Panel: Networks & Markets

Join us as we continue our celebration of the HDSI's 5th Anniversary with a panel conversation on networks and markets moderated by computer scientist, entrepreneur, and former CIO and former CFO of Goldman Sachs, R. Martin (“Marty”) Chavez. Chavez (‘85, S.M. ‘85) also served as president of Harvard University’s Board of Overseers in the 2020–21 academic year. Chavez is a highly regarded financial and technology expert who revolutionized the way that capital moves and works by transforming the Wall Street trading business into a software business.

In this virtual event, Chavez and our panelists will discuss technology platforms, including topics raised in The Economist Op Ed by Chavez last year, as they relate to data sharing, digital platforms, governance, and ultimately, the role that could be played by regulatory frameworks.

Moderated by:

• R. Martin Chavez (‘85, S.M. ‘85)

R. Martin (“Marty”) Chavez, Ph.D. is widely renowned as a trailblazer and leader who turned the Wall Street trading business into a software business, revolutionizing the way that capital moves and works. He is a partner and vice chairman of Sixth Street Partners, where he works on research and development; diversity, equity, and inclusion; the sourcing engine; and the More Than Capital business, driving deeper engagement with the portfolio companies.

Panelists:

• Marco Di Maggio, Harvard Business School

Marco Di Maggio is a faculty member in the Finance Unit and a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Before joining HBS, he was a faculty member in the finance and economics division of Columbia Business School.

Professor Di Maggio’s current research focuses on financial intermediation with a particular focus on how new technologies have disrupted financial markets and its effects on firms and individuals.

• Marco Iansiti, Harvard Business School

Marco Iansiti, David Sarnoff Professor of Business Administration, is a co-director of the Laboratory for Information Science at Harvard and of the Digital Initiative at HBS.

Prof. Iansiti's research examines the digital transformation of companies and industries, with a special focus on digital ecosystems, AI-centric operating models, and the impact of AI and network effects on strategy and business models. Iansiti is known for his research on the management of innovation, business ecosystems, and digital transformation.

• Chiara Farronato, Harvard Business School

Chiara Farronato is an assistant professor of business administration in the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) Unit and teaches the TOM course in the required MBA curriculum. She draws from the fields of industrial organization and technology to study the economics of innovation and the Internet.

In her research, Professor Farronato focuses on the market design of peer-to-peer online platforms. Her work has been cited by media outlets including Bloomberg Businessweek, The Huffington Post, The Economist, and FT Magazine.

• Annabelle Gawer, University of Surrey

A world-class academic pioneer in platform strategy, Prof Annabelle Gawer is a thought-leader and expert advisor on the business of digital platforms and platform-based innovation ecosystems. 

Author of 30 articles and 4 books on platforms including The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power with M Cusumano (MIT) and D Yoffie (Harvard Business School) (2019,) and Platform Leadership with Michael Cusumano, her 2021 study Online Platforms: Economic and Societal Effects (with N Srnicek) was published by the European Parliament.