Cormac Kinney

Kinney grew up in University City, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, the oldest of six children. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering, earning a Bachelor of Science degree, and a Master of Science in 5 years, skipping one year of college, but leaving a Software Engineering degree uncompleted.{{cite news|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-16467102/software-charting-allows-real.html|title=Software Charting Allows Real Time Risk Management|website=Pittsburgh Business Times| date=1994-11-14|first=Patty|last=Tascarella}}

He has lived in Manhattan, New York City since 1994, and is married to Mimi So, an influential jewelry designer.{{cite news|url=https://www.timeout.com/new-york-kids/things-to-do/nyc-family-portrait-the-so-kinneys|title=NYC Family Portrait: The So-Kinneys|website=TimeOut.com|date=2011-11-01|first=Amy|last=Carniol}}

As a student at Carnegie Mellon, Kinney founded two small software companies in succession, acquired by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., and JD Edwards. Both were related to optimization.{{cite news|url=http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1994/05/02/79238/index.htm|title=The New Face of Small Business|website=Fortune Magazine|first=Brian|last=O'Reilly| date=1994-05-02}}

In 1993, with Carnegie Mellon Senior Research Scientist, Marc Graham, Kinney founded NeoVision Hypersystems, Inc. to develop and market the Heat maps technology. The term "heat map" was coined by Kinney and trademarked in 1993,{{Cite web |url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75263259&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch |title=United States Patent and Trademark Office, registration #75263259 |date=1993-09-01}}{{cite book|last=Sarker|first=Satyajit|title=Computational Phytochemistry|page=174|date=2018-05-02|publisher=Elsevier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8c_DwAAQBAJ|isbn=9780128125465}}{{cite book|last=Rowell|first=Katherine|date=2020-10-12|page=99|title=Visualizing Health and Healthcare Data|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ve4CEAAAQBAJ|isbn= 9781119680864}}{{cite book|title=Statistics for Library and Information Services|last=Friedman|first=Alon|date=2015-11-11|isbn= 9781442249936|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cuhCgAAQBAJ|page=293|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield }}{{cite book|title=Principles of Risk Analysis|last=Yoe|first=Charles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1NKFDwAAQBAJ|date=2019-01-30|publisher=CRC Press |isbn= 9780429664892}} but the trademark was unintentionally abandoned by its acquirer.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=clIWDAAAQBAJ|title=Software Engineering Perspectives and Application in Intelligent Systems |last1=Silhavy |first1=Radek |last2=Senkerik |first2=Roman |last3=Oplatkova |first3=Zuzana Kominkova |last4=Silhavy |first4=Petr |last5=Prokopova |first5=Zdenka | name-list-style = vanc |date=2016-04-26 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-33622-0 }}

As of January 2020, since 1993, Heat maps have been cited in over 5,550 patents granted by the US PTO, and in 200,000 peer reviewed research papers.{{cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C33&q=%22heat+map%22&btnG=|title=Google Scholar Index of Academic Papers|access-date=2020-01-16}}{{cite web|url= http://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/iv/2008/3268/00/3268a287-abs.html|website=IEEE Computer Society Journal|title=Proceedings|date=Jul 11, 2008}}{{cite web|url= http://www.inf.uni-konstanz.de/gk/pubsys/publishedFiles/ZiNiKe07b.pdf|title=Universite of Konstanz, Germany – Visual Exploration}}{{cite web|url=http://hcil2.cs.umd.edu/trs/2007-29/2007-29.pdf|title=University of Maryland, NASDAQ Velocity and Forces: An Interactive Visualization of Activity and Change|access-date=2012-11-18|archive-date=2012-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114205648/http://hcil2.cs.umd.edu/trs/2007-29/2007-29.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://analytics.ncsu.edu/sesug/2012/RI-08.pdf|website=NCSU |title=NC State University Institute for Advanced Analytics, SESUG 2012 Paper RI-08, Using SAS graphics to enhance survey research|first=Barbara|last=Okerson}}

As developed by Neovision, Heat maps were a real time middleware and computation platform used to rapidly develop trading and risk management systems, featuring the first commercial application of heat maps. Citibank was a key initial client, for which Kinney designed a risk management application for the global capital markets division in 1999.{{cite journal|journal=Risk Magazine|volume=14|pages=573|date=2001-07-01|title=NeoVision founder and chairman Cormac Kinney began marketing HeatMaps to Wall Street traders five years ago. NeoVision developed a risk management application for Citibank global capital markets group in 1999}} Ultimately the Neovision technology was installed on over 100 institutional trading desks, and at Nasdaq and the DTC for monitoring $1.7 trillion in daily transactions.{{cite web|url=http://www.waterstechnology.com/sell-side-technology/feature/1628869/citi-solly-merrill-morgan-use-neovision-heatmaps|website=Waters Magazine|date=1995-11-27|title=A Picture is Worth A Thousand Numbers|first=Dianne|last=Morrison}}{{cite web|url=http://db.riskwaters.com/public/showPage.html?page=421568|website=Inside Market Data|date=July 8, 2002|title=Brokermaps at PaineWebber|access-date=November 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221222/http://db.riskwaters.com/public/showPage.html?page=421568|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url= https://www.waterstechnology.com/inside-market-data/vol-14-no-2|website= Inside Market Data|date=1998-10-10|title=Strike Teams Up with NeoVision|first=Robert|last=Sales}}{{cite web|url= http://www.waterstechnology.com/waters/feature/1611485/a-picture-worth-a-thousand-numbers|website=Waters Magazine|date=Sep 1, 2003|title=A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/National+Securities+Clearing+and+Depository+Trust+%26+Clearing...-a090365767|title=National Securities Clearing and Depository Trust & Clearing Corporations Select NeoVision Heatmaps|url-status=dead|access-date=2012-11-18|archive-date=2016-03-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305104313/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/National+Securities+Clearing+and+Depository+Trust+%26+Clearing...-a090365767}}

Distribution licenses were signed with Bloomberg L.P., Dow Jones Telerate, Thomson, and Reuters to install Heatmaps to over 300,000 desktops.{{cite web|url= http://www.thefreelibrary.com/NeoVision+Announces+Licensing+Agreement+with+Bridge+Information...-a057589690|date= Nov 16, 2003|title= NeoVision Announces Licensing Agreement with Bridge Information Systems|url-status= dead|access-date= November 18, 2012|archive-date= March 5, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160305092012/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/NeoVision+Announces+Licensing+Agreement+with+Bridge+Information...-a057589690}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bloomberg+Licenses+NeoVision+Heatmaps(TM)+for+95,000+BLOOMBERG...-a020556924|title=Bloomberg Licenses Heatmaps for 95000 Users|url-status=dead|access-date=2012-11-18|archive-date=2016-03-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305074906/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bloomberg+Licenses+NeoVision+Heatmaps(TM)+for+95,000+BLOOMBERG...-a020556924}} The Nasdaq incorporated Heatmaps into the front page of www.nasdaq.com from 2001 through 2013.{{cite web|url=http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/2001/20010425corp.htm|website=Intel Press Announcements|title=Intel Corp announcement of webHeatmaps on Nasdaq.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.informationweek.com/software/information-management/heatmap-visualizations-the-ny-times-and-nasdaq/d/d-id/1073180|title=Heatmap Visualizations: the NY Times and NASDAQ|date=2008-10-22|last=Grimes|first=Seth|website=InformationWeek.com}}

In 2002, Kinney designed a trade cost analysis system for Fidelity Investments which was cited by The Wall Street Journal as "a sophisticated tracking system to see which brokers can execute trades most efficiently," and was credited with reducing the mutual-fund firm's trading costs by hundreds of millions of dollars per year, to half the industry average.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB109752667836342211|website=The Wall Street Journal |date=October 12, 2004|title=How Fidelity's Trading Chief Pinches Pennies on Wall Street|first=Kate Kelly |last= John Hechinger}} This system was installed at Bank of America Investment Management, Invesco, Janus, Merrill Lynch Investment Management and Putnam Investments.

Brian Barefoot, President of PaineWebber International, and former global head of sales and trading at Merrill Lynch joined NeoVision as CEO, and Deutsche Bank's COO joined the board of directors.{{cite web|url=https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/1609/deutsche-coo-joins-neovision-board|website=Deutsche Bank| title=Deutsche Bank Announcement|date=Mar 14, 2001}} Subsequent to NeoVision, Barefoot became President of Babson College for seven years.{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=565674&privcapId=112689845&previousCapId=4142994&previousTitle=Babson%20College|website=BusinessWeek|title= Biography of Brian Barefoot}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

Neovision raised $8 million from Deutsche Bank, Bear Stearns, Intel Corporation and venture capital investors.{{cite web|url= http://db.riskwaters.com/public/showPage.html?page=419887|website= Inside Market Data |date=May 28, 2001 |title=Deutsche Bank Using Neovision's Heatmaps|access-date= November 18, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040517/http://db.riskwaters.com/public/showPage.html?page=419887|archive-date= March 4, 2016|url-status= dead}}{{cite web|url=http://news-business.vlex.com/vid/six-degrees-of-capitalization-54019272|website=Success Magazine|date= Jan 2000|title=Six Degrees of Capitalization|first=Elaine |last=Pofeldt}} After a planned $30 million IPO fell through due to the dot com crash,{{cite web|url=http://business.highbeam.com/435516/article-1G1-53141702/new-york-co-plans-30m-ipo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309201119/https://business.highbeam.com/435516/article-1G1-53141702/new-york-co-plans-30m-ipo|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-03-09|website=Corporate Financing Week|date=Oct 19, 1999|title=New York Co Plans IPO}} NeoVision was acquired in 2003 by The Carlyle Group and merged into financial software conglomerate SS&C Technologies.{{cite web|url=http://www.finextra.com/News/FullStory.aspx?newsitemid=11221|title=SS&C Acquires trade visualization firm NeoVision|date=19 February 2004 }} Today the NeoVision technologies are incorporated into several SS&C products.{{cite web|url=http://www.ssctech.com/Software/TradingandTradeOrderManagement/Heatmaps/tabid/316/Default.aspx/company/press/article.asp|title=SS&C Website page for Heatmaps|access-date=2012-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023514/http://www.ssctech.com/Software/TradingandTradeOrderManagement/Heatmaps/tabid/316/Default.aspx/company/press/article.asp|archive-date=2016-03-04|url-status=dead}}

After the sale of NeoVision, Kinney shifted his focus to quantitative trading, developing a computational linguistics based trading system,{{cite book|title=Recent Advances in Corpus Linguistics|last=Davidse|first=Kristin|date=2014-08-15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5iqABAAAQBAJ|page=202|publisher=Rodopi |isbn= 9789401211130}} which he used to manage hedge fund strategies at Amaranth Advisors, and Tudor Investment Corp. Subsequently, he launched Sentiment Strategies, a New York-based hedge fund consulting firm, additionally managing a $400 million portfolio for Millennium Management,{{cite web|url=https://www.salt.org/bio-kinney-cormac|website=SALT|date=March 19, 2019|title=Cormac Kinney Bio|access-date=January 16, 2021|archive-date=January 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121232320/https://www.salt.org/bio-kinney-cormac|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sentstrats.com/management.html|title=Sentiment Strategies Management Bio|access-date=2012-11-18|archive-date=2012-12-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219130224/http://www.sentstrats.com/management.html|url-status=dead}} and QuantFund LLC, a quantitative hedge fund.{{cite web|url=http://www.quantfund.net|title=QuantFund Website}}

In 2013, Kinney developed a social network for users for business news sites, based upon his design for a social graph to track the news consumption of a large number of readers. The system recommends articles to readers based on their profile and interests, and based on news discovered by peers sharing those interests. Rupert Murdoch of News Corp financed the development of the concept, simply named "Network," and agreed to implement Kinney's technology in The Wall Street Journal,{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/30/business/la-fi-tn-wall-street-journal-social-network-20130529|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708015717/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/30/business/la-fi-tn-wall-street-journal-social-network-20130529|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2013|website=Los Angeles Times|date=May 30, 2013|title=The Wall Street Journal To Launch a Financial Social Network|first=Paresh|last=Dave}} and other News Corp publications. News Corp announced the initiative as a LinkedIn competitor.{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/news-corp-poised-to-challenge-linkedin-2tbc7dst0z3|website=The Times|date=May 29, 2013|title=News Corp Poised to Challenge LinkedIn|first=David |last=Robertson}} Kinney brought together a team of 70 staff from various News Corp and Wall Street Journal departments to build the technology. Network's recommendation and social features were a key element of the WSJ.com redesign, launched in 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/wall-street-journal-to-launch-first-site-redesign-in-seven-years/s2/a564791/|website=Journalism.co.uk|date=April 16, 2015|title=The Wall Street Journal to launch first site redesign in 7 years|first=Abigail |last=Edge}}{{cite web|url=http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/04/after-the-launch-of-its-long-awaited-web-redesign-the-wall-street-journal-hopes-to-spur-innovation/|website=Nieman Lab|date=April 21, 2015 |title=After the launch of its long-awaited web redesign, The Wall Street Journal hopes to spur innovation|first=Joseph |last=Lichterman}} Kinney intended Network to be used by a consortium of leading publishers, aggregating their reader's interests, to enable cross-publication recommendations. Although The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Inc., Forbes and other publishers expressed interest, News Corp decided to acquire Network in order to keep it exclusive to its own publications.

In 2016, Kinney launched Flont, a platform to introduce designer fine jewelry into the sharing economy.{{cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3063255/fashion-forward/high-end-shopping-in-the-sharing-economy-now-we-can-all-have-couture|website=Fast Company|date=Sep 15, 2016|title= High-End Shopping In The Sharing Economy: Now We Can All Have Couture}} Flont provides fine jewelry as a service,{{cite web|title=Flont.Club Dresses San Francisco Society in Style|url=http://www.vogue.com/article/allison-speer-katie-traina-armarium-flont-club-san-francisco-party|website=Vogue.Com|date=13 April 2017 |access-date=2017-04-13}} in partnership with over 40 brands.{{cite web|title=Jewelry as a Service Start-Up Raises $5M|url=http://www.nationaljeweler.com/independents/ecommerce/5922-jewelry-as-a-service-start-up-raises-5m|website=NationalJeweler.com|accessdate=2017-10-13}} A software developer and jewelry retailer, it enables high-touch sales via E-commerce, delivering jewelry to consumers on demand. Flont provides software and logistics services to global jewelry brands, department stores and jewelry retailers for their own sharing services.{{cite web|title=Flont Strives to Shake Up High-End Jewelry With Sharing Model|url=http://wwd.com/business-news/technology/flont-strives-to-shake-up-high-end-jewelry-with-sharing-model-software-for-brands-10843195/|website=WWD.com - Women's Wear Daily|date=14 March 2017 |access-date=2017-03-17}}{{cite web|title=Flont Is Changing How to Buy Fine Jewelry Online|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrysamaha/2017/07/23/flont-is-changing-how-to-buy-fine-jewelry-online/|website=Forbes Magazine|date=2017-07-23|first=Barry|last=Samaha}}

In 2018, Chow Tai Fook, the largest jewelry retailer in Asia with a market cap of HK$106 billion, announced a joint venture with Flont, to open up to 500 locations in China, inside Chow Tai Fook retail stores.{{cite web|title=Adrian Cheng Plans China Rollout for Flont, Moda Operandi|url=https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-bites/adrian-cheng-plans-china-rollout-for-flont-moda-operandi|website=Business of Fashion|date=2018-05-23|first=Cathleen|last=Chen}}{{cite web|title=What Adrian Cheng's New Investments Tell Us About Chinese Millennials|url=https://jingdaily.com/adrian-chengs-new-investments-chinese-millennials/|website=Jing Daily|date=2018-11-12|first=Jessica|last=Rapp}}

In June 2019, Kinney launched Diamond Standard, the producer of the first regulator approved, fungible natural diamond commodity,{{cite web|title=Diamond Standard launches world's first fungible diamond commodity |url=https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6052637897001/|website=Fox Business|date=2019-06-26}}{{cite web|title=The CEO Hoping to Turn Diamonds into gold|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-08-08/the-ceo-hoping-to-turn-diamonds-into-gold-video|website=Bloomberg Commodities Edge|first=Alix|last=Steel|date=8 August 2019 |access-date=2019-08-19}}{{cite web|title=Diamond Standard launches world's first fungible diamond commodity|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/video/diamond-standard-launches-world-first-201535337.html|website=Yahoo Finance|access-date=2019-06-26|first=Liz|last=Claman}} which is delivered as a coin or a bar, and traded as a regulator-approved digital token.{{cite web|title=Bermuda Monetary Authority list of Licensed Entities|url=https://www.bma.bm/licensed-entities}} The Diamond Standard commodities are the underlying spot asset for a futures contract being listed on the CME{{cite web|title=Miami International Holdings Completes Investment in Diamond Standard; Parties to Develop Diamond-Based Derivatives Products|url=https://www.miaxoptions.com/sites/default/files/press_release-files/MIAX_Press_Release_09282020.pdf|date=2020-09-28}} and an ETF being listed on the NYSE, subject to regulatory approvals.

• Carnegie Mellon Entrepreneur of the Year 1994
• Pennsylvania Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year 1994

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Category:American computer programmers

Category:Living people

Category:1971 births

Category:Businesspeople from St. Louis

Category:People from Manhattan

Category:Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering alumni