Pasi Sahlberg
Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Melbourne | Finnish Education Expert | Bestselling Author | Grawemeyer & Lego Prize Laureate
Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker
Co-Authors of Platform Revolution | Co-Creators of Two-Sided Market & Inverted-Firm Theory | Boston University & Dartmouth Professors | Platform Strategy Authorities
Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker are the intellectual architects of the platform economy. Together they co-created two-sided market theory and the "inverted firm," and co-authored Platform Revolution, the definitive guide to the model behind Amazon, Apple, Uber, and Airbnb. Appearing together, the Boston University and Dartmouth professors deliver the complete framework for winning in a world run by platforms.
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Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker biography
Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker are the intellectual architects of the platform economy. Together they co-developed the theories that explain how companies like Amazon, Apple, Uber, and Airbnb actually work, and co-authored Platform Revolution, the definitive guide to the business model that has come to dominate the digital age.
Technology speakers Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker co-created the theory of two-sided markets and the concept of the “inverted firm,” the idea that platforms create value by enabling external producers and users rather than scaling internally. They were among the first to explain the “chicken-and-egg” problem every platform must solve and how network effects can tip entire markets toward a handful of dominant firms. With Sangeet Paul Choudary, they wrote Platform Revolution, widely regarded as the first authoritative “owner’s manual” for building a successful platform business.
Two of the World’s Foremost Platform Thinkers
Individually, each is a distinguished voice. Van Alstyne is the Questrom Professor of Management at Boston University and a Digital Fellow at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, with a Harvard Business Review article ranked among the publication’s top 50 of all time. Parker is the Charles E. Hutchinson ’68A Professor of Engineering Innovation at Dartmouth and Faculty Director of its Irving Institute for Energy and Society, extending platform thinking into data governance, AI, and the energy transition. Together their research is taught in business schools worldwide and shapes how executives and policymakers alike approach competition, regulation, and growth in a networked economy.
As speakers, Van Alstyne and Parker can appear together to deliver the full sweep of platform strategy in a single session, combining Van Alstyne’s focus on platform economics and AI with Parker’s systems view spanning technology and energy. They speak on how networked markets win, how established companies can compete with and build platforms, and how AI is reshaping the rules. Audiences leave with the definitive framework for competing in a world increasingly run by platforms, straight from the people who defined it.
Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker Speaking Videos
2023 Annual Conference - Platform Responsibility: Q&A session
Closing Remarks Geoff Parker Marshall Van Alstyne
Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker Keynote Topics
Van Alstyne and Parker take the stage together to deliver the full arc of their landmark book. They explain how two-sided markets create value, why network effects make platforms so powerful, how to solve the "chicken-and-egg" problem of launching one, and how any organization can build, launch, and govern a successful platform, drawing on the theory they created and examples from the world's biggest companies.
Most companies weren't born as platforms but must compete against them. Together the authors give incumbent leaders a complete view: Van Alstyne on the economics and strategy of network effects, Parker on ecosystems, complementary innovation, and systems design, so organizations can defend their position and adopt platform strategies of their own.
Drawing on both of their research programs, Van Alstyne and Parker examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping platform dynamics, competition, and governance. They explore what AI means for network effects, data, antitrust, and value creation, and how leaders and policymakers can navigate the next era of the networked economy.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker
Why book Van Alstyne and Parker together?
Booking Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker together gives audiences the complete, authoritative account of the platform economy, from the two scholars who defined it. They co-created the theory of two-sided markets and the "inverted firm" and co-authored Platform Revolution, the field's definitive book. Appearing together, they cover the full range of platform strategy in a single session, pairing Van Alstyne's focus on platform economics, network effects, and AI with Parker's systems perspective spanning technology, data governance, and energy. For events that want the deepest possible treatment of how networked markets work and how to compete in them, the two authors on one stage are an exceptional draw. They can also be booked individually. To bring them to your next event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
Who are the authors of Platform Revolution?
Platform Revolution (2016) was written by Marshall Van Alstyne, Geoffrey Parker, and Sangeet Paul Choudary. Van Alstyne is a professor at Boston University and MIT Digital Fellow; Parker is a professor at Dartmouth and visiting scholar at MIT Sloan. Van Alstyne and Parker co-developed the underlying academic theories, including two-sided markets and the "inverted firm," making the book the definitive guide to platform business models.
What ideas did Van Alstyne and Parker create together?
Together, Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker co-developed the theory of two-sided markets, which explains how platforms profitably serve two interdependent groups of users at once, and the concept of the "inverted firm," in which value is created outside the organization by external participants. They also framed the "chicken-and-egg" problem of launching a platform. These ideas underpin how businesses and regulators understand the platform economy today.
What topics do speakers Van Alstyne and Parker cover together?
Together, Van Alstyne and Parker speak on platform strategy and network effects, competing in the platform economy, building and governing platforms, and how AI is reshaping competition. Their joint sessions suit technology, strategy, innovation, and digital-economy events that want the definitive, authors'-eye treatment of platforms. To book Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker as speakers, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker as a keynote speaker?
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How much is Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker speaking fee?
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Can I book Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Marshall Van Alstyne and Geoffrey Parker for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
