James Kirch

Biography

MEng Concentration: Financial Engineering
Area(s) of Interest: Investment Banking, Consulting, Sales & Trading, Financial Modeling & Risk Management
Expected Graduation Date: December 2011

James graduated from the University of Auckland (New Zealand) with First Class Honors in December 2009, receiving a B.E(Hons) in Engineering Science, majoring in Operations Research with a heavy emphasis on finance. At the University of Auckland, he was selected to participate in the “Accelerated Pathway” engineering degree program – allowing him to complete a full four-year honors baccalaureate degree in three years by taking on extra papers each semester.

Upon graduation, he decided to pursue a degree in Financial Engineering to further strengthen his skills in quantitative finance and general financial theory. He chose to study at Cornell University (amongst offers from other universities including MIT, LSE, CMU and Columbia) and is expecting to graduate in December 2011.

James was employed by Fulton Hogan Ltd (one of NZ’s largest contractors) over two summer break periods. He worked directly with regional management and developed a training database system that was eventually implemented nationwide. More recently, in November/December 2009, he gained some valuable work experience at First NZ Capital and Deutsche Bank NZ, two of NZ’s leading investment banks.

In his spare time, he enjoys skiing, scuba diving,