How AWS is Unlocking Innovation Faster in Capital Markets

GenAI, Cloud Infrastructure, and the Future of Capital Markets

In this special edition of FinTech Focus TV, recorded live from A-Team Group’s Trading Tech Briefing in New York City, Toby Babb sits down with Alex Mirarchi, Head of Business Development for Financial Market Infrastructure and Trading at Amazon Web Services (AWS). The conversation takes us through the evolution of cloud adoption in capital markets, the transformational role of generative AI (GenAI), and how AWS is partnering with the world’s leading financial institutions to drive technological progress.

This episode provides key insights for capital markets professionals, FinTech innovators, and the recruitment professionals working to support them. At Harrington Starr, our mission is to help businesses in FinTech access the very best talent to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape. As FinTech recruitment specialists, we know that understanding the technology behind the growth is just as important as understanding the people who drive it.

A Career Bridging Capital Markets and Cloud Technology

Alex Mirarchi’s background is rooted in financial services, with hands-on experience working on the trading floor in London and New York. His time at HSBC and Macquarie involved selling Asian equities to hedge funds, alongside work in FX sales and debt origination. This gives him a practitioner’s view of the financial markets, something that proves critical in his current role at Amazon Web Services.

At AWS, Alex leads business development for financial market infrastructure globally. His team is composed of former market participants who now act as strategic advisors to help firms align their infrastructure goals with the cloud capabilities AWS delivers. Together, they work with exchanges, brokerages, trading firms, and technology partners to deploy tailored cloud-based solutions that improve speed, efficiency, and innovation.

FinTech Cloud Adoption in Capital Markets

AWS has become a fundamental infrastructure provider for the financial services industry. In capital markets, where milliseconds can make the difference between profit and loss, migrating infrastructure to the cloud has often been seen as a challenge. But as Alex shares, this narrative is changing rapidly.

AWS has invested significantly in supporting the latency-sensitive, high-throughput environments required by financial market infrastructure. From matching engines to algorithmic trading platforms, AWS is delivering low-latency solutions that meet the demands of global exchanges and trading participants.

Beyond speed, the cloud enables scalability, security, and cost-efficiency. As financial institutions strive to modernise their technology stacks, AWS’s ability to support hybrid and fully cloud-native architectures is opening new pathways for growth and innovation. And this transformation isn't just technical; it requires a new kind of talent, too. FinTech recruitment agencies like Harrington Starr are helping clients find candidates who understand both legacy infrastructure and the promise of the cloud.

GenAI in Financial Services: Real Impact Beyond the Buzz

While GenAI has become a headline trend, AWS’s work with clients demonstrates that it’s far more than hype. According to Alex, the adoption of GenAI in financial services has moved quickly from theory to practice, particularly since the public release of ChatGPT in 2022. Today, AWS is at the heart of a technological shift, helping institutions apply GenAI to solve real-world problems across research, operations, compliance, and trading.

Intelligent assistants are one of the most exciting developments. These AI-powered tools can now perform in-depth financial analysis, respond to natural language queries, and generate reports with the proficiency of a junior analyst, only exponentially faster. In a sector where research and speed are paramount, GenAI is delivering insights in minutes rather than days.

Bridgewater and other major firms are already deploying intelligent assistants to support their investment processes. These tools are not replacing human analysts but augmenting them, allowing teams to focus on higher-value thinking while the AI handles data collation, trend analysis, and synthesis.

Bridging the Infrastructure Divide: From Low-Latency Trading to GenAI

Alex’s role at AWS covers both ends of the capital markets technology spectrum. On one side is the ultra-deterministic, low-latency world of high-frequency trading. On the other is the more fluid and exploratory field of GenAI. Supporting both requires a unique blend of infrastructure expertise and creative problem-solving.

Over the past few years, AWS has made significant strides in optimising its environment for trading workloads. From launching precision timestamping for packet-level analysis to supporting PTP (Precision Time Protocol), AWS now offers infrastructure suitable for exchanges and trading platforms.

At the same time, Alex supports clients building agile, AI-native platforms, tools that summarise markets, analyse sentiment, monitor compliance, and generate trading ideas. These dual focuses reflect the complexity of modern FinTech recruitment. Clients now need professionals who can work comfortably across cloud infrastructure, AI tooling, data governance, and financial analytics. At Harrington Starr, helping firms identify and recruit that hybrid talent is a key part of our value proposition.

Customer-Led Innovation at AWS

A major theme of the episode is AWS’s customer-centric innovation model. As Alex explains, 90% of AWS product development is driven by direct client feedback. The remaining 10% is strategic innovation based on future market direction. This approach ensures that AWS’s solutions are not only technologically advanced but practically applicable.

This philosophy is clearly seen in the evolution of Bedrock and SageMaker. These platforms are designed to give clients flexibility and control, with the ability to fine-tune models, manage data privacy, and deploy safely at scale. Whether a client is building a credit rating engine, a trading platform, or a compliance tool, AWS ensures the infrastructure is ready to support it.

The Shift from Competition to Collaboration in FinTech

Toby Babb reflects on how the market’s view of Amazon has shifted over the years. Once seen as a potential disruptor to banks and exchanges, AWS is now widely viewed as a trusted enabler. This transition from threat to partner is a result of AWS’s consistent investment in collaboration and support for the broader ecosystem.

Rather than competing with banks, AWS supports them. Rather than replacing investment platforms, it helps them scale securely. Alex affirms that AWS’s goal has always been to support innovation, not to displace existing players. The key is building trust and enabling firms to move at the speed of their ambition.

This message aligns perfectly with our ethos at Harrington Starr. As FinTech recruitment specialists, we believe in empowering the industry, connecting pioneering companies with the visionary talent they need to grow and innovate.

Automation and Augmentation: The Future of the Analyst Role

One of the most inspiring parts of the conversation focuses on the future of the analyst function. Alex describes how GenAI is not designed to eliminate roles but to elevate them. By automating manual, repetitive tasks, such as data verification, report generation, and market research, GenAI allows professionals to spend more time on strategic thinking and creative analysis.

Previously, reference data requests were handled manually, involving multiple departments and systems. Now, the process is automated, cutting response times by up to 90%. The system is even capable of prompting users for missing information before executing the workflow, ensuring both speed and accuracy.

Similarly, LPL Financial has developed recommendation engines that use GenAI to assist advisers in providing personalised financial advice. These tools don’t replace human interaction; they enhance it. With better insights and more time, advisers can deepen client relationships and focus on delivering superior outcomes.

Recruitment in a GenAI-Powered Capital Markets Environment

As these technologies evolve, so too must the workforce. The demand for professionals who understand GenAI, cloud infrastructure, and capital markets workflows is increasing rapidly. From AI engineers and infrastructure specialists to data scientists and product leaders, the future of FinTech recruitment is deeply intertwined with these innovations.

At Harrington Starr, we recognise this shift. We’re already helping clients hire the next generation of talent to build, manage, and scale these capabilities. But it’s not just about technical skills, it’s about finding people who understand the bigger picture. Professionals who can think strategically, act collaboratively, and navigate complex systems with confidence.

Looking Ahead: Innovation as the New Normal

The episode ends on a high note, with Alex expressing his excitement for what lies ahead. Whether it’s real-time market simulation, automated research workflows, or secure, low-latency trading infrastructure, the pace of innovation is only accelerating.

AWS’s role as an infrastructure partner puts it at the centre of this evolution. And for FinTech firms, whether established banks or early-stage disruptors, the opportunity to innovate has never been greater.

As Alex puts it, AWS is building the platforms that clients use to transform the world. From satellites to exchanges, from compliance tools to credit engines, the power of cloud and AI is now firmly in the hands of those with the vision to use it.

Harrington Starr is proud to support the growth of FinTech by connecting businesses with the people who will lead its future. Whether you’re hiring for GenAI, cloud infrastructure, trading systems, or financial market innovation, we have the network and the expertise to help you find the right talent.