Peng Zhao (Chinese: 赵鹏; pinyin: Zhào Péng) is a Chinese-American businessman who is the CEO of Citadel Securities. Peng Zhao was born in Beijing, China.

Peng Zhao
赵鹏
Peng Zhao, May 2013
Born1982 or 1983 (age 41–42)[1]
Beijing, China[2]
EducationPeking University (BA)
University of California, Berkeley (MA, PhD)
OccupationBusinessman
Years active2006-present
EmployerCitadel Securities
TitleCEO (2017-present)
Board member ofThe Asian American Foundation[3]
National Committee on United States–China Relations
SpouseCherry Chen

Education edit

Zhao was a student of the Talented Children Training Program at Beijing No.8 High School from 1993 to 1997. He earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Peking University in 2001.[4]and a PhD in statistics from University of California, Berkeley in 2006.[2]

Career edit

Peng Zhao was a summer associate at Lehman Brothers and was a quantitative researcher at Evnine & Associates before joining Citadel.[5]

Peng Zhao joined Citadel Securities in 2006 as a quantitative researcher.[6]

In July 2016, Citadel Securities announced that then Microsoft COO, B. Kevin Turner, was joining the firm as CEO.[7] At this time a new role, chief scientist, was created specifically for Peng Zhao who was then the global head of market making.[7]

Five months after joining, Kevin Turner left Citadel Securities, and on January 27, 2017, at age 34, Peng Zhao was promoted to CEO.[1][7]

Affiliations edit

Zhao is a director of the National Committee on U.S. China Relations.[8] He is a founding board member of the non-profit advocacy and anti-discrimination group The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), established in 2021.[9][10][11]

In 2019, Zhao was named on Fortune's 40 Under 40 list.[2]

Philanthropy edit

Zhao and his wife Cherry Chen organized a one million surgical mask donation to Chicago's first responders during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.[12] The couple also supports Kartemquin Films, a non-profit documentary filmmaking organization, in its efforts to fund filmmakers from the AAPI community through the Peng Zhao and Cherry Chen Fund for AAPI Voices.[13] The couple were co-executive producers of the award-winning documentary Finding Yingying, which was released by Kartemquin Films.[14] Zhao and Chen also fund the Victor Wong Fellowship, a program associated with Chicago's Second City, to train and mentor aspiring comedians from the AAPI community.[15][16] Peng and other founding board members of TAAF committed $125 million to support AAPI organizations and causes at launch. According to The New York Times, it was the single largest philanthropic gift devoted to Asian Americans.[9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Marek, Lynne (3 February 2017). "If one Citadel is good, could two be better?". No. Finance & Banking. Chicago, IL, United States: Crain's Chicago Business. Crain Communications, Inc. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "How the 40 Under 40 Get Stuff Done: Their Favorite Productivity Hacks". United States: Fortune. Fortune Media IP Limited. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  3. ^ "About us/Board members". TAAF.org. 2023.
  4. ^ "For its next CEO, Citadel Securities turns to a veteran". Crain's Chicago Business. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Peng Zhao". 2013-10-22. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  6. ^ McCrank, John; Mazzilli, Meredith (22 May 2018). "Exclusive: Citadel Securities ups ETF game as part of growth push". No. Business News. New York, N.Y., United States: Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Massa, Annie; Leising, Matthew (27 January 2017). "Wal-Mart to Wall Street Dream Dies as Citadel Securities CEO Out". No. Business. United States: Bloomberg News. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Board of Directors". ncuscr.org. National Ccommittee on U.S.-China Relations.
  9. ^ a b Ross Sorkin, Andrew; Lee, Edmund (3 May 2021). "Asian-American Business Leaders Fund Effort to Fight Discrimination". New York Times.
  10. ^ "The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) Officially Launched". angelachao.org. Angela Chao.
  11. ^ "Our Team". taaf.org. TAAF.
  12. ^ Main, Frank (2020-05-12). "Chinese Americans in Chicago donate 1 million surgical masks to city's first-responders". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  13. ^ "Kartemquin Films Announces the Peng Zhao and Cherry Chen Fund for AAPI Voices". medium.com. Camera One. 4 April 2022.
  14. ^ Lodge, Guy (11 December 2020). "Finding Yingying' Review: Heartfelt Documentary Probes a Chinese Student's Horrific Disappearance". Variety.
  15. ^ Cristi, A.A. (2 May 2022). "The Second City Launches Victor Wong Fellowship for AAPI Voices in Comedy". Broadway World Chicago.
  16. ^ Haring, Bruce (2 May 2022). "Second City to Offer an Asian American Pacific Islander Fellowship in Improv Comedy". Deadline.

External links edit