Financial Engineering Program to Graduate Class of ’15

After a whirlwind of global internships, intense research projects, and international competitions, 67 students in the Berkeley Master of Financial Engineering (MFE) Program are expected to graduate March 20.
 
The commencement will be held at 11:30 a.m. at Andersen Auditorium.

Suni Harford, (pictured below), managing director and Citigroup’s regional head of markets for North America, is the scheduled commencement speaker. A leader in finance for more than 20 years and an advocate for women leaders in business, Harford was named to American Banker’s 2014 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance list. Jason Shoup, MFE 06, head of U.S. investment-grade credit strategy at Citi, will return to Haas to introduce Harford.Suni Harford

The MFEs capped the year on a high note recently, taking second place among 50 rivals in the Rotman International Trading Competition, the largest trading competition in the world. The competing team in Toronto Feb. 19-21 included Tanya Gupta, Tong Lu, Yi Lu, Xie He, Maoqi Wang, and Wontai Cho. The same team also took first place in the Optiver Options Case for the second straight year, earning a cash prize.

During their program, 65 of the class’s 67 students were placed in internships from New York to Hong Kong to London, working in industries including hedge funds, investment and commercial banking, asset management, and financial services. Employers included RBC, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Standard & Poors, Dow, Charles Schwab, and Blackrock.

At commencement, students and faculty will welcome Harford, who began her career at Merrill Lynch after earning an MBA from Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. In 1995, she became co-head of Citi's fixed income capital markets origination business, moving on to global head of fixed income research. In her current role, she oversees the North American sales, trading, and origination businesses of Citi's securities and banking franchise. Harford is also the co-head of Citigroup’s global women’s initiative, Citi Women.

She serves on several boards, including the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the world’s largest post-trade financial services company, and the Forte Foundation, a national non-profit dedicated to increasing the number of women business leaders. She is also involved with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Veteran’s Employment Advisory Council and represents Citi as a founding member of Veterans on Wall Street.
 
MFE Program Executive Director Linda Kreitzman will present the MFE Defining Principles Awards.

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