Craig Hurwitz: Bringing Financial Technology Insights to the Classroom

Craig Hurwitz will join the Institute for Enterprise Engineering at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering as Executive-in-Residence in FinTech and Cybersecurity beginning July 1. With decades of experience in the financial services industry, Hurwitz will also teach in the FinTech program, preparing students to lead the next generation of financial innovation.

Officially launched in 2021, the Institute for Enterprise Engineering provides professional education that combines computational technologies with leadership training to meet fast-evolving industry needs.Among its focus areas are financial technology, or FinTech, and cybersecurity, with a suite of master’s and short-course programs in each area teaching both full-time students and working professionals cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain and machine learning to improve organizational performance and accelerate innovation.

With extensive management and advisory experience with global organizations such as BlackRock and PwC as well as several large banks, Hurwitz brings a deep knowledge of industry needs and trends to the FinTech and Cybersecurity master’s programs, which launched in 20210 and 2021 respectively.

“We are looking forward to having Craig bring his experience in industry to support our mission of applied learning to the programs,” says Jimmie Lenz, the academic director of the FinTech and Cybersecurity programs. “Craig’s career has spanned the technology revolution that resulted in the formation fields like FinTech and cybersecurity, and we’re thrilled to bring his industry expertise to our students.”

“My goal is to provide a bridge between the complex theoretical concepts and the realistic problems and issues students will encounter in industry,” says Hurwitz. “I’ve been working in consulting for a long time, and to me that’s similar to teaching in that I have an opportunity to work with and help teach a lot of young, sharp people. I’m excited to naturally extend that work to Duke, where I can help students find success.”

As a portfolio manager, Hurwitz was in charge of portfolios totaling more than $1.5 billion. He also has significant experience evaluating the operating models and risk taxonomies of many of the world’s largest financial services companies. Beyond this work, Hurwitz has also found success in the entrepreneurship space, where he helped create and manage two successful start-up investment and consulting firms.

As the Executive-in-Residence at FinTech, Hurwitz will teach four courses within the program’s ever-expanding curriculum, and he’ll connect and engage with industry partners to help students find valuable internships and career opportunities.

“We’re dealing with an ever-changing and growing field, where we encounter new problems and new technologies every day,” says Hurwitz. “I think programs like FinTech provide a cutting-edge solution to these problems, and this program’s evolving curriculum and unique placement in the engineering school will help our students hit the ground running. I view this experience as a natural and exciting capstone to my career, and I couldn’t be happier to take on the role.”

Learn more at fintech.meng.duke.edu and cybersecurity.meng.duke.edu