#DRWat25: Matt

Matt:

During a summer in high school, I was a clerk in the grains pits at the Chicago Board of Trade. DRW was a regular counterparty, so I got to know the firm’s traders well.

From there I went on to intern at DRW twice during college, and I started working full time here after I graduated from MIT. In just a few short years, I’ve had a really broad view into trading – from running sheets in the pit to working on a primarily electronic trading desk. DRW helped me learn and grow every step along the way, and I feel really lucky to be a part of it.

On your first day at DRW, you have an orientation with one of the partners. I remember the presentation really well. We got an overview of the company – the various trading desks, asset classes and arms of the business, and they told us what to expect as interns. The partner also talked about what his experience had been like at DRW. Just as we were sitting in the room that day, everyone at DRW had been in that exact spot. You could feel they were rooting for us to succeed.

Throughout my internships and now as a full time employee, I have always worked on desks that trade options and futures on physical commodities: corn, wheat and soybeans. My work has a very real world application, and I really enjoy contributing to well-functioning markets. As the company and markets have evolved, how I contribute has changed dramatically. When I was an intern I went to the floor with the traders every day, coming back to our desks in the afternoon to analyze the day, plan for tomorrow and calculate P&L. A few years later, I’m working on the same trading desk doing my job almost completely via the computer.

It’s been remarkable to see firsthand DRW’s expansion into so many different markets and products. It makes every day here really exciting and fresh. As I keep building my own skills, I know DRW is doing the same as a company. From the corn options traders in the pits, to some of the world’s best C++ developers to crypto traders - we’re all contributing to the markets and to each other’s success.

Even though we’re focused and hardworking people, we don’t lose our friendly, open and helpful demeanor. I think it would be hard to find another place like this.