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Events / Thalesians Series

About The Series

The IAQF's Thalesians Seminar Series is a joint effort on the part of the IAQF (www.iaqf.org) and the Thalesians (www.thalesians.com).  The goal of the series is to provide a forum for the exchange of new ideas and results related to the field of quantitative finance.  This goal is accomplished by hosting seminars where leading practitioners and academics present new work, and following the seminars with a reception to facilitate further interaction and discussion.

Call For Speakers

If you are interested in speaking at one of the upcoming seminars, please email info@iaqf.org

Past Seminars

About The Organizer

Harvey Stein is a senior VP in the Labs group at Two Sigma. From 1993 to 2022, Dr. Stein was at Bloomberg, where he served as the head of several departments including Quantitative Risk Analytics, Counterparty and Credit Risk, Interest Rates Derivatives, and Quantitative Finance R&D. Harvey is well known in the industry, having published and lectured on credit risk modeling, financial regulation, interest rate and FX modeling, CVA calculations, mortgage backed security valuation, COVID-19 data analysis, and other subjects.

Dr. Stein is on the board of directors of the IAQF, a board member of the Rutgers University Mathematical Finance program, an adjunct professor at Columbia University, and organizer of the IAQF/Thalesians financial seminar series. He's also worked as a quant researcher on the Bloomberg for President campaign.

Dr. Stein holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley (1991) and a B.S. in Mathematics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (1982).

 



Upcoming Seminars

    • 17 Nov 2026
    • 6:00 PM
    • Fordham University McNally Amphitheater 140 West 62nd Street New York, NY 10023
    Register

    Navigating Power Markets: Instruments and Risk

    A Seminar by Ritesh Kumar

    Tuesday November 17, 2026

    6:00 PM Seminar Begins

    7:30 PM Reception


    Hybrid Event

    Fordham University

    McNally Amphitheater

    140 West 62nd Street

    New York, NY 10023


    Free Registration!


    For Virtual Attendees: Please select virtual instead of member type upon registration.

    Abstract:

    The power market is characterized by unique market dynamics, price volatility, physical constraints, and the continuous interaction between electricity generation, transmission, demand, and financial markets. This presentation provides an overview of power market trading, key trading instruments, and risk management practices used by market participants to navigate these complexities.


    It introduces the fundamentals of power market trading and explores the major instruments used to manage price and volume exposure, including physical and financial power contracts, forwards, futures, options, and other structured products. The presentation also examines the key risks faced by market participants, such as price, volume, basis, liquidity, credit, operational, and regulatory risks, and discusses approaches to identifying, measuring, and mitigating these risks.

    Bio:

    Ritesh Kumar is an energy specialist with more than 18 years of experience in energy modeling, risk management, price forecasting, asset valuation, and the pricing of structured instruments.


    Ritesh currently works at Balyasny Asset Management as a Quantitative Risk Researcher in Commodity Risk Analytics. Prior to that, he worked at AES Clean Energy as a Quantitative Risk Manager, where he led a team of analysts responsible for pricing prospective deals and modeling risks for AES Clean Energy’s multi-billion-dollar portfolio. His work at AES focused primarily on renewable power, including solar, wind, and battery storage.

    Prior to AES, Ritesh worked at NRG Energy, where, as a Risk Manager, he led a team of analysts managing risks across various ISOs, including ERCOT, PJM, NYISO, NEPOOL, and MISO. Before joining NRG Energy, Ritesh worked at Deutsche Bank as an Assistant Vice President, where he led a team of 10 analysts responsible for performing valuations for commodities and FX portfolios comprising positions across multiple geographies, including the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

    Ritesh has published several scholarly and peer-reviewed articles on energy modeling and risk management in leading finance journals and has pioneered novel solutions in these areas.

    Ritesh earned a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Rice University in Houston and completed a certificate course in Mathematical Finance from IIQF. He also earned a Master’s degree in Data Analytics from Middle Georgia State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology.

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