# William R. Cruz

> William R. Cruz, also known as Bill Cruz, co-founded Omega Research with his brother Ralph in 1982 and helped develop the trading software business that became TradeStation. A Cuban-born, classically trained violinist, he concentrated on product development while Ralph led marketing. He served as CEO or co-CEO until February 2007, and is a named co-inventor on a trading-automation patent. TradeStation was acquired by Monex Group in June 2011 for approximately $402 million.

- **Role:** Entrepreneur; trading-software product developer; former chief executive
- **Organizations:** Omega Research, Inc., TradeStation Group, Inc., TradeStation Technologies, Inc.
- **Nationality:** American (Cuban-born)
- **Education:** University of Miami, The Juilliard School
- **Known for:** Co-founded the company that developed TradeStation and EasyLanguage., Helped guide its transition from software vendor to online brokerage., Named co-inventor on US patent 7,379,909, granted in 2008.

## Career timeline

- **1966** — Moved from Cuba to the United States with his family.
- **1980** — Became a student of trader Larry Williams, according to Williams’s 2013 announcement.
- **1982** — Co-founded Omega Research with his brother Ralph (Rafael) Cruz, concentrating on product development.
- **1987** — Omega demonstrated System Writer in December.
- **1989** — Omega released the improved System Writer Plus.
- **1991** — Omega launched the TradeStation software platform.
- **1996** — Appointed co-chairman of the board; co-CEO arrangement dates from this period.
- **1997** — Omega Research listed on Nasdaq.
- **2000-2001** — The company shifted toward online brokerage and adopted the TradeStation Group name in 2001.
- **2005** — Recognized with Ralph Cruz and Salomon Sredni as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Florida.
- **2007** — Retired as co-CEO on February 15; remained a non-executive co-chairman and available as an adviser.
- **2008** — US patent 7,379,909 was granted May 27, naming William Cruz, Ralph Cruz and Peter Parandjuk as inventors.
- **2009** — Informed the company on March 5 that he would not stand for board re-election.
- **2011** — Wrote the foreword to Sunny J. Harris’s TradeStation Made Easy!; Monex completed its acquisition of TradeStation on June 10.

## Achievements

- Co-founded the company that developed TradeStation and EasyLanguage.
- Helped guide its transition from software vendor to online brokerage.
- Named co-inventor on US patent 7,379,909, granted in 2008.
- Shared Florida’s 2005 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year recognition with Ralph Cruz and Salomon Sredni.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — TradeStation CEO John Bartleman revisited Bill and Ralph Cruz’s 1982 founding story in a June 26 company essay; this is a retrospective mention, not a new personal role.
- **2025-10** — In an October 6 interview, John Bartleman recalled William Cruz’s focus on product quality and detail.

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/william-cruz
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-27