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Marketplace Risk Austin Conference 2025

2025 AGENDA

Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at Dell JCC, 7300 Hart Ln, Austin, TX 78731.

Schedule of events:

FEB 27th

TBD

Welcome Reception

Feb 26, 2025

From:

5:30 PM

To:

7:30 PM

Join fellow attendees at the Welcome Reception as we kick off the start of the 2025 Marketplace Risk Austin Conference at their Austin headquarters. As the sun descends over the city, we extend a warm invitation to join us at the Welcome Reception — a laid-back networking reception with old friends and new. This first event will unite global thought leaders, innovators, operators, and experts, all driven by a shared goal to explore, innovate, and shape the future of marketplaces and digital platforms.

Dell JCC

Check In & Networking Breakfast

Feb 27, 2025

From:

8:00 AM

To:

9:00 AM

Be sure to check in early to connect and network with other attendees over breakfast!

ROOM A

Keynote: The GenAI Playbook For Transforming Your Existing Trust & Safety, Risk Operations

Feb 27, 2025

- Abhay Antony, Director, Trust & Safety - Risk Analytics & Policy, Thumbtack

From:

9:00 AM

To:

9:40 AM

As GenAI reshapes industries, every company leader is being challenged to rethink their organization’s approach. In this keynote, Abhay will present a practical playbook for transforming traditional Trust & Safety and Risk Operations teams—built on automation rules, human-in-the-loop processes, and policies—into AI-driven, adaptive functions. Drawing from Thumbtack’s real-world experience, Abhay will share best practices and lessons learned in implementing LLM-led rules, fine-tuned off-the-shelf models, and AI-enabled policy development. Trust & Safety was the first area in which Thumbtack adopted LLMs, and the company continues to refine its AI-driven approach. This session will guide leaders through the critical steps of starting their AI transformation journey, assessing what is possible, managing change effectively, and successfully launching AI-driven initiatives. It will also cover how to build a one-year transformation plan, recognizing that in such a rapidly evolving field, long-term planning remains uncertain. However, by cultivating a team seasoned in working with GenAI, organizations can stay agile and prepared for the future.

ROOM A

Critical Law Enforcement Response & ROI: Painting the Picture of an Incident

Feb 27, 2025

- Monica Aleman-Smoot, Attorney, Texas Department of Transportation
- Alyssam Bamforth, Team Lead, Critical Investigations, DoorDash
- Kristin Kupiec, Manager, Critical and Law Enforcement Response, DoorDash

From:

9:50 AM

To:

10:30 AM

This session highlights the critical role of Law Enforcement Response (LER) in fostering community safety. It emphasizes the importance of effective collaboration with law enforcement agencies and outlines strategies for training and structuring teams to handle sensitive requests. Key learning points include the significance of specialized agent roles, the value of separating LER functions from broader operations, and the necessity of ongoing training to maintain compliance and precision. Attendees will gain insights into minimizing exposure to sensitive details while ensuring timely, lawful responses that prioritize community safety and trust.

ROOM B

Enforcing Misinformation Policies: Strategic Partnerships & Practical Strategies for Marketplaces

Feb 27, 2025

- Sarah Brandt, EVP, Partnerships, NewsGuard
- Alex Popken, VP Trust & Safety, WebPurify, an IntouchCX company

From:

9:50 AM

To:

10:30 AM

Misinformation remains a growing challenge for online marketplaces and platforms, further amplified by recent industry shifts like Meta’s announcement on reducing fact-checking partnerships. This session delves into practical strategies for enforcing misinformation policies amid an evolving landscape. Learn how to align on content categories, define risk thresholds, and adapt policies to address emerging risks. Discover how to train and scale human moderation teams for consistent enforcement while leveraging third-party reliability ratings, data, and technology to enhance impact. Through a real-world case study, we’ll explore how platforms can stay resilient and foster trust as the misinformation threat intensifies and industry support diminishes.

ROOM C

Today’s Disruptors in High-Volume Onboarding

Feb 27, 2025

- Josh Cutler, Chief Technology Officer, Yardstik
- Dennis Dahlmann, COO & Co-Founder, GetScale
- Amy Leff, Assistant Professor of Practice, University of Austin

From:

9:50 AM

To:

10:30 AM

The people you hire at your company can make or break your success. The problem is, hiring is getting more and more complex. Fraud attempts are increasing, people are getting crafty with efforts like deepfakes, all while businesses are trying to scale. From virtual hiring to AI to consistent policy changes, there’s a lot to keep up with. All of this creates obstacles and if there’s anything marketplaces need, it’s not more hoops to jump through. Join this informative conversation between three leaders in business, technology, and policy to hear about the latest innovation and change marketplaces need to be aware of and what to do about it.

ROOM A

Google Play Policy Education Programs

Feb 27, 2025

- Joe Davis, Product Innovation Leader, Google

From:

10:40 AM

To:

11:10 AM

ROOM B

The Rise of Scams: Protecting Your Marketplace and Rebuilding Trust

Feb 27, 2025

- Elena Michaeli, PM Marketplace Risk Strategy, Walmart Marketplace
- Roy Zur, Founder & CEO, Charm Security

From:

10:40 AM

To:

11:10 AM

Scams and social engineering attacks are escalating, creating urgent challenges for digital platforms. In this session, Roy Zur, founder of Charm Security, will present a comprehensive approach to combating these threats by focusing on human vulnerabilities and behavior-driven fraud. Attendees will explore cutting-edge strategies for prevention, detection, and intervention, including AI-powered tools, personalized risk profiling, and actionable scam intelligence. Gain practical insights to protect your platform, safeguard users, and maintain trust. This session is ideal for marketplace leaders seeking innovative ways to outsmart scammers and create a secure, trustworthy ecosystem for users.

ROOM C

The Critical Role of KYB in Marketplaces: Building Trust in a World Where Everyone is a Business

Feb 27, 2025

- Abhinav Gupta, Head of Product, Cashapp
- Jason Howard, CEO, Caf

From:

10:40 AM

To:

11:10 AM

The digital landscape has transformed into a vast marketplace where individuals are not just consumers but also merchants. Online marketplaces now serve as hubs for shopping, sharing information, and peer-to-peer transactions, creating an interconnected environment of trust and commerce. To ensure these platforms thrive, trust must remain at the forefront. KYB (Know Your Business) has emerged as a vital practice for marketplace platforms, enabling secure and compliant transactions in a world where every individual can operate as a business. From verifying merchants to meeting global payment and data regulations, robust KYB protocols are essential for creating a secure and seamless experience for all participants in the marketplace ecosystem.

ROOM A

Cultivating Trust and Best Practices

Feb 27, 2025

TBD

From:

11:20 AM

To:

11:50 AM

TBD

ROOM B

TBD

Feb 27, 2025

TBD

From:

11:20 AM

To:

11:50 AM

TBD

ROOM C

Online Firearm Sales: Obstacles to Effective Policy Enforcement

Feb 27, 2025

- Andy Bayley, Associate General Counsel, LegitScript

From:

11:20 AM

To:

11:50 AM

Even if your platform prohibits the sale of firearms, your users may be engaged in the sale of weapons without your knowledge. That’s because weapons and weapons components are increasingly difficult to identify and detect, especially components that turn otherwise legal semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic ones. In this presentation, regulatory expert Andy Bayley will: - Review the current regulatory landscape of weapons as it relates to online sales. - Talk about enforcement rules and rapidly changing trends in the weapons space. - Show examples of problematic weapons sales and give tips on how to avoid them.

ROOM A

Reduce Marketplace Risk While Maximizing Profit

Feb 27, 2025

- Ryne Ring, Insurance's Mad Scientist, Citadel
- David Pickerell, CEO, GigSafe

From:

12:00 PM

To:

12:30 PM

Most marketplaces know they need insurance, but many overlook the critical first step: getting the basics right. Continuous compliance isn’t just an operational necessity; it’s the foundation for smarter, more effective insurance policies. This session explores how compliance lays the groundwork for tailored insurance solutions that not only reduce customer costs but also create a new revenue stream for your platform. Attendees will leave with actionable insights to turn compliance and insurance into a competitive advantage—and a source of profit.

ROOM B

TBD

Feb 27, 2025

TBD

From:

12:00 PM

To:

12:30 PM

TBD

ROOM C

The impacts of North Korea IT Workers across ALL industries

Feb 27, 2025

- Chris Horne, Director Trust & Safety Intelligence and Investigations, Upwork
- Meghan Kalliavas, Manager, Trust & Safety Intelligence, Upwork

From:

12:00 PM

To:

12:30 PM

The DPRK is consistently looking to infiltrate US & European markets to earn money in support of their Nuclear Program, and Military objectives. Now more than ever, companies face attacks from all aspects of the regime, including employment, ransomware, and insider threats. This behavior sits across every industry - with one goal - To earn money...... But not always how you think !

Dell JCC

Networking Lunch

Feb 27, 2025

From:

12:30 PM

To:

1:30 PM

Grab lunch with old friends and new colleagues.

ROOM A

TBD

Feb 27, 2025

TBD

From:

1:15 PM

To:

1:55 PM

TBD

ROOM B

Crafting a Strategic and Operational Plan for Optimal Results

Feb 27, 2025

- Chad Dennis, Manager, Global Trust & Safety Strategy, DoorDash
- Kristin Kupiec, Manager, Critical and Law Enforcement Response, DoorDash

From:

1:15 PM

To:

1:55 PM

In a fast-moving, real-world environment like DoorDash, ensuring user safety requires seamless collaboration between Strategy and Operations functions. This panel will explore how these two functions work hand-in-hand to build innovative safety products, proactively mitigate risk, and respond to critical incidents in real time. Leaders from DoorDash’s Safety team will share insights on designing scalable interventions, leveraging experimentation, and operationalizing safety solutions that balance user protection with business needs. Attendees will gain an understanding of the complexities of Trust & Safety at a global scale, learning how cross-functional teams drive impact in an ever-evolving ecosystem.

ROOM C

Building Highly Regulated Marketplaces

Feb 27, 2025

- Jeremy Johnson, Founder & CEO, JetSetGo

From:

1:15 PM

To:

1:55 PM

Caviar reimagined food delivery by creating a curated marketplace connecting prestigious restaurants with discerning diners. This session would explore how Caviar's innovative platform solved the dual challenge of delivering high-end cuisine while maintaining food quality and restaurant exclusivity. You'll learn how we built a sustainable three-sided marketplace balancing restaurants, customers, and delivery partners through sophisticated dispatching algorithms and premium pricing models. You'll learn our approach to selective restaurant partnerships, quality-focused delivery operations, and customer experience optimization. Key takeaways will include marketplace dynamics, premium positioning strategies, and scalable quality control systems that transformed upscale dining delivery.

ROOM A

TBD

Feb 27, 2025

TBD

From:

2:05 PM

To:

2:35 PM

TBD

ROOM B

From Dock to Digital: Transforming Traditional Industries into Scalable Marketplaces

Feb 27, 2025

- George Bonelli, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Acceleratize & Co-Founder, SailTime

From:

2:10 PM

To:

2:40 PM

This session explores how traditional industries can leverage digital platforms to disrupt markets, create new revenue streams, and scale effectively. Using SailTime as a case study, attendees will learn how to identify underserved markets, craft innovative marketplace solutions, and navigate challenges unique to non-tech-first industries. Discover actionable strategies for overcoming operational complexities, building trust in niche communities, and achieving sustainable growth in the digital era. Whether you're launching or scaling a marketplace, this talk will provide practical tools to successfully bridge the gap between legacy industries and modern digital platforms.

ROOM C

Risk Signals Unveiled: Leveraging Identity Verification for Smarter Decision-Making

Feb 27, 2025

- Drew Fowler, Co-Owner, CoFowler Consulting
- Jeff Sakasegawa, Trust and Safety Architect, Persona

From:

2:10 PM

To:

2:40 PM

Marketplaces face constant challenges in differentiating legitimate users from bad actors. This session will delve into how platforms can proactively mitigate risks by leveraging identity verification and leading indicators. By focusing on actionable metrics, cultivating cross-functional collaboration, and fostering vendor partnerships, platforms can strengthen onboarding processes, reduce fraud, and enhance trust—all while maintaining a seamless user experience.

ROOM A

Best Practices for Developing & Launching Content Policies for your Platform

Feb 27, 2025

- Sabrina Pascoe, Director, Head of Trust & Safety, TrustLab

From:

2:55 PM

To:

3:25 PM

Broadly speaking, there are 6 key elements to launching platform policies: (i) Research and Development, (ii) Getting cross-functional buy-in, (iii) Training content moderators, (vi) Training machine-learning (ML) models, (v) Launching your policy, and last, but certainly not least, (vi) Quality assurance and post-launch reporting. In this presentation, we will walk you through some tips and tricks to help you feel confident in your work as a Trust & Safety Policy professional and avoid having to reinvent the (policy) wheel!

ROOM B

Annotation to Automation: How T&S Risk Ops Teams Can Train Models Themselves

Feb 27, 2025

- Abhay Antony, Director Trust & Safety, Thumbtack
- Lenin C K, Masters Candidate, Data Analytics, Texas State University

From:

2:55 PM

To:

3:25 PM

Self service your own dataset creation and AI model builds without waiting on costly ML resources using off the shelf and open source labelling tools. Use the dataset to create your own models that work for niche use cases. We will showcase a workflow that requires low-code / no-code solutions to make this happen. Balancing privacy and cost.

ROOM C

Why Stop at Payments Orchestration?

Feb 27, 2025

- Andy McHale, Senior Director of Product and Market Strategy, Spreedly

From:

2:55 PM

To:

3:25 PM

Mastering payments orchestration was just the beginning. The real competitive advantage, moving forward, will be in the development towards open payments-a paradigm that takes traditional payment capabilities to the next level by fundamentally changing them. Why Open Payments? Why Now? Open payments capitalize on the robust backbone of payments orchestration, incorporating state-of-the-art technologies such as open banking APIs. This evolution is not merely a trend; it is a paradigm shift that enables companies to offer unparalleled levels of personalization, safety, and speed in transactions. Session Highlights: - Unravel the Building Blocks: Delve deep into how payment orchestration works and serves as “the gateway” to embracing open payments. - Strategic Benefits: Understand how open payments drive business innovation, create transparency, and further the cause of inclusivity in the payments ecosystem. - Navigating Risks and Regulations: Master the complexities of risk management and compliance in an open payment framework, with the latest strategies to protect your payments operation. - Success Stories: Learn from trailblazers who have made the leap to open payments, through measurable outcomes. - Looking ahead: The future of payments in a connected world and how to future-proof your business to lead, not just adapt.

Dell JCC

Afternoon Coffee Break

Feb 27, 2025

From:

3:25 PM

To:

3:45 PM

Have a coffee with old friends and new colleagues.

ROOM A

Building an AI-Powered Marketplace: Automating Growth, Retention & Optimization

Feb 27, 2025

- Avinash Joshi, Co-Founder & CTO, Cravd
- Ajith Govind Satheesh, Co-Founder & CEO, Cravd

From:

3:45 PM

To:

4:15 PM

In this presentation, we'll share our hands-on experience building an AI-powered marketplace from the ground up, focusing on three critical areas: growth automation, customer retention, and data-driven optimization. Drawing from our experience at Cravd, we'll demonstrate how AI agents reduce customer acquisition costs by automating lead engagement and chef onboarding processes. Attendees will learn how we implement AI co-pilots for chefs, develop advanced culinary assistance systems, and leverage our proprietary ChefOS to optimize chef-customer matching. We'll explore how building a robust data moat through customer preferences, feedback, and operational metrics drives continuous marketplace improvement and sustainable growth.

ROOM B

Bridging the Divide: Strengthening Collaboration Between Platforms and Content Owners

Feb 27, 2025

- Caroline Humer, Co-Founder, Trust & Safety Forum
- Olia Valigourskaia, CEO, Webkyte

From:

3:45 PM

To:

4:15 PM

The relationship between platforms and content owners is shaped by a shared goal—maximizing content reach and engagement—yet challenges arise in ensuring proper content identification while maintaining a seamless user experience. This session will explore the complexities of content identification, the evolving ways users attempt to circumvent such systems, and how platforms can enhance their tools to better support both content owners and users. Rather than focusing on enforcement, we’ll discuss how effective content identification builds trust, creates monetization opportunities, and strengthens the platform’s role as the best place for creators to grow and engage with their audience.

ROOM C

Workshop 1: Embedded Payouts and the Rise of Vendor Payment Infrastructure

Feb 27, 2025

- Eleanor Kalina, Founder & CEO, Formula

From:

3:45 PM

To:

4:15 PM

TBD

ROOM A

AI in Marketplaces: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities

Feb 27, 2025

- Colin Gardiner, General Partner, Yonder
- Ryan Moser, Founder & Principal, Protean Partners
- Mikhil Raja, CEO & Co-Founder, SonicJobs

From:

4:30 PM

To:

5:00 PM

The intersection of AI and online marketplaces is reshaping digital commerce. This panel explores how AI technologies are revolutionizing marketplace operations, from personalized product recommendations to dynamic pricing and fraud detection. We'll examine real-world applications of machine learning in customer service automation, inventory management, and seller-buyer matching. Key discussions will cover the challenges of implementing AI solutions, including data privacy concerns and algorithmic bias. Attendees will gain insights into emerging trends like visual search capabilities and predictive analytics, along with practical strategies for marketplace operators to leverage AI responsibly. The session will conclude with future predictions and actionable takeaways for businesses considering AI integration.

ROOM B

TBD

Feb 27, 2025

TBD

From:

4:30 PM

To:

5:00 PM

TBD

ROOM C

Workshop 2: Embedded Payouts and the Rise of Vendor Payment Infrastructure

Feb 27, 2025

- Eleanor Kalina, Founder & CEO, Formula

From:

4:30 PM

To:

5:00 PM

TBD

Dell JCC

Networking Recepcion

Feb 27, 2025

From:

5:00 PM

To:

7:00 PM

Close out the Marketplace Risk Austin Conference with our Networking Reception hosted at Dell JCC! This end-of-day event offers a perfect opportunity to unwind, reflect on the day's insights, and strengthen connections with fellow attendees, speakers, and industry leaders. Enjoy refreshments in a relaxed atmosphere as you wrap up a productive day of learning and collaboration. Don’t miss this final chance to network and engage with peers before concluding the conference on a high note!

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