Citadel CTO says he personally calls top entry-level candidates who are deciding whether to join the firm
In the fiercely competitive landscape of hedge fund recruitment, Umesh Subramanian, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Citadel, is taking a hands-on approach to secure top-tier talent. In an interview with Business Insider, Subramanian revealed that he personally reaches out to promising candidates, including recent graduates, during their decision-making processes. His strategy includes understanding what drives their choices and addressing any concerns they might have. This personal touch has proven effective, helping Citadel win over many candidates. However, Subramanian also emphasizes transparency; in some cases, he has advised candidates to consider other opportunities if he feels their aspirations align better with different roles, highlighting the importance of finding the right fit for both the candidate and the firm.
The competition for talent in the hedge fund sector has intensified, particularly with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its integration into financial services. Citadel, alongside other major firms, is not only vying for traditional finance talent but also for skilled professionals in AI, a field that tech giants like Google and Amazon are heavily investing in. The stakes are high, with some hedge funds offering lucrative compensation packages worth millions to attract the best minds. Subramanian notes that Citadel’s commitment to recruiting exceptional talent is evident in its rigorous selection process, which saw a mere 0.4% acceptance rate for its summer training program in 2025, reflecting a 20% increase in applications from the previous year. This competitive environment requires executives to be deeply involved in the hiring process, ensuring that they attract individuals who not only possess technical expertise but also demonstrate intellectual curiosity and a collaborative spirit.
As the talent war rages on, Citadel’s proactive recruitment strategy illustrates a broader trend in the industry where executives, akin to their counterparts in tech companies, are personally invested in attracting the best talent available. With firms like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America also ramping up their tech budgets to secure top candidates, the landscape is evolving rapidly. Subramanian’s approach underscores a fundamental truth in today’s job market: exceptional talent is worth fighting for, and the personal engagement of leadership can make a significant difference in winning over the best candidates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9GtKYwJi5M
Umesh Subramanian says he reaches out to top candidates when they’re in their decision-making process about joining the firm.
Citadel
Citadel CTO
Umesh Subramanian
said he personally calls top candidates, including recent college grads.
The calls have won many candidates over, but occasionally show they’re not the right fit, he said.
While the hedge fund talent war isn’t new, AI has made recruiting even more competitive.
Hedge funds are locked in a fierce talent war,
shelling out pay packages
worth tens of millions to secure top talent — and that means executives are going all-in to woo prospective hires, even at the entry-level.
Umesh Subramanian, Citadel’s chief technology officer, leads the tech teams that power the firm’s investment, research, and risk-management platforms. He told Business Insider that he personally calls some of the most in-demand candidates during the decision-making process to see where their head is at. That includes not just senior-level recruits, but also recent grads, he said.
“I get on the call with them to understand how they’re going to make the decision — what is driving their decisions,” Subramanian said. “And oftentimes we win those candidates.”
In general, the CTO said he looks for four qualities in top candidates: intellectual curiosity; a passion for winning as a team; an interest in commercial applications and not just theory; and a strong engineering background and education.
While Subramanian directly contacts some of the most sought-after candidates, those conversations haven’t always resulted in them getting hired. The CTO said that sometimes the phone calls have led him to suggest they look elsewhere because another company may be more aligned with the role they describe being interested in.
“I’ve had a couple of conversations where I’ve said, ‘Look, I think you should take the other job,'” He said he thinks Citadel is a great and “highly selective” company at which to start your career, but that “it is not for everyone.”
Ongoing talent wars
Subramanian isn’t the only executive to personally reach out to top talent in the interview process. OpenAI’s Sam Altman has been similarly been said to call candidates to convince them to join the tech company, and Meta CEO
Mark Zuckerberg
has previously shown up in email chains to recruit talent, as well as reportedly hosted top
candidates at his home
for meals.
While the talent war at hedge funds isn’t new, the scramble for AI talent has added another layer of competition to the hiring process and raised the stakes for recruiting the right people — many whom are highly sought after by traditional tech giants.
Banks like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have allocated
billions to their tech budgets
, with a portion of that investment going into hiring.
Subramanian said he has always been personally engaged in recruiting, and it’s part of the company’s culture for executives to be highly involved in seeking out top talent.
Citadel, specifically, is among the most competitive hedge funds. In 2025, the hedge fund and its sister firm, Citadel Securities, accepted just 0.4% of applicants for its
summer training program
, a record-low acceptance rate. Together, the two firms received 108,000 applications — a 20% increase from the previous year.
“Exceptional talent, world-class talent, is worth fighting for with everything that you got,” Subramanian said.
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Business Insider
