Wellington, May 21 NZPA - Sharemarket operator NZX has named a new head of market products, just two days after Geoff Brown left abruptly.

NZX announced Mr Brown's immediate resignation on Wednesday, without saying why he left. He had spent eight years with the company.

Fiona Mackenzie, head of liquidity and traded products since May last year, has been appointed to the vacant position. Her role will include all traded products, the NZX listings function, and the market data portfolio.

She also heads the NZX Auckland office, which is NZX's base for new tradable futures and commodities products.

Ms Mackenzie, who holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from Otago University, and an MBA specialising in finance from Columbia Business School in New York, spent the five years prior to joining NZX in the United States, on Asia (ex Japan) equities at Morgan Stanley, based in New York and San Francisco.

Before that she was with Credit Suisse in New York.