Investing in the Last Mile: PayPal’s Khatereh Khodavirdi

Investing in the Last Mile: PayPal’s Khatereh Khodavirdi

Author: MIT Sloan Management Review October 25, 2022 Duration: 29:24
Khatereh (KK) Khodavirdi is focused on using AI to create better customer experiences — a process she compares to creating an “AI Legoland,” in which various technology components fit together to build cohesive solutions for PayPal’s customers. This is an approach she is applying in her role as senior director of data science in the online payment systems company’s consumer products division, where she oversees data science teams for PayPal, its peer-to-peer payment app Venmo, and e-commerce coupon-finder Honey. On this episode, KK joins Sam and Shervin to describe how PayPal’s various consumer products work together to help users have a seamless experience across its products. She also talks about AI’s role in further personalizing the customer experience across the company’s brand portfolio, data governance challenges following corporate acquisitions, and her approach to creating effective teams. Read the episode transcript here. Me, Myself, and AI is a collaborative podcast from MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group and is hosted by Sam Ransbotham and Shervin Khodabandeh. Our engineer is David Lishansky, and the coordinating producers are Allison Ryder and Sophie Rüdinger. Stay in touch with us by joining our LinkedIn group, AI for Leaders at mitsmr.com/AIforLeaders or by following Me, Myself, and AI on LinkedIn. Guest bio: In her role as senior director of data science, Khatereh Khodavirdi leads a cross-functional team of data scientists, analytics experts, and strategists to help accelerate revenue growth through data and insights for PayPal, Venmo, and Honey. She was a founding member of eBay’s advertising data team and has spent her career building analytics functions to accelerate growth initiatives in commerce, advertising, monetization, and digital payments, with increasing levels of responsibility. We encourage you to rate and review our show. Your comments may be used in Me, Myself, and AI materials. We want to know how you feel about Me, Myself, and AI. Please take a short, two-question survey.

Ever wondered how some organizations manage to turn artificial intelligence from a buzzword into a genuine engine for growth, while others struggle to move beyond the pilot phase? Me, Myself, and AI, a production from MIT Sloan Management Review, goes straight to the source to find out. Instead of theoretical discussions, this podcast features candid conversations with the people who are actually building and implementing AI systems at scale. You'll hear directly from leaders at prominent companies like YouTube, Cisco, and Hugging Face as they recount their journeys-not just the polished successes, but the real-world challenges, strategic decisions, and sometimes surprising lessons learned along the way. Each episode digs into the practicalities of creating measurable business value, cutting through the noise to reveal what effective AI leadership and integration truly look like. It’s a focused exploration for anyone in technology, business, or education who wants to understand the human and operational stories behind the algorithms. Tune in for an unvarnished look at the future being built, one practical application at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Me, Myself, and AI
Podcast Episodes
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