Elena Grewal—former Head of Data Science at Airbnb, political consultant, professor at Yale, and ice cream shop owner—shares her journey of building data teams that scale across vastly different contexts. Drawing on her experiences in tech, consulting, and brick-and-mortar, Elena offers practical lessons on leadership, trust, and experimentation.
00:00 Introduction to Elena Grewal's Journey
00:18 Building Data Systems from Scratch at Airbnb
00:36 Integrating Analytics into Product Development
01:06 Experimentation Beyond Tech: Lessons from an Ice Cream Shop
01:46 Machine Learning and Asking the Right Questions
02:46 Seasonality and Data-Driven Decisions in Ice Cream Sales
03:44 Teaching Data Science at Yale
04:51 Interview with Duncan Gilchrist at Delfina
07:20 Eleanor's Career Path: From Academia to Data Science
16:22 Scaling Data Teams at Airbnb26:54 Structuring and Scaling Data Organizations
33:51 Centralized vs. Embedded Data Teams
34:46 Leadership Lessons from Airbnb
35:32 The Importance of Trust in Leadership
38:31 Experimentation Across Different Contexts
43:35 Data-Driven Decisions in an Ice Cream Business
47:57 Seasonality and Customer Behavior Insights
57:25 Teaching Data Skills and Critical Thinking
59:20 Generative AI in Education
01:04:08 Advice for Aspiring Data Leaders
01:05:26 Conclusion and Call to Action