Bridging Tech and Finance: Luciano Juvinski

Duke University’s Master’s in Financial Technology (FinTech) program is known for producing graduates who go on to become leaders in financial innovation. Among the current students preparing to follow that path is Luciano Juvinski, a student in Duke FinTech’s traditional program.

Before joining Duke FinTech, Juvinski founded and led Navegg, the first data management platform in Latin America. Guiding the company from startup to a recognized name in the tech industry, Navegg managed over 500 million users per month while Juvinski was CEO. Navegg was eventually sold in 2021, in which Juvinski took a hiatus to upskill himself in blockchain technology. He came across a blockchain Coursera course by Duke FinTech’s Lafitte Director, Dr. Jimmie Lenz, which marked a turning point for Juvinski. Dr. Lenz’s perspective on how blockchain could reshape the financial industry led Juvinski to apply to Duke FinTech. Through the program, he hoped to build a strong foundation in finance that when combined with his technology background, he could build products that bridge both worlds.

During his first year in the Duke FinTech program, Juvinski has been able to build the strong foundation in finance like he hoped. As part of the program, students are required to take courses in finance and statistics, which has allowed Juvinski to gain knowledge about designing digital financial products in technology, financial logic, and market structure. He has developed a clear understanding of how financial products are structured, priced, and distributed, as well as strengthened his skills in applied math and statistics. Additionally, he has been able to take courses in software and blockchain, furthering the knowledge he has learned over his career and sharpen his strategic thinking skills.

Outside of coursework, Juvinski has also got to engage with the unique environment Duke FinTech provides. Professors in the Duke FinTech program actively maintain ties with those in the blockchain industry or at financial institutions, as well as regulators and policymakers. This has allowed Juvinski to network with a variety of individuals in the fintech space. Through Duke FinTech, he also has been able to connect with the strong network of founders and investors (many being alumni of Duke FinTech) that work across leading organizations. Additionally, Juvinski participated in the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s AI Hackathon, in which him and his team won the Academic Institution Award. This award allows him and the team to continue to develop their open-source AI-powered Anti-Money Laundering platform through the FINOS portfolio, which is under the Linux Foundation. He will continue to work on his team’s winning solution this summer, as well as build blockchain-based solutions and digital assets for the institutional finance market for his required summer internship.

Juvinski will graduate from Duke in December of 2025.

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