Sercan Yıldız is a Director of Analytics Research at SimCorp where he is responsible for leading the optimization research activities that power the next-generation portfolio construction capabilities of Axioma products. Sercan works closely with clients to translate their business goals into product solutions. Prior to joining Axioma (now part of SimCorp) in 2018, Sercan was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research focused on developing novel algorithmic techniques for complex and/or large-scale optimization problems. Sercan holds a PhD and a Master of Science in Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization from Carnegie Mellon University, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Boğazici University.