Speaker Profile

As a member of the infamous MIT Blackjack Team, Jeff Ma created an ingenious method for counting cards—using talent, creativity, math, and teamwork to win millions in Las Vegas. (Card-counting, by the way, is not illegal; casinos just don’t like it). Ma was the real life inspiration for the best-selling book Bringing Down the House and the hit movie, 21, which topped the box office in its first two weeks. He is also an accomplished entrepreneur having started four different companies including GolfSpan (sold to Demand Media), CircleLending (sold to Virgin), Citizen Sports (sold to Yahoo) and tenXer (sold to Twitter).

In addition, Ma has been at the forefront of the “Moneyball” movement in sports working with teams (San Francisco 49ers and the Portland Trail Blazers) and companies (ESPN and Adidas) to drive data driven decision making. His bestselling book, “The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big in Business” draws on his unique experiences at the table and in the sports world to create a truly accessible book about analytics. He continues to be a sought after speaker on the subject and served as Twitter’s VP of Data Science and Analytics leading all the central work in this area.

Ma continues to be active in the startup world serving as an advisor and board member to companies like Abnormal Security, Censia, StatsBomb and Pro League Network. Most recently, Ma served as Microsoft’s Vice President of Startups overseeing Microsoft’s program to accelerate the success of developers, startup founders, and students around the world.

Ma continues to be fascinated by the intersection of sports, media, analytics and technology and continues to try and lower his handicap. He is the Co Host of Bet the Process, the leading analytically based sports betting podcast.