Waters Wavelength Podcast Episode 69: AQR's CTO, Neal Pawar, on Engineers & Open Source
Neal Pawar, AQR's CTO, joins Dan and Anthony to talk about attracting talent, the future of open source, and his love of Liverpool football club.
This week on the podcast, Anthony is once again joined by Dan (last time…at least for a while!) to welcome this week’s guest: Neal Pawar, AQR Capital Management’s chief technology officer. AQR, which manages $187.6 billion as of March 31, 2017, is in the midst of a major buildout, upgrading different parts of its infrastructure, front to back, as the firm looks to continue its growth. To answer these enhancements, the need for talent has become increasingly important. Here are topics Pawar hit on during his time with Waters:
(1:45) Neal starts off looking at the fight for talent at colleges in the Northeast.
(3:45) A look at how fintechs are disrupting the finance space.
(6:20) What he looks for when hiring an engineer/programmer.
(9:35) Programming languages they’re most interested in (Python, Pandas, Scala).
(11:05) Ways to keep talented, experienced technologists.
(13:45) The impact and growth of open-source applications.
(14:55) The ethos of contributing back into open-source projects.
(17:25) The future of open-source and how to develop a legal/compliance framework.
(19:45) Why AQR has its engineers sitting side-by-side with the research department.
(26:35) Lessons learned as AQR has grown in size.
(28:00) To wrap things up, Neal, Dan and Anthony talk about soccer (Neal is a huge Liverpool supporter) and how they think the English Premier League will shape out (Anthony gives a stupid prediction about Manchester United).
If you have a SoundCloud account, be sure to subscribe to our page. You can find our account here.
We are also on iTunes. Search "WatersTechnology" in the iTunes store to find us and subscribe, or click here.
[Note: Some versions of the Chrome browser will not allow you to skip ahead; consider using a different browser.]
Links to articles discussed:
Pawar to the People: A profile of AQR's Neal Pawar
Contact Info
As is the case with everything we do, we'd love to get some feedback from our listeners. Feel free to reach out to Anthony or Dan via Twitter or email.
Anthony: @a_malakian; Anthony.Malakian@incisivemedia.com
Dan: @dandefrancesco; Dan.DeFrancesco@incisivemedia.com
Past 10 episodes:
Episode 59: Gabriel Woo, VP of Innovation at RBC
Episode 60: Bill Murphy, Blackstone CTO
Episode 61: Automating Processes
Episode 62: Shadow IT, CFTC's Giancarlo at FIA Boca
Episode 63: Acquisition Analysis, Rise of Data Spend
Episode 64: Open Source, Cyber, AI - A NATAS Recap
Episode 65: Public Cloud Providers Battle for Dominance, The Rise of Artificial Intelligence
Further reading
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@waterstechnology.com or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.waterstechnology.com/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (point 2.4), printing is limited to a single copy.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (clause 2.4), an Authorised User may only make one copy of the materials for their own personal use. You must also comply with the restrictions in clause 2.5.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
More on Regulation
Expanded oversight for tech or a rollback? 2025 set to be big for regulators
From GenAI oversight to DORA and the CAT to off-channel communication, the last 12 months set the stage for larger regulatory conversations in 2025.
DORA flood pitches banks against vendors
Firms ask vendors for late addendums sometimes unrelated to resiliency, requiring renegotiation
In 2025, keep reference data weird
The SEC, ESMA, CFTC and other acronyms provided the drama in reference data this year, including in crypto.
Waters Wavelength Ep. 299: ACA Group’s Carlo di Florio
Carlo di Florio joins the podcast to discuss regulations.
IEX, MEMX spar over new exchange’s now-approved infrastructure model
As more exchanges look to operate around-the-clock venues, the disagreement has put the practices of market tech infrastructure providers under a microscope.
FCA to publish bond tape tender details by end of January
Market participants must wait a month longer than expected for the regulator’s draft tender document, which will see several bidders vie for the chance to build the UK’s long-awaited consolidated tape for bonds.
Too ’Berg to fail? What October’s Instant Bloomberg outage means for the industry
The ubiquitous communications platform is vital for traders around the globe, especially in fixed income and exotic derivatives. When it fails, the disruption can be great.
New data granularity rules create opportunities for regtech providers
As evidence, Regnology increased its presence in North America with the addition of Vermeg's Agile business—its 8th acquisition in three years—following a period of constriction and consolidation in the market.
