In the tense world of futures trading, John O’Brien projected a calm image, his mind focused on keeping his family-owned brokerage a preferred place for customers to do business and for employees to work.
Mr. O’Brien, who was involved in the management of R.J. O’Brien & Associates since the 1980s, oversaw expansion into international markets and early investments in technology so the firm could prosper as futures trading became a global, computer-powered phenomenon. The Chicago-based firm, RJO for short, was a founding member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1919 and the last survivor from those ranks. Today it is the United States’ largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm.
