Robert Farrokhnia

Prof. R.A. Farrokhnia is an award-winning Columbia University professor, with joint teaching appointments at both Schools of Business and Engineering; he is also a lecturer and Board Member of the Knight-Bagehot Program at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. He is the Founder and Executive Faculty Director of “Advanced Projects and Applied Research in Fintech” at Columbia. He is also the founder and managing principal of an Applied Solutions, Data Analytics, and Design DevLab, a new tech ventures launch platform in New York with a focus on fintech, data and enterprise software.His academic endeavors center on innovation in financial services as well as the integration of industrial, operational and business analyses with practical development and deployment of agile, inventive and design-centric engineering solutions. Prior to his current role, he led the ventures division of an asset management firm, was the CFO of a FinTech company acquired by NYSE Group, and in a variety of roles in finance and buyside. Prof. Farrokhnia has earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Columbia University. He has extensive global professional experience, including long-term residency abroad and fluency in several languages, and collaborates often in a variety of capacities with some of the most innovative and successful global companies.