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The 2017 Trading Tech 40: Anton Katz and Stephen Mock


27. Anton Katz &
Stephen Mock
Head of Trading Systems Technology &
Head of Enterprise Architecture
AQR Capital Management
Last year: 29

Crucial to the designs and upgrades of AQR Capital Management's high-powered trading systems is the collaboration of Anton Katz and Stephen Mock. Respectively head of trading systems technology and head of enterprise architecture, they report to chief technology officer Neal Pawar. Their teamwork speaks to the openness and inclusiveness of the AQR culture, which, as Katz tells it, eschews organizational silos, values ideas and contributions from people on all levels, and regards information technology as "on an equal footing with the business, and technology innovation on an equal footing with innovation in the business." Says Mock: "Technology is fundamental to everything we do. Flexibility and the ability to innovate are key. We want to be in a position to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself." Part of the job is being in touch with, and taking part in, the wider IT community — fintech labs, incubators, vendor companies, and academia. "Just focusing inside our four walls is not sufficient," says Mock, to which Katz adds, "If you are not mindful [of technological advancements], you will be left behind."

The duo and Pawar all bring to bear outside influences. Pawar came aboard three years ago after stints with D.E. Shaw & Co. and UBS Wealth Management. Mock, 37, brought low-latency trading expertise from Macquarie Capital, in 2012. Back then, he says, AQR's engineering efforts were focused on a diverse set of growing businesses and strategies, and thus somewhat siloed. Today he describes those efforts as "focused on a broader platform and less bespoke" in supporting a firm that has $175.2 billion in both traditional and alternative assets under management. Katz, 36, who joined Greenwich, Connecticut–based AQR in 2015 after six years on the vendor side, with Broadway Technology, says a current priority is mobilizing and optimizing the "tons of data" that the highly quantitative firm generates. "Innovation in technology is not a step function — it is a matter of constant iteration and experimentation," he explains. "It has everything to do with how we as a company execute strategy and achieve competitive advantage."


The 2017 Trading Tech 40

1. Richard Prager
BlackRock
2. Chris Isaacson
Bats Global Markets
3. Bradley Peterson
Nasdaq
4. Brad Levy
MarkitSERV
5. Dan Keegan
Citi
6. Glenn Lesko
Bloomberg Tradebook
7. Bryan Durkin
CME Group
8. Mayur Kapani
Intercontinental Exchange
9. Mike Blum
KCG Holdings
10. Raj Mahajan
Goldman Sachs Group
11. Ronald DePoalo
Fidelity Institutional
12. Nick Themelis
MarketAxess Holdings
13. Jenny Knott
NEX Optimisation
14. Billy Hult
Tradeweb Markets
15. Rob Park
IEX Group
16. Bill Chow & Richard Leung
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing
17. John Mackay (Mack) Gill
MillenniumIT
18. Paul Hamill
Citadel Securities
19. Eric Noll
Convergex
20. Veronica Augustsson
Cinnober Financial Technology
21. Tyler Moeller & Joshua Walsky
Broadway Technology
22. Alasdair Haynes
Aquis Exchange
23. Gaurav Suri
Arcesium
24. Manoj Narang
Mana Partners
25. Michael Chin & Neill Penney
Thomson Reuters
26. Robert Sloan
S3 Partners
27. Anton Katz & Stephen Mock
AQR Capital Management
28. Donal Byrne
Corvil
29. Stu Taylor
Algomi
30. Alfred Eskandar
Portware
31. Steven Randich
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
32. R. Cromwell Coulson
OTC Markets Group
33. Peter Maragos
Dash Financial
34. John Fawcett
Quantopian
35. Donald
Ross III
PDQ Enterprises
36. Jennifer Nayar
Vela Trading Technologies
37. Dan Raju
Tradier
38. Susan Estes
OpenDoor Trading
39. David Mercer
LMAX Exchange
40. Oki Matsumoto
Monex Group

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