Future-Proof Your Career
FDP Advisory Board
The Advisory Board is responsible for protecting & promoting the mission of the FDP Institute: to build practical knowledge & skills of AI, data, and analytics across as much of the financial services industry as possible.
JOSEPH SIMONIAN, Ph.D. (Chair)
Joseph is a globally renowned investor and researcher who has conducted extensive research in quantitative finance, machine learning, factor investing, and portfolio construction. He is Chair of the FDP Institute, and Program Director for the FDP Charter. Over the course of a 20-year career in the investment industry he has held senior portfolio management and research positions at several leading investment firms, and is the founder and CIO of Autonomous Investment Technologies.
Joseph is a noted contributor to leading finance journals and is also a prominent speaker at investment events worldwide. He is currently the co-editor of The Journal of Financial Data Science, on the editorial board of The Journal of Portfolio Management, and a member of the board of directors of the Financial Data Professional Institute. Joseph has authored over 40 publications in leading investment journals. He is co-author of the book Quantitative Global Bond Portfolio Management and author of the book Computational Global Macro slated for release in 2024.
He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara; an M.A. from Columbia University; as well as a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
LISA SCHIRF
Lisa Schirf is Managing Director and Global Head of Data & Analytics at Tradeweb Markets, a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets. In this role she manages the development and execution of the next generation of data and data science solutions across the firm.
Ms. Schirf has over 20 years of business and finance experience. She has held positions at Citadel, Nasdaq, BNP Paribas Investments Partners, and Goldman Sachs. She also founded and was President of HNL Ventures LLC, an early stage investment advisory firm.
Ms. Schirf was awarded the Trailblazer Award at Market Media’s 2023 U.S. Women in Finance Awards, named Market Data Professional of the Year in 2021 by WatersTechnology, and recognized as one of the 50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds in 2017 by The Hedge Fund Journal. She has served as a member of the MIT Sloan Alumni Board and the MIT Sloan Club of New York Board. Ms. Schirf holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BS in Management from Villanova University.
PETTER KOLM
Petter Kolm is the Director of the Mathematics in Finance Master’s Program and Clinical Professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University and the Principal of the Heimdall Group, LLC.
Previously, Petter worked in the Quantitative Strategies Group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management where his responsibilities included researching and developing new quantitative investment strategies for the group’s hedge fund. Petter has co-authored 4 books: Financial Modeling of the Equity Market: From CAPM to Cointegration (Wiley, 2006), Trends in Quantitative Finance (CFA Research Institute, 2006), Robust Portfolio Management and Optimization (Wiley, 2007), and Quantitative Equity Investing: Techniques and Strategies (Wiley, 2010). He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Yale, an M.Phil. in Applied Mathematics from the Royal Institute of Technology, and an M.S. in Mathematics from ETH Zurich.
As a consultant and expert witness, Petter has provided his services in areas including alternative data, data science, econometrics, forecasting models, high frequency trading, machine learning, portfolio optimization w/ transaction costs and taxes, quantitative and systematic trading, risk management, robo-advisory and investing, smart beta strategies, transaction costs, and tax-aware investing.
BOB WIECZOREK, CFA
Bob is the Founder and Chief XP3RT of the Training and Consulting Consortium, which since 2017 has engaged industry “XP3RTs” to deliver vocational skills professional development for the financial services industry.
Bob began his career at Chase (now part of J.P. Morgan) where he went through both their Analyst and Associate training programs. After gaining experience working with middle-market companies in the Tri-State region, Bob moved to WestLB to work with larger corporations up and down the East Coast of the US. With his strong credit background, he decided to transition into the capital markets side of the business by joining Credit Research and Trading (a boutique firm focused on distressed debt) where he was on the private (bank debt) trading desk. He then joined Credit Lyonnais (now part of Credit Agricole) to manage a portfolio of distressed debt and reorganized equities before transitioning to its Corporate Finance Group (its investment banking arm). Over time, he ended up running Credit Lyonnais’ investment banking business in North America.
In 2003, Bob launched a hedge fund using proprietary derivative trading strategies drawing from both his deep value credit experience and that of working with a large derivative platform at Credit Lyonnais Securities. Bob has been an enterprise educator since 2006 working with some of the world’s leading financial institutions as well as boutique asset managers. He is a CFA Charter holder and holds the MBTI Certification.
PAUL MONK
Bob is the Founder and Chief XP3RT of the Training and Consulting Consortium, which since 2017 has engaged industry “XP3RTs” to deliver vocational skills professional development for the financial services industry.
Bob began his career at Chase (now part of J.P. Morgan) where he went through both their Analyst and Associate training programs. After gaining experience working with middle-market companies in the Tri-State region, Bob moved to WestLB to work with larger corporations up and down the East Coast of the US. With his strong credit background, he decided to transition into the capital markets side of the business by joining Credit Research and Trading (a boutique firm focused on distressed debt) where he was on the private (bank debt) trading desk. He then joined Credit Lyonnais (now part of Credit Agricole) to manage a portfolio of distressed debt and reorganized equities before transitioning to its Corporate Finance Group (its investment banking arm). Over time, he ended up running Credit Lyonnais’ investment banking business in North America.
In 2003, Bob launched a hedge fund using proprietary derivative trading strategies drawing from both his deep value credit experience and that of working with a large derivative platform at Credit Lyonnais Securities. Bob has been an enterprise educator since 2006 working with some of the world’s leading financial institutions as well as boutique asset managers. He is a CFA Charter holder and holds the MBTI Certification.
HECTOR PAYNE
Hector is the Chief Learning Officer (CLO) of Alpha Development, a financial services learning organization founded in the UK – with operations in the US/Canada, Europe, Middle East & Asia. Alpha Development specializes in the reskilling & upskilling of financial services professionals – at an individual, team, and enterprise level – through learning consultancy & corporate training.
Hector specializes in the design and execution of strategic learning solutions tailored for a broad range of financial services organizations globally. Hector’s work has been crucial in transforming workforces at various career levels, from newcomers to top executives, through mastery in instructional design, learning technologies, and learning analytics. He lives in Dubai.