Franklin Templeton · Hyderabad, India
Director, AI & Optimization Research, Franklin Templeton · Guest Faculty, IIIT Hyderabad
Director of AI & Optimization Research at Franklin Templeton, specializing in the intersection of advanced AI and quantitative finance. I leverage Generative AI and Machine Learning to conceptualize and develop innovative financial products and solutions across global markets, alongside teaching at IIIT Hyderabad.
About
I lead the AI & Optimization Research team at Franklin Templeton, where we build state-of-the-art decision systems leveraging machine learning frameworks, and generative AI models for investment research and goals-based wealth management.
In addition to my industry role, I am a Guest Faculty member at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad, where I teach graduate courses including Mathematics for Finance and collaborate on AI-driven financial research. I earned my Ph.D. from IIT Roorkee, in collaboration with Michigan State University, working on evolutionary optimization.
Key Interests
Experience
Leadership and research track record across industry and academia, focusing on quantitative finance, reinforcement learning, and advanced optimization.
Leading research and development of Generative AI for financial research, and optimization solutions for goals-based wealth management & global financial products.
Conceptualized and deployed RL-based asset allocation algorithms and NLP-driven financial signal extraction pipelines for portfolio managers.
Engineered quantitative models, optimization solvers, and portfolio analytics engines.
Delivering graduate curriculum and guiding research in quantitative finance and AI.
Conducted research at the Computational Optimization and Innovation (COIN) Laboratory on machine learning-assisted evolutionary multi- and many-objective optimization with Prof. Kalyanmoy Deb and Prof. Erik Goodman.
Engineered and optimized hydraulic actuation systems for operator fatigue reduction and structural reliability.
Lecture slides, code tutorials, and problem sets for the graduate course at IIIT Hyderabad.
Complete academic record, patents, industry projects, and research summary (PDF).
Professional network, recommendations, career updates, and industry insights.
Research & Publications
Authored book and refereed papers spanning quantitative finance, reinforcement learning, evolutionary multi-objective optimization, and automated innovization.
Refereed Publications
Activities
Keynote lectures, conference tutorials, and invited technical sessions on AI in finance, reinforcement learning, and evolutionary algorithms.
[Talk] CARL: Chat Assisted Reinforcement Learning
Summit Details ↗[Talk] From AI Tools to Human-AI Decision Systems: A Reasoning–Trust–Learning Playbook for Investment Research
Event Details ↗[Keynote] Generative AI in Finance?
Workshop Link ↗[Speaker] Multiple sessions covering Reinforcement Learning, Goal-Based Investing, and Quant Modeling.
[Tutorial] Machine Learning Assisted Evolutionary Multi- and Many-objective Optimization
Conference Link ↗[Tutorial] Machine Learning Assisted Evolutionary Multi- and Many-objective Optimization
Conference Link ↗[Talk] Harnessing Reinforcement Learning for Goals-based Wealth Management
Visitor Archive ↗[Keynote] A Meta Reinforcement Learning Approach to Goals-Based Wealth Management
Summit Details ↗[Talk] A Meta Reinforcement Learning Approach to Goals-Based Wealth Management
Education
Thesis: Machine Learning Assisted Evolutionary Multi- and Many-Objective Optimization
Contact
Feel free to connect regarding industry research collaborations, invited talks, or academic engagements.