About

Hey, I'm Tommy!

I studied Industrial Engineering with a concentration in Finance/Economics at UIUC, but I was always finding an excuse to learn more about the capital markets. That curiosity landed me two summer internships at CBOE, where I got to see how deep and complex the financial markets are. I got to work on research projects for new ventures like prediction markets, dig into data analytics on popular indices, and sit in on client calls with hedge funds, banks, and data providers. It gave me a strong foundation in markets, and I liked the mix of technical and client facing work.

After CBOE, I started Georgia Tech's Quantitative Finance program. I knew this was the right industry, but grad school wasn't the right fit. The curriculum felt outdated, the rapid adoption of AI tools was making parts of it feel irrelevant, and I couldn't see the ends justifying the means for my career. I wanted to make an immediate impact somewhere instead of sitting in lectures for another few years. So I stepped away to figure out what I actually wanted to build towards.

Right now, my ideal situation is working in the financial industry, ideally at an earlier stage fintech startup, where I can take ownership over my work, learn a ton, and be around other smart and ambitious people.

Outside of work, I stay pretty active. I lucked out and won the lottery for the 2026 Chicago Marathon, and I'm planning to do a half Ironman once I'm fully healed from shoulder surgery. I also love camping, coffee, music, personal finance, and I recently started relearning the guitar.