Qontigo Leadership Team

Executive Committee

Sebastian Ceria

Chief Executive Officer

Sebastian Ceria

Chief Executive Officer

Sebastian Ceria is Chief Executive Officer of Qontigo. He previously served as the CEO of Axioma, which he founded and led since 1998. Before that, Sebastian was an Associate Professor of Decision, Risk and Operations at Columbia Business School. He has worked extensively in robust optimization and its application to portfolio management, authoring many articles in industry and academic publications. He is a recipient of the Career Award for Operations Research from the National Science Foundation and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Sebastian holds a PhD in Operations Research from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, and a degree in Applied Math from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Deborah DeVerna

Chief Human Resources Officer

Deborah DeVerna

Chief Human Resources Officer

Deborah DeVerna leads Qontigo’s People team where she is responsible for all aspects of Human Resources including strategy and implementation of people-first policies and programs. Deborah brings over 20 years of global talent and organizational development experience focused on building high impact teams and engaged employees. Prior to joining Qontigo, Deborah was the Chief People Officer at Fundtech and held numerous roles at Thomson Reuters including the Global Head of Talent and Organizational Development for their financial and media divisions.

Neal Pawar

Chief Operating Officer

Neal Pawar

Chief Operating Officer

As Chief Operating Officer, Neal Pawar is responsible for Qontigo’s portfolio of index and analytics products, technology & engineering, operations and project management areas. Over the course of his career, Neal has worked for a diverse set of leading firms in multiple segments of the finance industry, consistent with Qontigo’s expanding footprint in the marketplace today. Prior to joining Qontigo, he most recently served as Group Chief Information Officer at Deutsche Bank and, before that, as a partner and Chief Technology Officer at AQR Capital. Earlier, Neal was Chief Information Officer with UBS Wealth Management in Zurich and a partner at the D.E. Shaw Group for 11 years, where he held a number of positions, including Global Head of Back-Office Technology (later spun off as Arcesium). Neal holds a degree in computer science from Brown University.

Brian Rosenberg

Chief Revenue Officer

Brian Rosenberg

Chief Revenue Officer

Brian Rosenberg leads Qontigo’s sales, marketing, applied-research and customer-experience teams across its global index and analytics business. Rosenberg was previously a Managing Director at FTSE Russell since 2015, where his responsibilities included America’s index sales, global strategic accounts, exchange-traded products, derivatives, asset-owner and consultant relationship management, and both yield-book analytics and data-solutions sales. He also served as Head of North America for the Information Services Division.

Eamonn White

Data and Operations

Eamonn White

Data and Operations

Eamonn White is a Senior Managing Director, Data and Operations at Qontigo. In this role, he oversees data strategy definition and execution for the company’s analytics and index products. Before joining Qontigo, Eamonn served as Head of Transformation and Business Development for Global Markets at Avaloq, and prior to that worked with UBS for over 20 years in a variety of Technology and Operations leadership roles.

Holger Wohlenberg

Chief Strategy Officer

Holger Wohlenberg

Chief Strategy Officer

Dr. Holger Wohlenberg is Chief Strategy Officer of Qontigo since September 2019. He joined from Deutsche Börse Group, the major shareholder of the company. Holger became part of Deutsche Börse Group in 2004 as a Managing Director where he built out the Group’s Market Data and Index businesses. Prior to Deutsche Börse Group, Holger led the Technology Investment Banking function at Deutsche Bank. He began his career at McKinsey & Company where he was focused on advising technology, network and media clients. He was elected Partner in 1997. Dr. Wohlenberg received a PhD degree in Business Administration (Dr. oec. publ,) with a major in Information and Communication Economics, from the University of Munich.

Management Team

Melissa R. Brown, CFA

Applied Research

Melissa R. Brown, CFA

Applied Research

As Head of Applied Research, Melissa Brown leads a seasoned team that provides unique insights into risk trends by analyzing the vast amount of data on market, index and portfolio risk maintained by Qontigo. She and her team also provide practical thought leadership on analytics products and index strategies, to help investors make more informed decisions and to optimize the value of Qontigo’s sophisticated offerings. Melissa’s perspectives help both clients and prospects to better understand and adapt to the constantly changing risk environment. As an author of Qontigo Insight: Quarterly Risk Review, Melissa reports on the state of risk in publicly traded equity markets around the globe. In addition, she produces periodic special reports on a broad range of topics of interest to investors and asset owners, is a frequent speaker on the subject of market risk and is often quoted by the financial media. Melissa is a Chartered Financial Analyst. She holds a BS in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in finance from New York University.

Chris Canova

Customer Experience

Chris Canova

Customer Experience

Chris is responsible for leading the Customer Experience team at Qontigo. Chris’ global team of product experts works closely with clients to evaluate, implement, and ensure high levels of success in leveraging Qontigo Solutions to the fullest potential. Chris successfully established Axioma’s West Coast client-facing team, leading efforts resulting in significant business expansion for Axioma in the Mid-West and western US region, while managing several of Axioma’s strategic global accounts. Chris was promoted to Vice President in early 2012. Prior to his current role, Chris also spent over two years leading the Product Management organization of Axioma, focusing on product and business strategy for Axioma’s equity risk models, Risk Model Machine, analytics and optimization suite of products. Chris earned a BA in Finance from California Polytechnic State University with a minor in Economics, and was awarded the CFA charter in 2003. He is a member of the Chicago Quantitative Alliance.

Marc Dorfman

Sales & Client Coverage

Marc Dorfman

Sales & Client Coverage

Marc Dorfman is responsible for overseeing worldwide sales and client coverage at Qontigo. Previously, Dorfman was Managing Director – Head of Americas Sales, Information Services at FTSE Russell, where he led a team responsible for index sales, analytics and data solutions for the Americas. Before that, he served as FTSE Russell’s Managing Director – Head of Americas Index Sales since 2018, and Head of US & Latin America Index Sales since 2015. Prior to FTSE Russell, Dorfman served as Executive Director at MSCI, as Head of Equity Index Sales – Mid Atlantic, Southeast and Canada since 2010. Dorfman also served as Director of Sales at RiskMetrics and as an Account Executive at Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which MSCI acquired in 2006. Dorfman earned a Masters of Business Administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and a degree in Communications from The Pennsylvania State University.

Michael Hyzik

Risk & Compliance

Michael Hyzik

Risk & Compliance

Michael Hyzik leads the Governance, Risk and Compliance team at Qontigo. Michael was previously CFO, as well as Head of Legal and Regulations at STOXX. Prior to that, he was Legal Advisor to the University Hospital Zurich. Michael earned his Doctorate in Law, as well as his CAS Financial Regulation from the University of Zurich.

Axel Lomholt

Indices & Benchmarks

Axel Lomholt

Indices & Benchmarks

As Qontigo’s Chief Product Officer, Indices & Benchmarks, Axel Lomholt is responsible for the STOXX and DAX index portfolio. Prior to joining Qontigo, Axel served as Head of Product and Program Management for Asia, where he led a number of large-scale business initiatives across the region. Earlier at Vanguard, he served as Interim Chief Executive Officer, Asia. Prior to joining Vanguard’s Asia business, Lomholt served in two global roles; namely, Head of Product for International and then Head of ETFs for Vanguard outside of the US. Prior to Vanguard, Axel spent three years with Barclays Global Investors (BGI), followed by three with BlackRock, which acquired BGI in 2010, holding key leadership roles in the iShares business in EMEA and APAC. Before that, Lomholt served in portfolio management leadership roles with Gulf International Bank Ltd. and HSBC Global Asset Management. Axel holds a BSc Finance from Bayes Business School, an MSc Finance from Reading University, and completed the Global Leadership Executive Programme at Harvard Business School.

Molly McGregor

Marketing & Communications

Molly McGregor

Marketing & Communications

Molly McGregor leads Marketing and Communications at Qontigo. She is responsible for the firm’s global brand identity and market positioning, corporate communications, media and advertising presence, and conference/event execution. Molly has extensive experience in the fintech space, including most recently serving as Chief Marketing Officer for Hanweck, a provider of real-time risk analytics for the global derivatives markets. Prior to joining Hanweck, Molly was Senior Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Government Relations with the International Securities Exchange, the first all-electronic options market in the U.S. She has also served as a Policy Advisor on global regulatory issues for the Institute of International Finance, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association for global financial services firms, and began her career on the mergers and acquisitions teams of Credit Suisse First Boston and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Molly is a graduate of the London School of Economics with a master’s degree in International Political Economy, and of Washington and Lee University, with a bachelor’s degree in Politics and Economics.

Jay Panzarella

General Counsel

Jay Panzarella

General Counsel

Jay Panzarella is the General Counsel at Qontigo. He joined the company in 2015 and is overseeing all legal and compliance-related initiatives. Jay was previously an of counsel at Blank Rome LLP and served as General Counsel at the Carnegie Innovations. Jay earned his JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and his BA (Economics and Political Science) from the Muskingum University.

Courtney Scharff

Strategic Partnerships

Courtney Scharff

Strategic Partnerships

Courtney Scharff oversees Qontigo’s strategic partnerships across index and analytics. She is responsible for strategic growth by cultivating relationships with Qontigo’s distribution network of industry partners. Prior to Qontigo, Scharff served as Global Head of Index Data Management Solutions at Bloomberg and, subsequently, Global Equity Index Product Manager. Before Bloomberg, Scharff was Head of North American Client Services at FTSE Russell.

Chris Sturhahn

Analytics Products

Chris Sturhahn

Analytics Products

Chris Sturhahn oversees Qontigo’s portfolio of Axioma Analytics solutions. In this role, he is responsible for product strategy, architecture and development across our suite of portfolio construction, risk model and enterprise risk solutions. Previously, Chris had worked in the Analytics and Quantitative Solutions group inside Aladdin at BlackRock. Prior to that, he held development, research, and sales positions at Bloomberg, Barclays, and Lehman Brothers on the POINT (PORT) product. He is a co-author of three chapters of Frank Fabozzi’s “Handbook of Fixed Income Securities, Eighth Edition”. Chris has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the NYU Stern School of Business. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Joachim Weber

Finance & Tax

Joachim Weber

Finance & Tax

Joachim Weber leads the Finance and Tax teams at Qontigo since September 2019. He joined from Deutsche Börse Group where he headed Business Strategy + Intelligence for the Market Data + Services segment. Prior to joining Deutsche Börse Group in 2016, he was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, advising financial services clients. Joachim received a PhD degree in Behavioral Finance (Dr. rer. pol.) from Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main and a diploma in business administration from the University of Mannheim.

Brian Zimmer

Index Technology

Brian Zimmer

Index Technology

Brian Zimmer has over 20 years of experience leading the development of large-scale, data-rich systems in a variety of industries. As Qontigo’s CTO, Indexing, he leads the development, delivery, and execution of the indexing technology. Prior to Qontigo, Brian was CTO of Brightloom, focused on bringing data science to the restaurant and retail markets. Before Brightloom, he was the Vice President of Engineering at The Climate Corporation, where he led the development of a technology platform to help farmers increase their productivity utilizing advanced data models. Previously, he was a Senior Architect at Orbitz, where he was responsible for the development of the company’s distributed service platform and overall architecture. Prior to joining Orbitz, Zimmer worked at the investment bank UBS, where he built global interest rate trading systems. He has contributed frequently to the open-source community. Zimmer holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Tassilo Zimmermann

Strategic Analysis and Intelligence

Tassilo Zimmermann

Strategic Analysis and Intelligence

As Qontigo’s Managing Director, Strategic Analysis and Intelligence, Tassilo oversees the gathering, curation and analysis of market and business intelligence to inform the strategic decision-making of Qontigo. Having joined the company in September 2019 from Deutsche Börse Group’s Market Data + Services segment, he has been working on the creation of Qontigo’s Market Intelligence Dashboard and leading various strategic projects through intelligence-gathering, financial modelling, and analysis. Prior to Qontigo, Tassilo was Project Team Leader at Bain & Co and has experience in the index / analytics space (Barclays IPRS), as well as quantitative analysis (Credit Suisse exotic rates). He holds a PhD in theoretical Plasma Physics and MSci in Physics from Imperial College, London.

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