Anirudh Singh sits down with Sarah Hammer and Sameer Gupta to discuss launching the Cypher Accelerator. Topics include:

- Sameer's work at Point72

- Why Sarah is well-positioned to lead Cypher

- Cypher's incredible board of advisors

- What excites the two most about Crypto / Blockchain

And much more!

Sarah Hammer: 

Sarah Hammer is Managing Director of the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance and Senior Director of the Harris Alternative Investments Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In these roles, she focuses her efforts on private capital investments and financial technology. Sarah is also Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, teaching an upper-level juris doctor course on financial regulation.

Previously, Sarah was Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions and Director of the Office of Financial Institutions Policy at the United States Department of the Treasury. In this role, she led and directed the Department's policy responsibilities involving financial institutions, as well as oversaw the Federal Insurance Office and the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Compliance Policy (cybersecurity).

Sarah earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Studies from Oxford University. She is a Harry S. Truman Scholar and a Member of the American Law Institute.

Sameer Gupta: 

Sameer Gupta is the Head of Data Solutions at Point72 and for the New York Mets. He is responsible for creating end-to-end solutions in data and analytics for all Point72 businesses as well as the Mets. Before joining Point72, Gupta was the chief operating officer at iSentium, an artificial intelligence startup where he led key business functions including sales, business development, fundraising, engineering, and operations. Before iSentium, he was the COO for the Global Electronic Trading and Americas Cash Equities business at JPMorgan. Gupta also served in business development and product management roles at New York Stock Exchange Technologies, and in software development and technology strategy positions at Goldman Sachs. He is also actively involved in the New York City startup community through TechStars and New York University's Endless Frontier Labs.

Sameer earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, M.S. in Information Systems Management from Carnegie Mellon, and B.S. in Computer Science from the National Institute of Technology in India.