He also served as Head of Information Security and Business Continuity at a government authority in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.
Deriv Chief Executive Officer, Rakshit Choudhary, said: “Rotimi has grown as a leader throughout the period he has been with us. I’m confident in him as CTO, and I look forward to working closely with him to build an AI-native Deriv.” He added that security must keep pace with automation. “As we automate more and give agents greater access and responsibility, we have more systems and operations to secure. Our controls need to be the foundation of how we build.”
Rotimi said: “I am honoured to take on this role at a pivotal point for Deriv. Our engineering teams have spent the past year changing how we build, and my focus is to keep that pace while making sure security and controls grow with every system we automate. I look forward to working with our engineers to make that happen.”
The appointment is in line with Deriv’s practice of developing leaders from within as it becomes an AI-native company. Deriv is aiming to automate 75% of its manual workflows by the end of 2026.
About Deriv
Deriv has spent 26 years making online trading accessible to anyone, anywhere. More than 3 million traders worldwide use the company’s award-winning platforms, which offer a broad range of trade types across popular markets. Deriv employs over 900 people in 13 countries. It continues to invest in AI literacy at every level and in a workplace where its people can grow with the business. As the company pursues an AI-first transformation across every function, its values of integrity, competence, teamwork and customer focus remain constant.
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Website: www.deriv.com