ASX chief executive Helen Lofthouse is being sued by the former ASX head of trading technology Jamie Halstead, accusing Lofthouse of bullying. According to the concise statement filed in the Federal Court, seen and reported by the Australian Financial Review, Halstead is accusing Lofthouse of being "frequently passive-aggressive and belittling in her demeanour". Halstead had been with the ASX for more than 15 years, starting as a senior technical support analyst in 2010. In March the two entities wrote a damning open letter to the market operator to address their increasing concern over the management of operational risk. "For some time, the regulators have been raising serious concerns about operational risk at the ASX clearing and settlement facilities.