3rd India Alternative & Quant Investing Summit|Chennai

Alexander Rudin, PhD, is a Global Head of Research for Investment Solutions Group (ISG) and Fixed Income (FICC) at State Street Investment Management (SSIM). Within ISG, which has a multi-asset focus, Alex drives the quantitative research agenda for tactical and strategic asset allocation processes, portfolio construction analytics, and target volatility models. Within FICC, Alex oversees quantitative research for indexing and systematic active credit. Prior to joining SSIM in 2014, Alex held several senior research and asset allocation roles at leading financial institutions, including Merrill Lynch, Julius Baer, and (what is currently) TD Securities. He is an author or co-author of more than 40 articles in academic journals in theoretical physics and finance, serves on the editorial advisory board for The Journal of Portfolio Management, and is on the Program Committee of the Institute for Quantitative Research in Finance.

In addition to writing regular research, Johan is responsible for developing and maintaining internal and external quantitative models, helping to provide historical insights and forward-looking guidance to World Gold Council stakeholders as well as investors Worldwide on gold and its relationship to global Macroeconomic factors. He has spent more than fifteen years researching precious metals markets within the World Gold Council, as an independent consultant and with the World Platinum Investment Council. Prior to this, Johan worked for one of Europe’s leading hedge funds, covering commodities for the Global Macro fund.  He has an MSc in Finance from the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland.

Krishnan leads the Quantitative Research team at Marcellus. At Marcellus, Krishnan created its first quant-based equity offering as well as asset allocation strategies. He has around 13 years of experience spanning both equity and fixed income research. Prior to Marcellus, he was part of the New Indexes Development team at Morningstar, where he was involved in creating systematic, rules-based equity and multi-asset index products. His previous experience also includes stints at D.E. Shaw & Co. and Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM). Krishnan has completed his MBA from IIM, Kozhikode and Engineering from NIT Trichy. He is also a CFA charter holder.

Mr. Rajesh Bhatia is the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of ITI Mutual Fund and brings over 30 years of investment experience in Indian equities and more than a decade in Alternative Investments, with a focus on long-short fund management. Before joining ITI Mutual Fund, he served as Chief Investment Officer at Simto Investments, a subsidiary of Tata Investments. He was also the Co-founder and CIO at Heritage India Advisors, the Indian advisor to the New York-based Heritage Capital — an India long-short equity fund. The Heritage Fund was recognized among the Top 5 funds in India for its performance in 2010 by Eurekahedge, an independent international data provider and alternative research firm. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bhatia was Senior Vice President and Head of Portfolio Management Services (PMS) at Reliance Capital Asset Management, where he established the PMS business unit in 2004. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from H.R. College of Commerce & Economics, is an Associate Member of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ACMA)and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder from the CFA Institute, USA.

Rohit Gupta is a member of MSCI’s Research and Development team, focusing on global markets with an emphasis on India and emerging markets. His work involves quantitative research supporting investment decisions across equities, fixed income, and listed derivatives, working closely with global asset owners, asset managers, and institutional investors. He has authored several research insights and published in leading external journals.Before joining MSCI, Rohit was a client portfolio manager in the Quantitative Investment Strategies team at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He holds an MBA from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, and is a CFA® charterholder.

Rohit Seksaria is a Senior Portfolio Manager focusing on Indian Equities. He has a consistent track record of alpha generation and top quartile performances across all the funds. His specialities: Fundamental analysis using qualitative and quantitative techniques.

Sachin Naik is the Director of Society Relations & Member Services for India at CFA Institute, leading strategic partnerships that strengthen the CFA community and advance the organization’s mission across the region. With over 18 years of experience spanning financial education, institutional partnerships, and member engagement, he has been instrumental in expanding the CFA Program’s reach and enhancing value for members and candidates across India and South Asia.He holds an MBA from the Goa Institute of Management and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Mumbai University.

Suraj Harikumar is a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, and brings nearly 10 years of experience in Quantitative Finance and Analytics, with a focus on Risk management. His work involves quantitative modelling, developing financial analytics and technology solutions to support Liquidity, Funding, and Asset-Liability Management. Through his career, Suraj has expertise in Risk management – across fixed income, derivatives, secured financing, and lending businesses. He is also passionate about AI, Automation and its impact on Finance. He is a volunteer with Research and Advocacy team at CFA Society India, co-authoring articles and reports in AI and Finance space. Suraj holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from IIT-Madras, and is a CFA Charterholder

Shreenivas works as Senior Lead, Investment Research and AI, at HDFC AMC. In this role, Shreenivas leads HDFC AMC’s work in the application of AI and deep tech in investment decision making. Shreenivas has over 25 years of experience in various investment roles in India, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Before joining HDFC AMC, Shreenivas served as the Director of Content at CFA Institute and worked as the Trading Strategist at Citi in the Japanese and Indian markets. He also speaks the Japanese language. As a CFA Society India volunteer, Shreenivas has worked closely with members and regulators, conducting workshops on AI and machine learning applications using Python. He has led research initiatives and authored articles on a wide range of investing topics. Shreenivas is passionate about spreading financial awareness and emphasizing the urgency of environmental conservation. He is also a long-distance marathoner and an avid fitness enthusiast. Shreenivas was awarded the CFA Charter in 2003. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from IIT Bombay and a Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) from the CFA Institute.

Vijayanand Venkataraman, CFA, has more than 20 years of experience investing in global markets and is the co-founder of Wealth Yantra Technologies Private Limited, an SEBI-Registered Investment Adviser. Until 2012, he was based out of Hong Kong SAR, managing a multiasset portfolio for global investment firms (hedge funds). His expertise spans asset classes that include equities, convertible bonds, and high-yield credit. In addition to managing his portfolio, he also assisted the chief investment officer in hedging the global macro and tail risks of the fund investments using derivative structures. In the early part of his professional career, he was part of the teams that advised the government of India on various policy implementation matters in energy, mining, and financial services. Venkataraman is a board member of CFA Society India. He is also a member of the Alumni Schools Committee (Undergraduate Admissions) at the University of Chicago. A mechanical engineer by training, he holds masters of business administration from BIM, Trichy and a MS in Financial Mathematics from University of Chicago, IL, USA.

Srivathsan spearheads the Institutional Equities business. With over 18 years of experience in Indian capital markets, he has held pivotal roles, from Analyst to Head of Research to Equity Sales, before being entrusted with the leadership of the entire Equities franchise at Avendus.

He holds a master’s in financial management and CFA. He has been a CFA Institute grader since 2015, a member of the Education Advisory Committee of CFA Institute and a mentor for the research challenge since its inception in India.

Siddhartha Datta is the Research Lead at London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) specializing in index development and quantitative research. He contributed to several research initiatives focused on enhancing index methodologies and developing advanced quantitative frameworks for portfolio construction. His expertise spans factor-based strategies, performance attribution, and new index development. Siddhartha has over eight years of expertise across quantitative research, trading analytics, and equity research.

Previously, Siddhartha was Assistant Vice President on the Delta1 Trading Desk at Barclays, where he partnered with traders to deliver quantitative solutions for efficiency creation, dividend forecasting, risk tracking, and index rebalancing to enhance P&L performance. Before Barclays, he worked at Sutherland in the Investment Research Division, contributing to factor-based index development, carbon emission forecasting models, and thematic macroeconomic research. Earlier in his career, he covered U.S. Healthcare equities at CRISIL as Equity Research Analyst, focusing on financial modelling, initiation reports, and earnings analysis. Siddhartha holds an MBA in Finance from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Bengaluru, and a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata