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Our team of industrial professors bring real-word experience to the teaching on our programmes
Budha Bhattacharya
Budha is an Industrial Professor at IFT. He has worked in Capital Markets for almost twenty years, having held key positions at tier-one investment banks such as UBS as an Executive Director, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as well as for KPMG.
He currently works as Chief Product Officer of ESG IQ, KPMG's flagship ESG Big Data analytics platform, developed by data scientists and engineers in conjunction with Google. ESG IQ ingests and analyses ESG and Climate-related enormous structured datasets from multiple sources and millions of unstructured data points to assess several asset classes, enabling firms to understand the drivers behind their ESG standings.
Budha's doctoral research at UCL's Institute of Finance and Technology focuses on big data-driven ESG analytics, NLP models, and sustainable finance. He pursued his EMBA from INSEAD and other advanced degrees in Finance and Economics from the University of Exeter and London Business School.
Email: budha.bhattacharya.18@ucl.ac.uk
Luca Cocconcelli
Dr Luca Cocconcelli is an Industrial Professor at IFT, where he teaches Big Data in Quantitative Finance. Luca holds a PhD in Applied Finance from University College London and an MSc in Statistics from University of Bologna. He is Data Analytics Manager at the London Clearing House (Part of London Stock Exchange Group) where he covers Equity and Fixed Income in the Risk & Innovation team.
Before joining LCH, Luca worked in M&G Investments in Risk Modelling and Analytics for Equity in the Portfolio Construction and Risk division and as a quant risk analyst in a boutique Investment Management (Massena Investment Management). Luca spent 7 years in academia and developed a number of collaboration with international institutions such as the European Investment Bank, World Bank and European Commission.
Email: l.cocconcelli@ucl.ac.uk
Piero Mazzarisi
Piero Mazzarisi is Industrial Professor at IFT. He is also Assistant Professor in Applied Mathematics at Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS) in Pisa, Italy. He is involved in many research projects in financial mathematics, including collaborations with industry and the Italian regulator of financial markets (CONSOB).
Piero's research interests fall mainly in the intersection of discrete mathematics with other fields, including statistics, probability, and statistical physics. His specific focus is the modelling of time series of networks and, more broadly, time series analysis.
Recently, he has investigated new applications of machine learning techniques and neural networks to solve problems of statistical inference with approximate methods. He has an MSc in Theoretical Physics and a PhD in Financial Mathematics, with a thesis on dynamic network models, with applications to finance and a focus on the study of the dynamics of interbank networks.
Email: piero.mazzarisi@sns.it
Dr Thomas Schröder
Dr Thomas Schröder is an Industrial Professor at IFT. He has worked with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for more than twenty years, starting as an economist in the Chief Economist’s Department, thereafter in front-office functions in the Capital Markets Department and more recently as a Managerial Adviser in the Strategy, Policies & Business Support Department. He has been acquiring extensive experience in the primary bond markets, usage of derivatives for hedging purposes, counterparty credit risk and other financial markets and risk management issues.
Prior to joining the EIB, he worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, Frankfurt, where he gained insights in the iron and steel, postal services and insurance industries.
Dr. Schröder has been publishing in highly rated academic journals in the fields of finance, economics and physics. He has been teaching finance at various universities in Luxembourg, Germany and the UK for more than ten years. He studied at the universities of Cologne, Heidelberg and Keele and received PhD degrees in both physics and economics.
Email: t.schroeder@ucl.ac.uk
Dr Joo Hee Lee
Dr Joo Hee Lee is an Industrial Professor at IFT. She is a multi-asset investment-solutions specialist and portfolio manager. Noted for designing systematic allocation strategies for large institutional investors including pension funds and sovereign-wealth managers. Especially recognised for creating detailed, robust and cost-efficient client-specific solutions, with a strong track record of managing multi-asset bespoke portfolios.
Well-versed in academic literature and financial theory, with published papers and significant industry experience, spanning equity, fixed income and currencies prior to moving into the multi-asset business. She has a PhD in Chemical Physics from University of Cambridge, and an MSc in Applied Statistics and Operational Research from Birkbeck University. Additionally, she is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and a CQF (Certificate in Quantitative Finance) holder.
Email: joohee.lee@ucl.ac.uk
Francesco Cuccovillo
Francesco Cuccovillo is an Industrial Professor at IFT, where he teaches on the MSc Banking and Digital Finance. He has over 20 years of experience in Markets, holding multiple leadership positions with a strong track record managing European and global businesses with a focus on cross-asset derivatives, structured and asset backed finance, secured funding and risk solutions. Francesco is currently a Managing Director at Wells Fargo, Corporate and Investment Banking where he is responsible for the Financing & Solutions business in International Markets and Global Co-Head of Secured Credit Trading. Prior to Wells Fargo, Francesco was a Partner and Head of Financing Solutions and Alternative Credit at Channel Capital Advisors.
Before joining Channel, he was Global Co-Head of Investment, Financing and Solutions at Natwest Markets and he led Structuring as well as Structured Finance & Special Situations Trading in the Global Markets division at Nomura for EMEA. Previously, Francesco was Co-Head of Credit Structuring at Lehman Brothers for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Francesco also held a variety of structuring and trading roles for HSBC and RBC Capital Markets in London, New York and Tokyo.
Francesco has taken part as speaker or panelist at frequent industry conferences and seminars. He has lectured in various under-graduate, post-graduate and executive courses subjects related to fixed income and credit markets, asset management, risk and derivatives. Francesco received a Degree in Economics cum laude from LUISS (Rome) and he is a CFA charterholder.
Email: TBA
Rosemary Addis
Rosemary has spent decades leading and catalysing innovation and investment for impact. She is Managing Partner Mondiale Impact, Enterprise Professor at University of Melbourne, has a Board and advisory portfolio and is widely published.
Rosemary’s 30+ year track record spans a global legal career with Kirkland & Ellis New York and equity partner of Allens-Linklaters. Career highlights include Social Innovation Strategist, Australian Government, member of the G8 Social Impact Investment Taskforce and Founding Chair, Impact Investing Australia (Market Builder of the Year 2018 & 2020). She is a trusted advisor to leaders across sectors. Collaborations include the OECD, United Nations Development Programme, World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School and Oxford Said Business School.
Recognition includes: named a Sorenson Global Impact Leader (2022), Member of the Order of Australia (2020) ranking among top thought leaders (Women in Finance, 2017) and the world’s leading lawyers (2002-3).
Email: rosemary@rosemaryaddis.com
Cagatay Bircan
Dr Cagatay Bircan is an Industrial Professor at IFT and teaching Valuation in Private Equity and Venture Capital. He is also Lead Research Economist at the Office of the Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). At the EBRD, he conducts academic research and various types of policy work in the areas of banking, entrepreneurial finance, organisational economics, development, and trade.
His current research is on knowledge work in teams and multinationals, value creation in private equity, and entrepreneurship in emerging markets. Prior to joining the EBRD, Cagatay was a Fixed Income Strategist and Economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, covering EMEA markets. He holds a BA in Economics, German, and Mathematics from Williams College, and MA and PhD degrees in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Email: cagatay.bircan.18@ucl.ac.uk
Dr Brian Healy
Dr Brian Healy is an Industrial Professor at IFT. He has more than 25 years experience in financial markets as a trader and quantitative analyst and has acted as a consultant for clients in the hedge fund industry, structured finance, private equity, venture capital and asset backed finance. He is a founder and or C-level executive of a number of startups focusing on financial technology, artificial intelligence, anomaly detection and predictive modelling and acts as an advisor to a variety of tech incubators.
Email: b.healy@ucl.ac.uk
Dr Drago Indjic
Dr Drago Indjic is an Industrial Professor at IFT, where he teaches courses on the MSc Venture Capital and Private Equity with Financial Technology. He is Managing Director of Oxquant and Dozent at the Computing Faculty RAF Belgrade. He was awarded a PhD in 1995 from Imperial College London and held senior roles at hedge funds before co-founding tech start-ups across Europe.
Drago is EU expert for machine learning and co-editor of the 'Legaltech' book for Wiley (2020). He taught at several leading business schools before his appointment at UCL IFT.
Email: d.indjic@ucl.ac.uk
Peyman Mestchian
Research Director
Email: TBA
Khalid Naji
Khalid also managed high-tech projects in Advanced Biofuels, Sustainable Marine Fisheries, Solar Testing, Carbon Capture & Robotic Surgery Training (later successfully spun-off & integrated into the Qatari national hospital system with thousands of medical doctors trained). Khalid holds a BEng in Civil Engineering from University College London (UCL), an MS in Civil & Environmental Engineering – Sustainable Design & Construction from Stanford University and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in California.
Email: k.naji@ucl.ac.uk
Max Vermorken
Max is an Industrial Professor at IFT. He co-founded SigmaRoc plc in August 2016 as a SPAC and has since served as its CEO. In this capacity he developed and implemented the Invest Improve Integrate Strategy and platform-based business model of the SigmaRoc Group. The group has grown both organically and through acquisition across 12 countries in Northern Europe, building up a strong asset base and a strong financial performance.
Prior to SigmaRoc, Max was strategic advisor to the CEO of Holcim Northern Europe, the world’s largest construction materials group. His role included responsibility for the merger of Lafarge SA and Holcim Ltd in the region involving the only Day 1 integration of the two major businesses following the hive-down and integration of two large asset portfolios – a mix which included cement plants and down-stream assets. Prior to working for LafargeHolcim, Max worked in private equity and venture capital at Luxembourg-headquartered Genii Group, working directly to its founding principals Gerard Lopez, co-founder of Mangrove VC and Eric Lux a major real estate developer and industrial investor.
Max holds a PhD in Financial Economics from University College London and Bachelor and Master degrees in both Civil Engineering and Financial Economics from University College London and the University of Brussels, respectively.
Email: maxvermorken@gmail.com
Amin Amal-Lee
Email: TBA
Budha Bhattacharya
Budha is an Industrial Professor at IFT. He has worked in Capital Markets for almost twenty years, having held key positions at tier-one investment banks such as UBS as an Executive Director, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as well as for KPMG.
He currently works as Chief Product Officer of ESG IQ, KPMG's flagship ESG Big Data analytics platform, developed by data scientists and engineers in conjunction with Google. ESG IQ ingests and analyses ESG and Climate-related enormous structured datasets from multiple sources and millions of unstructured data points to assess several asset classes, enabling firms to understand the drivers behind their ESG standings.
Budha's doctoral research at UCL's Institute of Finance and Technology focuses on big data-driven ESG analytics, NLP models, and sustainable finance. He pursued his EMBA from INSEAD and other advanced degrees in Finance and Economics from the University of Exeter and London Business School.
Email: budha.bhattacharya.18@ucl.ac.uk
Dr Hakan Lucius
Dr Hakan Lucius is Chief Sustainability Officer at the EIB, the European Union’s bank and the largest Multilateral Financial Institution of the World. He possesses more than 25 years of sustainability experience in finance, in particular through the structuring of multiple billions of euros of investments, through both, loans and equity throughout his career.
Academically, Dr Lucius specializes in sustainable finance and has published articles in multiple languages. He received his Ph.D. with distinctions in industrial economics, his MBA from INSEAD in Finance, France, and his MSc in Engineering from Vienna Technical University. He is an internationally acclaimed speaker, quoted by the Financial Times and Reuters, and has lectured in over 20 countries across Europe, Asia, and in the US.
Prof. Dr. Lucius is also Board Member of the Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency, Luxflag; member of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group, EFRAG on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, ESRS; member of the ISSB Technical Reference Group; the European Commission’s Ecolabel expert group for sustainable finance; and former President and current member of the European Investment Bank’s Pension Board
Email: h.lucius@ucl.ac.uk
Rebecca Macdonald
Rebecca MacDonald is an Industrial Professor at IFT, where she teaches social enterprise and impact investing. She is Head of Investment Management at UK impact investor Big Society Capital focusing on how it manages its portfolio, a Non-Executive Director of Charity Bank, and a member of Trust for London’s endowment Investment Committee.
Rebecca also has experience working in and with social enterprises receiving impact capital, designing UK Government policy to enable impact-led financing to tackle climate change, and supporting asset manager M&G with its impact investment strategy and the launch of a £5 billion broad impact mandate. She is committed to advancing education in impact investing, including as Chair of the CFA UK’s Impact Investment Certificate and as a member of the Impact Investing Institute’s Learning Panel.
Rebecca is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and holds the CFA Certificate in ESG Investing and an MSc in International Development from SOAS, specialising in how social enterprises support development outcomes.
Email: rmacdonald@bigsocietycapital.com
Jeremy Rogers
Email: TBA
Dr Thomas Schröder
Dr Thomas Schröder is an Industrial Professor at IFT. He has worked with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for more than twenty years, starting as an economist in the Chief Economist’s Department, thereafter in front-office functions in the Capital Markets Department and more recently as a Managerial Adviser in the Strategy, Policies & Business Support Department. He has been acquiring extensive experience in the primary bond markets, usage of derivatives for hedging purposes, counterparty credit risk and other financial markets and risk management issues.
Prior to joining the EIB, he worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, Frankfurt, where he gained insights in the iron and steel, postal services and insurance industries.
Dr. Schröder has been publishing in highly rated academic journals in the fields of finance, economics and physics. He has been teaching finance at various universities in Luxembourg, Germany and the UK for more than ten years. He studied at the universities of Cologne, Heidelberg and Keele and received PhD degrees in both physics and economics.
Email: t.schroeder@ucl.ac.uk
John Cummins
Industrial Director
Email: TBA
Peyman Mestchian
Research Director
Email: TBA
Filippo Addarii
Serial entrepreneur, controversial thinker, and strategic consultant, for over twenty years Filippo has pioneered the field of social innovation within the European institutions and urban regeneration fostering experimentation and structural transformation by realigning public and private interests for a new 21st century planetary contract. Some of the most important clients:
European Commission, European Investment Bank, UNDP and Lendlease.The most significant project: MIND - Milano Innovation District 1m sqm regeneration project and
innovation district at the same time, 5bn euro value and 70k community of people at completion. Filippo is a regular public speaker and author including The Guardian and HBR. He has a BSc in
Philosophy (Bologna University), MRes in Urban Sustainability and Resilience (UCL). He teaches
and is doing a PhD in Sustainable Finance at UCL Institute of Finance and Technology.
Email: filippo.addarii@plusvalue.org
Philippe Dufournier
Philippe now boasts over 30 years in leadership positions across a number of globally important investment banks, primarily in London. His career has been focused on the structuring, sales and origination of innovative derivatives and capital markets transactions for European large cap corporates, financial institutions, governments and investment funds.