A datathon taking place at Duke on Friday offers a significant recruiting opportunity for Citadel, a $26 billion hedge fund and Citadel Securities, a leading market-maker, says the former Red Hat executive L.J. Brock who is chief people officer at Citadel. The firms are working with Correlation One, a talent-solutions company to put on these events.”He explains the event and what the firms are looking for in an exclusive interview. (Plus, Brock discusses his favorite Red Hat memories.)
A goal of the event is to identify talent in data science, artificial intelligence, econometrics, statistics and quants. (Quants is jargon for a “quantitative analyst,” or a person who specializes in the application of mathematical and statistical methods – such as numerical or quantitative techniques – to financial and risk management problems, notes Wikipedia.)
Citadel along with Citadel Securities (a separate company) and Correlation One are bringing the latest in a series of 18 datathons across top institutions in the UK, US and Ireland with teams competing for $25,000 in cash and a chance to compete for a $100,000 prize in a “Data Open” event later this year in New York.
At the same time, students can sign up for interviews with Citadel and Citadel Securities.
A spokesperson for Citadel also notes that Citadel and Correlation One “are working together to develop new tools and approaches that enhance Citadel’s talent acquisition process such as the datathon series.”
To be clear, The Skinny asked the event sponsors to spell out the differences between datathons and hacklathons.
- So what are the challenges students will face in the datathon?
Datathons challenge researchers and analysts to turn incredibly complex data sets into knowledge by as a team finding creative and innovative ways to solve challenges. Datathons requires teamwork and thinking through the big picture of why the data matters and how it can be leveraged to solve a problem or better the world without getting lost in the weeds.
- How does a datathon differ from a hackathon?
While a hackathon focuses on computer programming, datathons are all about using predictive analytics to draw trends and predictions from massive data sets – data sets that most are completely overwhelmed by. A major difference is that the datasets and research questions are designed to advance knowledge, not to launch an application or tool specifically.
The Q&A
In a Q&A, L.J. Brock, who was Vice President of the Global Talent Group and People Infrastructure at Red Hat before joining Citadel in April of 2016, talks about the event and the kind of talent Citadel is seeking.
- The world of data is changing so fast with AI and more (quants – don’t you love em?). Do these events help citadel keep pace, and thus offer benefits to citadel clients?
We believe Citadel and Citadel Securities are on the cutting edge of Data Science and Quantitative Research. Identifying and attracting the best talent are essential to keeping us on the cutting edge and ensuring that we continue to deliver exceptional results to our clients. These events are an opportunity for us to demonstrate to these talented individuals that they can have exceptional careers at Citadel and Citadel Securities.
- What are the main reasons Citadel is doing these competitions?
These competitions are helping us identify talented individuals across STEM disciplines and education levels. Our goal is to develop multi-year relationships with these candidates and show them that Citadel and Citadel Securities can provide the challenging and rewarding career opportunities they are looking for.
- Are you looking to recruit talent/employees?
We are always looking for opportunities to connect with interesting and talented people who share our passion for solving challenging problems. Top performing participants will be able to interview for careers with Citadel and Citadel Securities.
- As Chief People Officer at Citadel, does this kind of event help you overcome challenges in finding talent?
The market for talented people is competitive – particularly for the kinds of people who have the analytical horsepower and motivation to thrive in meritocratic environments like Citadel and Citadel Securities. The datathon series is helping us identify these people and develop relationships with them even before they choose their career paths.
- What’s your fondest memory of red hat?
There are many incredible memories from my eight years at Red Hat and being in Raleigh. The one that most stands out is when we hit $1 billion in revenue. I joined when Red Hat was about $650 million in revenue and at that point, it was an audacious goal for a company committed to Open Source to reach the $1 billion revenue mark. To be part of that journey and to contribute to that achievement is a highlight in my career.
