Point72 data head joins the new hot space for AI jobs: Private equity
While hedge funds and quant trading firms are traditionally thought of as the place to be for AI talent in finance, private equity has been investing heavily in the technology. Now, top hedge fund AI people are being tempted to cross over.
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Sameer Gupta has left hedge fund Point72, where he was most recently head of data solutions, to become the chief data and analytics officer of Apollo Global Management. Gupta was involved in end-to-end AI solutions for the hedge fund, as well as building out its GenAI data platform. He held the same role at the New York Mets (owned by Point72 founder Steve Cohen), implementing AI and building private LLMs for the sports franchise.
At Apollo, AI integration will likely be a key part of his role. An EY report last November stated that PE firms are "urgently exploring GenAI use-cases and pilots," both for themselves and their portfolio companies, and that 74% of PE-backed firms use the technology.
PE firms are also creating new roles for AI professionals. Deepali Vyas, global head of data and AI for recruitment firm Kornferry, told us last year that "Private Equity is definitely taking the lead" on AI recruitment through the creation of its AI operating executive roles. These hires assess a firm's portfolio companies to see how AI can improve processes. She said this can appeal more to AI specialists due to the variety of the role, "as opposed to staying in a bank and working a specific model." Andy Legg, director of executive search firm Riviera Partners, told us that PE firms are "increasingly exploring AI and machine learning hiring, and [he expects] this to evolve in 2025."
Gupta's arrival at Apollo suggests that it's not just banks who have to worry about their AI staff being taken, hedge funds should be on alert too. And for good reason; Vyas told Business Insider that those new operating executive roles can pay up to $2m.
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