CQF Alumni Perspectives: How AI Is Transforming Quant Careers

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CQF Alumni Perspectives: How AI Is Transforming Quant Careers

Frederick Tremblay, Naomi Yarrow, Tony Parish, 1 more
- My Current Time Zone - America/Detroit
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- UAE, Dubai
- United States, Denver
- United States, Honolulu
- United States, New York
Tue 2 Jun 2026
12:00 - 13:15 EDT
Online

Event Description

Join us for an unfiltered conversation with CQF alumni on what it really takes to break into quant finance – and how AI is transforming the work of professionals in the industry. From first roles and pivotal projects to real-world AI use cases and how quant roles are changing, this panel will share practical lessons, honest challenges, and actionable advice for anyone exploring or building a career in quantitative finance.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand the critical expertise and knowledge for quantitative finance professionals.
Appreciate how AI may reshape future workflows, and career opportunities over the next 12-24 months.
Apply alumni insight to audience’s own learning and development.

Speakers

Frederick Tremblay

Frederick Tremblay is Vice‑President, Investment Solutions at Desjardins Group, Canada’s leading cooperative financial group. He also serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Desjardins Investments and Desjardins Trust.

Over more than two decades at Desjardins, he has held a variety of senior roles spanning investment management, risk, and operations. Today, he leads the Investment Solutions business, with responsibility for strategy, product manufacturing, and execution across a broad range of investment solutions. He also oversees the strategic direction, governance, and operational performance of Desjardins’ fiduciary and custody platforms.

His career reflects a continuous progression from technical foundations to executive leadership, with a strong focus on how quantitative insight, risk discipline, and operational excellence come together in real‑world asset management.

He holds a master’s degree in finance, the CFA charter, FRM certification, and the Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF).

Naomi Yarrow

Naomi Yarrow is Head of Valuations at NatWest Group, operating at Managing Director level, with over 20 years’ experience spanning front‑office trading, quantitative valuation, and model risk. She has held senior leadership roles across Capital Risk Oversight, Valuation Policy, and Model Management, and works extensively with regulators and executive committees. Naomi holds a PhD in Chemistry and completed the Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF) in 2006, combining deep quantitative expertise with senior‑level governance and strategic oversight.

Tony Parish

Tony Parish is Chief Investment Officer at Alphastar Capital Management, with over 20 years of experience in investment management spanning quantitative research, machine learning, and large-scale data systems. His work sits at the intersection of finance, technology, and data science.

He builds and deploys machine learning models in Python to analyze complex datasets and support investment decision-making, integrating predictive analytics, optimization, and risk management into practical portfolio applications. A central theme of his work is innovation, particularly how cross-domain thinking can surface insights that conventional approaches may overlook.

He explores these ideas through his writing at SingularLinks.com and in his book, Singular Links: The Innovator’s Guide to Compounding Connections. He holds an MBA from the Fordham Gabelli School of Business, the CFA charter, and the Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF). His experience spans equities, fixed income, alternatives, and insurance products, grounded in rigorous analysis and real-world implementation.

Sonia Arora

Sonia Arora completed her Masters at the University of London and previous tenures include the London School of Economics and Cardinal Health. Sonia has 20 years of experience in both the corporate environment and academia and possesses excellent connections in the industry globally. In the last few years Sonia held positions at various graduate institutions heading their career departments and managing corporate relations. She has taught on Business Communications courses and implemented institutional soft skills training programs. Sonia heads career support services at the CQF Institute and manages the Institute’s partnership and careers events.