Peng Zhao

Peng Zhao is a Chinese-born computer scientist and financial engineer who studied computer science at top universities before joining Citadel Securities, the separately managed market-making arm of Ken Griffin's financial empire. He rose through the technology and trading infrastructure teams before becoming CEO of Citadel Securities. Under his leadership Citadel Securities has grown to become the world's dominant electronic market maker, processing approximately 25% of all US equity trading volume — including roughly 40% of all retail investor order flow. The firm is also the largest market maker in US equity options. Citadel Securities' edge comes from extraordinarily sophisticated technology infrastructure: the firm invests hundreds of millions annually in computing hardware, co-location at exchanges, and proprietary algorithms that quote bid-ask spreads in thousands of securities simultaneously at the microsecond timescale. In 2022 Citadel Securities raised $1.15 billion from Sequoia Capital and Paradigm at an implied valuation of approximately $22 billion — confirming its position as one of the most valuable financial technology firms in the world. Zhao represents a new generation of financial market leadership driven by technology and data science rather than traditional trading backgrounds. Citadel Securities has also expanded globally, building operations in Europe and Asia.