Inside Steve Cohen's Cubist shake-up: How a quiet search and chance timing led to the surprising change at Point72
Original story by: Business Insider
Last updated: Oct 23, 2025
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- Context: Steve Cohen's hedge fund, Point72 Asset Management, has replaced the president of its quant division, Cubist Systematic Strategies. This leadership change, occurring in early September, has generated surprise and speculation within the firm and the industry.
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- Detailed Summary:
- Denis Dancanet, president of Cubist Systematic Strategies for five years, was replaced last month by Geoffrey Lauprete, former CIO of WorldQuant.
- The decision came as a surprise to many within Cubist, as Dancanet was preparing for year-end reviews and routine business was underway.
- Point72 leadership has reaffirmed its commitment to Cubist's 60 independent trading teams and the centralized unit Dancanet began building in 2020, stating there are no plans for layoffs.
- Issam Bazzi, a key leader in the central team, has signed a long-term contract extension.
- Cubist's performance had been strong under Dancanet's tenure, remaining positive in 2025 despite industry-wide summer losses.
- The leadership change followed months of quiet searching by Cohen and his deputies, who reportedly questioned Dancanet's suitability for leading Cubist.
- Dancanet was hired in 2020 to diversify from the independent team structure and build a centralized systematic trading team, aiming for a hybrid model of collaboration.
- While Dancanet was a well-regarded leader, a key concern was that many of the systematic portfolio managers he brought in were not generating significant returns, with legacy managers disproportionately contributing to overall performance.
- Dancanet's contract was up for renewal, and Cohen's team began exploring other candidates quietly.
- Geoffrey Lauprete, the replacement, had reportedly been working on launching his own hedge fund, adding to the unexpected nature of the swap.
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