Trailblazer Award
Mee Warren
Two Sigma
Mee Warren has held numerous roles in her 12 years at Two Sigma, an investment management firm focused on incorporating technological innovation into its approach to investing. Currently a portfolio strategist, she was previously lead trader of Americas equities; she has traded equities, futures/commodities, bonds, currencies and derivatives for Europe and Asia.

I was given room to grow and opportunities to succeed, and most importantly people wanted me to succeed, Warren said.
In fact, when Warren joined Two Sigma, she was employee number 30, and the firm now has more than 850 employees. Warren jokes that the new employees just keep getting younger and smarter, but adds that while Two Sigma may not be a mom-and-pop shop anymore, it still retains the core values of one.
Its down-to-earth, welcoming, and its not a place where you have to go through a bureaucracy just to have a discussion, she said.
Warren has also devoted significant energies to supporting others, both within and outside of finance. After being diagnosed with narcolepsy in college, one of the causes she champions is awareness of the misconceptions of the disease through her work with the Narcolepsy Network.
Narcolepsy symptoms vary from person to person, but its not what you traditionally might see in movies where someone just falls over sleeping, Warren explained. Its incurable, but with the right things, like personal management, medication and a support system, it can be managed very well.
Warren also stays involved in several associations for women in finance, and has worked to mentor both women and men.
There is always a prescription of how to change ourselves-that we should alter our behavior or appear to fit some kind of mold that everyone believes is the model for success, she said. We can always improve upon ourselves, but a better message for a role model is simply leading. Being comfortable, staying authentic and true to ourselves-that is a much more important.