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
Bond tape hopefuls size up commercial risks as FCA finalizes tender
Consolidated tape bidders say the UK regulator is set to imminently publish crucial final details around technical specifications and data licensing arrangements for the finished infrastructure.
The Waters Cooler: A little crime never hurt nobody
Do you guys remember that 2006 Pitchfork review of Shine On by Jet?
Removal of Chevron spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e for the C-A-T
Citadel Securities and the American Securities Association are suing the SEC to limit the Consolidated Audit Trail, and their case may be aided by the removal of a key piece of the agency’s legislative power earlier this year.
BlackRock, BNY see T+1 success in industry collaboration, old frameworks
Industry testing and lessons from the last settlement change from T+3 to T+2 were some of the components that made the May transition run smoothly.
How ‘Bond gadgets’ make tackling data easier for regulators and traders
The IMD Wrap: Everyone loves the hype around AI, especially financial firms. And now, even regulators are getting in on the act. But first... “The name’s Bond; J-AI-mes Bond”
Can the EU and UK reach T+1 together?
Prompted by the North American migration, both jurisdictions are drawing up guidelines for reaching next-day settlement.
Waters Wavelength Ep. 293: Reference Data Drama
Tony and Reb discuss the Financial Data Transparency Act's proposed rules around identifiers and the industry reaction.
Clearing houses fear being classified as DORA third parties
As the 2025 deadline looms, CCP and exchange members are seeking risk information that’s usually deemed confidential.
