The best research conversations in quantitative finance don't happen in session rooms. They happen on chairlifts, at lunch tables, and in the thirty-minute gaps between scheduled content — when the formal armour comes off and people say what they actually think.
The BigDataFinance.org Lesson
Over fifteen years of running BigDataFinance.org conferences, one pattern was consistent: the most valuable outcomes — collaborations formed, research directions pivoted, regulatory dialogues opened — came from the informal infrastructure of the event, not the formal programme.
A hedge fund quant and a central bank economist might never sit down for a scheduled meeting. But they will share a chairlift for eight minutes, and that conversation will be different from anything that would happen in a conference room. There's no agenda. No one is presenting. The setting is physically equalising.
Why Gore Mountain
Gore Mountain is New York State's largest ski resort — 110 trails, 2,537 vertical feet of skiable terrain, and the most reliable snowpack in the Northeast. It is 3.5 hours from New York City by car, which means it is accessible for a weekday event without requiring a flight.
Crucially, it is not Vail or Aspen. The finance professionals who attend RiskAICenter events are not there to be seen at a luxury ski resort. They are there to do serious intellectual work in a setting that is separated from the noise of the trading desk. Gore Mountain provides exactly that — genuine alpine terrain, world-class facilities, without the social performance that comes with more conspicuous venues.
The inaugural Agentic AI Ski Summit will take place in January or February 2026. Registration interest is open now. Previous BigDataFinance.org conferences sold out months in advance.
The Format
Morning sessions run from breakfast through lunch — two keynotes and one structured panel. The afternoon is entirely unscheduled: skiing, walking, informal conversations. Evening sessions resume after dinner, with a single fireside format discussion and open networking.
Paper presentations are spread across both morning and evening slots, keeping sessions short and discussion-heavy. Every accepted paper gets 20 minutes of presentation and 25 minutes of structured Q&A — a format that forces engagement rather than passive listening.
If you are interested in attending, presenting, or sponsoring, register your interest now. The summit will be limited to 300 participants to maintain the quality of conversation that made BigDataFinance.org conferences exceptional.
Take the next step — in a single day.
Everything discussed in this article — and the practical frameworks to implement it — is covered in depth in the June 10 one-day intensive with Irene Aldridge. In-person NYC from $1,295. Live webinar from $595.