Building on last year’s success, Optiver’s teams once again showcased their exceptional mathematical skills at the 2024 Dutch Mathematical Olympiad for Businesses, securing the top two spots. The competition, hosted by Rabobank, attracted 69 participants from 11 companies, offering a platform for professionals to engage in high-level mathematical problem-solving.

The event began with an introduction from Cyprian Smits, Rabobank’s Head of Data Science, setting a positive and collaborative tone for the day. Competitors were presented with a mix of challenging problems, including eight A-level and four B-level questions from the Dutch Mathematical Olympiad’s first round, and an additional “knockout” problem that tested the limits of their problem-solving abilities.

Highlighting our team’s achievements

Our teams’ outstanding performance, leading to first and second place victories, is a testament to Optiver’s culture of teamwork, excellence and problem solving:

• Team 1: Saiteja Talluri, Kshitij Shah, and Leran Dai showcased exceptional teamwork and mathematical skills, securing first place with 116 points.
• Team 2: Patrick Winter, Ana Meta Dolinar, and Kevin Xian also performed impressively, earning second place with 110 points. with 110 points.
• Team 3: Leon Galli, Animesh Sinha, and Chong Hou Lao added to Optiver’s overall success, demonstrating the strength and collaborative spirit of our teams.

Celebrating individual excellence

The competition also highlighted individual excellence alongside collaborative effort. Notably, three participants achieved perfect scores on the first round of problems, with one tackling the knockout challenge successfully.

Patrick Winter stood out for achieving a flawless score of 46 points, securing the top individual ranking of all participants. Following a tiebreaker, Harm Campmans from Sioux (and a former participant in the Dutch IMO teams of 2009 and 2010) emerged as the second, and Saiteja Talluri of Optiver as the third, both scoring 36+5 points.

A culture of excellence and growth

These achievements are a clear reflection of Optiver’s unwavering commitment to excellence, continuous learning, and support for our employees’ passion for mathematics and STEM disciplines. Our active participation in such competitions, coupled with providing resources and space for practice, underscores our dedication to fostering both the professional and personal development of our team members.

We are proud of all participants and congratulate them on their impressive achievements, and we look forward to participating in future competitions.