New York-based global hedge fund Schonfeld Strategic Advisors has announced that it will be the presenting sponsor of the 2022 edition of SoFlo DevCon.
Taking place at Nova Southeastern University in Davie on April 16th, this year marks the 17th annual edition of DevCon (formerly known as Code Camp). The event is part of the broader “South Florida Tech Month” in April which includes a host of innovation-focused conferences and events stretching from Miami to Palm Beach.
“We are very excited to be the presenting sponsor of SoFlo DevCon,” Schonfeld’s Chief Technology Officer, David Neigler, told South Florida Tech Hub.
After having undertaken an exhaustive search of 36 cities around the country, Schonfeld picked Miami as its second headquarters. “Miami is an emerging tech hub,” said Neigler. In Miami, the firm sees the opportunity to find top talent in tech and beyond.
David Neigler
Neigler explained that sponsoring SoFlo DevCon will be an opportunity for Schonfeld to connect with Miami’s community of developers and innovators. He noted that some Schonfeld executives will be giving keynotes and participating in panel discussions during the event.
While Schonfeld’s expanded presence is still relatively new to South Florida, Neigler signaled that they have already found some strong talent in our market. “It seems like a lot of folks are moving to the area as well,” he added. “It’s something we’ve noticed and are starting to capitalize on.”
“We look forward to being more present and more known in the community,” Neigler continued.
So far, over 1,600 attendees have registered their interest in SoFlo DevCon, and there are more than 70 confirmed speakers. The conference is free for attendees, thanks to sponsors including Schonfeld.
Topics and workshops will include Machine Learning, AI, VR/AR/MR, IoT, .NET Core, Visual Studio 2019, DevOps, MVC Framework, JavaScript, JQuery, SQL Server 2019, Business Intelligence, Software Testing, Xamarin/Mobile Development, Azure/Cloud, Business/Career Development, and more.
Schonfeld is also sponsoring the upcoming eMerge and React Miami conferences. The hedge fund, which has over 700 full-time employees around the world and upwards of $11.5 billion in assets under management, proudly sports the tagline, “talent is our strategy.”
Neigler’s advice to people hoping to break into the tech side of finance is to “be in an environment where you can constantly apply your learnings, and be in a place where folks know more than you.”
He highlighted that putting in the time to hone his craft, particularly towards the beginning of his career, has paid large dividends across his career. Neigler believes that working long hours can be fulfilling if you are doing the right kind of work: “If you can line up your interests with your opportunities, things are really much easier.”
For Neigler, who cut his teeth in the dot com boom, now is a particularly exciting time to work in tech: “Tools like AI, machine learning, and Python, make it much easier to leverage technology and build things more quickly than in the past.”
WHAT: SoFlo DevCon 2022
WHEN: Saturday, April 16th, 2022
WHERE: In Davie, FL at Nova Southeastern University’s Carl Desantis Building
WHO: Over 1,600 registered attendees and 70+ speakers
WHY: Meet other developers and learn about the most exciting topics in development