Alumni Spotlight: Zesheng Li, Duke FinTech ’22

Duke University’s Master in Financial Technology (FinTech) graduates are equipped with the technical, financial, and management expertise needed to lead financial innovation. One of those graduates is Zesheng Li, Duke FinTech class of 2022.

Zesheng’s passion for the intersection of finance, technology, and energy markets would lead him to a role at NextEra Energy, where he was recently promoted to a Senior Quantitative Analyst. In his role, he does multi-asset optimization, trading strategy design, and risk assessment to maximize profitability and efficiency. Zesheng develops and refines algorithms that enhance energy storage participation, improve arbitrage efficiency, and meet specific market needs.

Specializing in building quantitative models for trading and Independent System Operator (ISO) markets, Zesheng contributes to the data-driven decision-making that strengths NextEra’s market leadership. The models Zesheng builds allows NextEra to navigate complex markets, capitalize on arbitrage opportunities, and mitigate financial risks. He also streamlines and scales data processing workflows, as well as contributes to the creation of visualization dashboards. These dashboards are used to translate market data to actionable insights for traders, analysts, and decision-makers.

Beyond Zesheng’s optimization and trading work, he plays a vital role in supporting commercial and industrial clients in achieving their decarbonization goals. He develops optimization models that facilitate the client’s transition to renewable energy, in which he aligns trading strategies to clean energy expansion initiatives. This makes sure the businesses reach their sustainability goals while maximizing their financial returns.

When reflecting on how the program prepared him for his current role, Zesheng noted a few key themes. The program allowed him to hone his skills in backtesting trading strategies across stocks, commodities, and options, giving him a solid foundation in financial engineering. These skills give him an edge in the electricity markets, as pricing models and volatility analysis are crucial for trading. The course the program offers about machine learning equipped Zesheng to build energy price prediction models, as well as optimize trading strategies. He also grew his understanding of financial derivatives and quantitative risk management while part of the program, which he uses often to mitigate risk exposure in volatile energy markets.

If you are interested in any of our programs, please contact us at pratt_fintech@duke.edu.