The LSE has lured away the director of regulation at Chi-X Europe to head its own compliance unit.

Denzil Jenkins, Chi-X Europe’s director of regulation, will be joining the London Stock Exchange as the head of compliance and regulation, effective at the start of next year. He will be reporting directly to LSE chief executive officer Xavier Rolet.

“We’re delighted that Denzil will be joining the London Stock Exchange,” said Rolet in a statement. “His considerable international regulatory and industry experience will be a real asset to our organization as we look to deliver our growth strategy.”

Jenkins will be replacing Nick Bayley, the LSE’s current regulation chief, who at the end of the year will be leaving a position that he had held since January 2003. No reason was given for his departure.

“I am thrilled to be joining such a globally influential exchange at a key time in the development of international capital markets,” said Jenkins. “The London Stock Exchange Group is an increasingly diverse and innovative business and I am very much looking forward to joining the team.”

A spokesperson from the LSE could not immediately be reached for comment.

Jenkins had been at the helm of Chi-X’s regulation department since December 2008, joining the trading platform from the Financial Services Authority, where he was involved in the supervision of wholesale investment banking projects.

Also during his tenure at the FSA, Jenkins was also involved in the supervision of equity exchanges and multilateral trading facilities in the U.K., both before and after the implementation of MiFID in November 2007. Prior to joining the FSA, Jenkins worked in investment banking in Europe and Australia, primarily in equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. He received an M.A. in Economics from the University of Cambridge.

The move by Jenkins comes just as Chi-X surpassed the LSE in total cash amount traded for the first time over a full month period. According to data compiled by the Federation of European Securities Exchanges, Chi-X during August handled 43 billion trades, processing €213.8 billion ($293 billion) in total transactions. In comparison, the LSE handled 26.3 billion trades worth €205.2 billion during the month.

Chi-X Europe is also currently the target of a takeover bid from Bats Global Markets. The transaction is currently awaiting regulatory approval from the U.S. Competition Commission. A decision on the deal is expected by December. Before the move, Jenkins was slated to head up regulatory affairs for the combined entity.