10 PayPal AI and data science leaders
PayPal AI and data science leaders on this page currently hold titles such as VP, Global Risk ML and AI, VP: Global Head - Product AI, Head of Artificial Intelligence, Head of Consumer AI and DS and Senior Director - AI and Decisioning. A reader can learn how AI and data science leaders work at PayPal from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
Aly Megahed
LinkedInExperience: Head of Venmo ML/AI and Data Science · PayPal
Aly Megahed has been Head of Venmo ML/AI and Data Science at PayPal since September 2025. Aly Megahed was ML and Data Science Tech Lead Manager at Meta from 2021 to 2025, AI Manager at IBM from 2017 to 2021 and Research Scientist at IBM from 2014 to 2017.
Bibhash Chakrabarty
LinkedInExperience: Senior Director - AI and Decisioning · PayPal
Bibhash Chakrabarty has been Senior Director - AI and Decisioning at PayPal since September 2025. Bibhash Chakrabarty was Vice President - AI and Data Science at Fidelity Investments from 2023 to 2025, Director - Data Science at Fidelity Investments from 2019 to 2023 and Lead Data Scientist there from 2018 to 2019.
Farhad Farahani
LinkedInExperience: Head of Consumer AI and DS · PayPal
Farhad Farahani has been Head of Consumer AI and DS at PayPal since April 2026, and also holds Senior Director, AI at PayPal, a role started in May 2025. Farhad Farahani held Head of Venmo AI at Venmo from 2025 to 2026, and was Director, Head of AI Personalization at PayPal from 2021 to 2025.
Ivan Szpakowski
LinkedInExperience: Sr. Director, Data Science, Bureau and Alternative Data · PayPal
Ivan Szpakowski has been Sr. Director, Data Science, Bureau and Alternative Data at PayPal since July 2025. Ivan Szpakowski was VP Data Engineering and AI at Curinos from 2024 to 2025, VP Data Engineering and MLOps at Curinos from 2023 to 2024 and Head of Data and Growth at Rho from 2021 to 2023.
Margaret Kuleta
LinkedInExperience: Head of AI & Strategic Product Growth, Global Markets · PayPal
Margaret Kuleta has been Head of AI & Strategic Product Growth, Global Markets at PayPal since January 2026. Margaret Kuleta was Director of Product Portfolio Management at wefox from 2022 to 2023, Product Strategy & Communications / Chief of Staff to CPO at wefox from 2021 to 2022 and Mobile Growth Lead at Google from 2020 to 2021.
Ramana Nallajarla
LinkedInExperience: VP - Risk and AI/ML Platforms Technology · PayPal
Ramana Nallajarla has been VP - Risk and AI/ML Platforms Technology at PayPal since February 2024, and also holds VP - Head of AI/ML Platforms and Solutions Engineering there, a role started in 2023. Ramana Nallajarla was Managing Director- Head of Chase Risk AI/ML Technology at JPMorganChase from 2022 to 2023.
Ren Zhang
LinkedInExperience: VP: Global Head - Product AI · PayPal
Ren Zhang has been VP: Global Head - Product AI at PayPal since September 2025, a Product role the listing tags at Head level. Ren Zhang was Managing Director - Global Head, Agentic AI Industry Solutions at Accenture from 2024 to 2025 and GM, Director, Research Science at Amazon from 2022 to 2024.
Rishi Venkat
LinkedInExperience: Head of Agentic AI Platform Product AI Infrastructure · PayPal
Rishi Venkat has been Head of Agentic AI Platform Product AI Infrastructure at PayPal since January 2026, leading the company's AI infrastructure. Rishi Venkat was Principal Product Manager, Enterprise Learning & Talent Agentic & Generative AI at Walmart from 2023 to 2026 and Global Product Lead, Sales Strategy & Operations Talent Solutions at LinkedIn from 2019 to 2022.
Sijia Liu
LinkedInExperience: VP, Global Risk ML and AI · PayPal
Sijia Liu has been VP, Global Risk ML and AI at PayPal since November 2025. Sijia Liu was Senior Director, Data Science at SoFi from 2021 to 2025, Director of Data Science at SoFi from 2019 to 2021 and VP, Credit Risk Modeling and Analytics Manager at Bank of the West from 2017 to 2019.
Yugank Aman
LinkedInExperience: Head of Artificial Intelligence · PayPal
Yugank Aman has been Head of Artificial Intelligence at PayPal since June 2025, and describes holding the enterprise AI mandate for the company. Yugank Aman also held Senior Director of Agentic AI at PayPal in 2025, and was Global Head of AI & India Site Head at PepsiCo from 2022 to 2024.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's area, such as risk and credit machine learning, AI platforms and agentic AI infrastructure, product AI, or consumer and Venmo data science, to the decision you face. Check when each person's current role started to judge how recent their view of the work is.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How do you decide which payments and risk problems get an AI or machine learning model first?
- 02What has worked for you in building shared AI platforms that product and risk teams actually use?
- 03How do you measure whether an AI or data science effort changed losses, conversion or customer results?
Reaching PayPal AI and data science leaders
How can I contact one of these PayPal AI and data science leaders?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 1 company: PayPal, based on profile data retrieved on October 26, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach PayPal AI and data science leaders?
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Can an AI agent ask one of these PayPal AI and data science leaders a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. Claude and ChatGPT can do the same through the Instant Expert connector: setup is at /docs/mcp for Claude and /docs/chatgpt for ChatGPT. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.