Rama Rao

Rama Rao is currently Senior Director and Head of Risk Analytics at PayPal. He leads a team of data analysts who monitor business performance and perform the analytics that go into creating PayPal’s risk policies around the world—boundaries within which users can transact and experience PayPal. Rama has held various analytics roles within PayPal over the last five years, and has led several innovations in business analysis and has also helped build out the PayPal’s risk analytics function in India. Prior to PayPal, Rama was at MIT for nine years where he led a research program, funded by an international consortium of oil majors and service companies, working on innovative uses of acoustic measurements to image and locate hydrocarbons. During this time, Rama taught a fall graduate course in data analytics along with Prof. Dale Morgan. Rama also spent a year at McKinsey where he worked on client initiatives aimed at creating new businesses that leverage existing assets and innovations. Rama continues to visit MIT every summer to teach this course. Rama completed his undergraduate studies at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras followed by dual Masters and a PhD at MIT.