GUEST SPEAKERS
MARCO SCHNABL
Presentation on Entrepreneurship
Marco Schnabl is the CEO and co-Founder of automotiveMastermind (Mastermind), the leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation technology for the automotive industry. In his role, Schnabl leads sales, service and operations for Mastermind, which has nearly doubled its employee count in the last year.
​
Schnabl co-founded Mastermind with Johannes Gnauck in 2012. Mastermind is now a leading predictive analytics and marketing automation technology for thousands of dealer partners.
​
Schnabl was with Mercedes-Benz both in Germany and at its flagship location in Manhattan for more than ten years. During that time, he held a variety of roles, including: Sales Consultant, Sales Manager and Manager for Strategic Retail Development.
​
Schnabl is a graduate of the Berlin School of Economics and holds a Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration, Management and Operations.
PRADEEP MEHRA
Presentation on Corporate Credit and Leveraged Buyouts
We had an invited guest presentation by Mr. Pradeep Mehra on June 10, 2020. Mr. Mehra is a Managing Director and leads the New York based Credit Management team for TD Securities. In this capacity Mr. Mehra and his team are responsible for all corporate lending and credit related activities for all of TD Securities Corporate and Investment Banking clients in the United States, with the exception of the Oil & Gas sectors. Mr. Mehra has over 22 years of broad-based experience in various banking, credit, and credit capital markets related roles within TD.
​
Mr. Mehra joined TD in 1997 in Singapore within the Asian Media & Communications team and moved to New York in 2001 to join the credit restructuring / work-out group. Since then Mr. Mehra has worked in various groups including Syndicated & Leveraged Finance; and Leveraged Finance Sales & Trading. Prior to assuming his current role in 2015, Mr. Mehra headed US Leveraged Finance Trading for TD Securities since 2008.
Mr. Mehra graduated with a Bachelor’s in Commerce from the Loyola College, Chennai, India, and has an MBA in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
BRIAN SCHER
Presentation on Real Estate
We had a presentation from Mr. Brian Scher on April 21, 2020. After graduating from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College in 2010 with a degree in Economics and Classical Studies, Brian joined Fortune 500 financial services firm INTL FCstone as a trader on the physical commodities desk. After three years there, Brian was recruited by BTG Pactual, the largest investment bank in Latin America, to help with the bank’s push into the physical commodities space. After BTG, Brian moved to Dubai to help build an African mining, trading, and logistics business headquartered there. A year later, he helped jump start a recycled metals processing and export startup in Mexico.
​
In 2017, Brian came back to NY ready for a change. Shortly after, Brian started a tutoring business, partnering with non-profit Beat the Streets to provide SAT prep to at risk youth. A few months later, Brian took a part time teaching position at Hunter College High School. The following year Hunter College High School asked him to come back full time.
THOMAS ZAKRZEWSKI
Presentation on Blockchain Evolution
We had an invited guest presentation on Blockchain evolution by Thomas Zakrzewski on May 21, 2019. Tom is a Distinguished Engineer and Head of Blockchain at S&P Global Ratings. In his current role, he is working on blockchain technologies, including products involving encryption and cybersecurity. Tom has over 25 years of IT experience in Finance and other industries. For those who would like to take a look at his presentation, you can view it here.
​
Tom holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Montclair State University, and is completing a Master Degree program in Predictive Analytics at Northwestern University. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the New Jersey Institution of Technology (NJIT), Montclair State University, and the Big Data Certification Program at Rutgers University. Tom is also a Technologist Fellow at National Security Institute (NSI).
SIMON CHEN
Presentation on Business, Finance, and Economics
We had an invited guest presentation on Business, Finance and Economics by Simon Chen on Wednesday, December 19, 2018. Simon Chen is the Global Head of Data & Analytics at S&P Global Market Intelligence. He has over 25 years of experience working in the financial information provider industry. His experience includes starting and running a hedge fund using an option arbitrage strategy. For those who would like to take a look at his presentation, you can view it here.
​
Simon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Manchester University in the U.K. and a Master of Science degree in Operations Research from Columbia University in New York, USA.
GUEST SPEAKERS
MARCO SCHNABL
Presentation on Entrepreneurship
September 25, 2020
Marco Schnabl is the CEO and co-Founder of automotiveMastermind (Mastermind), the leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation technology for the automotive industry. In his role, Schnabl leads sales, service and operations for Mastermind, which has nearly doubled its employee count in the last year.
​
Schnabl co-founded Mastermind with Johannes Gnauck in 2012. Mastermind is now a leading predictive analytics and marketing automation technology for thousands of dealer partners.
​
Schnabl was with Mercedes-Benz both in Germany and at its flagship location in Manhattan for more than ten years. During that time, he held a variety of roles, including: Sales Consultant, Sales Manager and Manager for Strategic Retail Development.
​
Schnabl is a graduate of the Berlin School of Economics and holds a Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration, Management and Operations.
PRADEEP MEHRA
Presentation on Corporate Credit and Leveraged Buyouts
June 10, 2020
Pradeep Mehra is a Managing Director and leads the New York based Credit Management team for TD Securities. In this capacity Mr. Mehra and his team are responsible for all corporate lending and credit related activities for all of TD Securities Corporate and Investment Banking clients in the United States, with the exception of the Oil & Gas sectors. Mr. Mehra has over 22 years of broad-based experience in various banking, credit, and credit capital markets related roles within TD.
​
Mr. Mehra joined TD in 1997 in Singapore within the Asian Media & Communications team and moved to New York in 2001 to join the credit restructuring / work-out group. Since then Mr. Mehra has worked in various groups including Syndicated & Leveraged Finance; and Leveraged Finance Sales & Trading. Prior to assuming his current role in 2015, Mr. Mehra headed US Leveraged Finance Trading for TD Securities since 2008.
Mr. Mehra graduated with a Bachelor’s in Commerce from the Loyola College, Chennai, India, and has an MBA in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
BRIAN SCHER
Presentation on Real Estate
April 21, 2020
After graduating from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College in 2010 with a degree in Economics and Classical Studies, Brian joined Fortune 500 financial services firm INTL FCstone as a trader on the physical commodities desk. After three years there, Brian was recruited by BTG Pactual, the largest investment bank in Latin America, to help with the bank’s push into the physical commodities space. After BTG, Brian moved to Dubai to help build an African mining, trading, and logistics business headquartered there. A year later, he helped jump start a recycled metals processing and export startup in Mexico.
​
In 2017, Brian came back to NY ready for a change. Shortly after, Brian started a tutoring business, partnering with non-profit Beat the Streets to provide SAT prep to at risk youth. A few months later, Brian took a part time teaching position at Hunter College High School. The following year Hunter College High School asked him to come back full time.
THOMAS ZAKRZEWSKI
Presentation on Blockchain Evolution
May 21, 2019
Thomas Zakrzewski is a Distinguished Engineer and Head of Blockchain at S&P Global Ratings. In his current role, he is working on blockchain technologies, including products involving encryption and cybersecurity. Tom has over 25 years of IT experience in Finance and other industries.
​
Tom holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Montclair State University, and is completing a Master Degree program in Predictive Analytics at Northwestern University. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the New Jersey Institution of Technology (NJIT), Montclair State University, and the Big Data Certification Program at Rutgers University. Tom is also a Technologist Fellow at National Security Institute (NSI).
SIMON CHEN
Presentation on Business, Finance, and Economics
December 19, 2018
Simon Chen is the Global Head of Data & Analytics at S&P Global Market Intelligence. He has over 25 years of experience working in the financial information provider industry. His experience includes starting and running a hedge fund using an option arbitrage strategy. For those who would like to take a look at his presentation, you can view it here.
​
Simon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Manchester University in the U.K. and a Master of Science degree in Operations Research from Columbia University in New York, USA.
ALEXANDRA MURRAY
Presentation on Investment Banking
December 11, 2020
Alex is a Private Wealth Advisor at Goldman Sachs. She joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 and has spent her career advising wealthy families, corporations, private businesses, charitable institutions and pensions on their investments, strategic planning and philanthropic goals. Alex received her MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and BA from Georgetown University.
Prior to business school, Alex headed the Hanoi office of the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council where she advised U.S. companies investing in Southeast Asia. Alex is committed to several educational initiatives, serving as a Trustee for Partnership with Children in New York City on the Board of the General Alumni Association of Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. She also serves on the Investment Committee for her grade school alma mater, East Woods School in Oyster Bay, NY.
CHRISTINA QI
Presentation on Quantitative Finance & Hedge Funds
January 15, 2021
Christina Qi is the CEO of Databento, an on-demand data platform for asset managers and quants. She is also a Founding Partner of Domeyard LP, among the longest-running HFT hedge funds in the world. She started her hedge fund out of her MIT dorm room in 2012 which focuses primarily on quantitative and algorithmic strategies. Her fund makes up to 7.1 billion dollars worth of trades in a single day.
Her company’s story has been featured on the front page of Forbes and Nikkei, and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNN, NBC, and the Financial Times. Christina is a contributor to the World Economic Forum’s research on AI in finance. She is a visiting lecturer at MIT, including Nobel Laureate Robert Merton’s “Retirement Finance” class since 2014, and alongside President Emerita Susan Hockfield and Dean David Schmittlein in 2019.
Christina teaches Domeyard’s case study at Harvard Business School and other universities. She is on the board of trustees at MIT and is a Co-Chair at the Invest in Girls foundation.