

Open sourcing, or freely allowing computer code to be tested and enhanced by developers, is embraced almost everywhere these days. It's a value that Neal Pawar has instilled in AQR Capital Management in his three years as chief technology officer. Pawar doesn't take all the credit, though. He says the Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm was open sourcing, in a sense, from its start in 1998. For example, its website has a "Cliff's Perspective" section for regular postings by managing and founding principal Clifford Asness, and a library page that says, "Our mindset is to share our discoveries and insights to advance the collective wisdom of the world's investment community." Pawar, 45, leads a team of more than 200 technologists on the mission of identifying and deploying the systems, technologies, and tools best suited to AQR's highly quantitative needs. That means keeping pace with its growing business: AQR's $187.6 billion in both traditional and alternative assets under management as of March 31 was an increase of 22 percent year-over-year, while its employee count of 793 was a 23 percent increase. The firm has also added new capabilities in such areas as cloud computing and advanced analytics through data visualization.
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![]() 6. Shawn Edwards & Vlad Kliatchko Bloomberg ![]() 7. David Craig Thomson Reuters ![]() 8. Michael Spencer NEX Group ![]() 9. Don Callahan Citigroup ![]() 10. Elisha Wiesel Goldman Sachs Group |
![]() 11. Michael Bodson Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. ![]() 12. Terrence Duffy CME Group ![]() 13. Charles Li Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing ![]() 14. Sean Belka Fidelity Investments ![]() 15. Chris Concannon CBOE Holdings |
![]() 16. Guy Chiarello First Data Corp. ![]() 17. Steven Lieblich Citadel ![]() 18. David Rutter R3CEV ![]() 19. Blythe Masters Digital Asset Holdings ![]() 20. Alfred Spector Two Sigma Investments |
![]() 21. Neil Katz D.E. Shaw Group ![]() 22. Lee Olesky Tradeweb Markets ![]() 23. Richard McVey MarketAxess Holdings ![]() 24. David Gledhill DBS Bank ![]() 25. Seth Merrin Liquidnet Holdings |
![]() 26. Antoine Shagoury State Street Corp. ![]() 27. Peter Brown & Robert Mercer Renaissance Technologies ![]() 28. Lou Eccleston TMX Group ![]() 29. Peter Cherecwich Northern Trust Corp. ![]() 30. Mike Chinn S&P Global Market Intelligence |
![]() 31. Chris Corrado London Stock Exchange Group ![]() 32. Neal Pawar AQR Capital Management ![]() 33. Gary Norcross Fidelity National Information Services ![]() 34. Steven O'Hanlon Numerix ![]() 35. Sebastián Ceria Axioma |
![]() 36. Brian Conlon First Derivatives and Kx Systems ![]() 37. Tyler Kim MaplesFS ![]() 38. Michael Cooper BT Radianz ![]() 39. Robert Schifellite Broadridge Financial Solutions ![]() 40. Jim Minnick eVestment |