Vladimir Tenev (; born 13 February 1987) is a Bulgarian-American entrepreneur who is the co-founder (with

Baiju Bhatt Baiju Prafulkumar Bhatt (born 1984/1985) is an American entrepreneur of Indian descent. He is the chief creative officer and co-founder, along with Vladimir Tenev, of Robinhood, a US-based financial services company. Early life Baiju Prafulkuma ...

) and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Robinhood, a US-based financial technology services company.

Early life

Tenev was born in Bulgaria, and his parents migrated to the U.S. when he was five. His parents both worked for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

. He attended

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (also known as TJHSST, TJ, or Jefferson) is a Virginia state-chartered magnet high school in Fairfax County, Virginia operated by Fairfax County Public Schools. The school occupies the buil ...

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He earned a degree in mathematics from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where he met

. He studied for a mathematics PhD at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, but dropped out to work with Bhatt.

Career

In 2010, Tenev and Bhatt started a

high-frequency trading High-frequency trading (HFT) is a type of algorithmic financial trading characterized by high speeds, high turnover rates, and high order-to-trade ratios that leverages high-frequency financial data and electronic trading tools. While there is no ...

software company called Celeris. By January 2011 they abandoned it to create Chronos Research, which sold low-latency software to other trading firms and banks. In 2013, Tenev and Bhatt co-founded the trading platform Robinhood. In 2015, Robinhood launched its mobile app to the public. Following a funding round in May 2018 which increased Robinhood's valuation to $6 billion, Tenev and Bhatt became billionaires. In November 2020, Tenev became the sole CEO of Robinhood, having previously shared the co-CEO title with Bhatt. In July 2021, Robinhood went public at a $32 billion valuation.

GameStop short squeeze

Tenev defended Robinhood's decision to prevent users from buying stock or options in a variety of securities, notably

GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...

, during the

GameStop short squeeze In January 2021, a short squeeze of the stock of the American video game retailer GameStop () and other securities took place, causing major financial consequences for certain hedge funds and large losses for short sellers. Approximately 140 ...

; the decision had sparked widespread criticism from users of the app as well as politicians in both major American parties. On January 28, 2021, Robinhood was among a number of brokerages that halted users from buying stock or options in GameStop and the other heavily shorted-securities. On February 18, 2021, Tenev testified before the

United States House Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees t ...

regarding Robinhood's role during the GameStop short squeeze. Tenev came under criticism from members of both parties and was criticized for struggling to provide answers to a number of questions. His testimony explained that Robinhood’s decision to halt securities was driven by a need to meet federal clearinghouse deposit requirements, and refuted a number of theories that accused Robinhood of colluding with hedge funds during the squeeze. In its July 1, 2021 S-1 filing with the SEC, Robinhood disclosed that the US Attorney's Office had executed a search warrant for Tenev's cell phone as part of a probe into the

Awards

Other awards

He was invited to be the keynote speaker at UCLA's 2019 Math Commencement Ceremony.

Personal life

Tenev is married to Celina A. Tenev, notably a Co-Founder of an emergency health service, Call9. The pair have one daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenev, Vladimir Living people American company founders American billionaires 1980s births Stanford University alumni Robinhood (company) Bulgarian emigrants to the United States People from Varna, Bulgaria Bulgarian billionaires Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology alumni Former billionaires