---
title: Predata Names Hazem Dawani CEO
description: OptionsCity/Vela vet brings risk management and trading expertise.
---

[Articles Marketmedia](https://articles.marketsmedia.com)

# [Predata Names Hazem Dawani CEO](https://articles.marketsmedia.com/predata-names-hazem-dawani-ceo)

 Written by [Terry Flanagan](https://articles.marketsmedia.com/author/terry) | Feb 15, 2018 4:11:26 PM

**Predata Appoints Hazem Dawani as CEO**

*Accomplished fintech leader in trading and risk management technology solutions*  
 *Joel T. Meyer named VP, Government and Corporate Markets*

NEW YORK, February 15, 2018—Predata, a predictive analytics platform that anticipates the  
 risk of future events, today announced the appointment of Hazem Dawani as Chief Executive  
 Officer. Predata also named Joel T. Meyer as Vice President of Government and Corporate  
 Markets.

Jim Shinn, co-founder and CEO for the past three years, was elected Chairman of the Board and  
 will continue to be fully engaged with the company. “We’re really fortunate to have Hazem join  
 Predata as our CEO. He’s an accomplished entrepreneur, a talented software engineer and has a  
 sophisticated mastery of finance,” said Shinn. “Hazem co-founded and led a successful financial  
 technology company and Joel built the government business of a data company. With Hazem’s  
 risk management and trading expertise and Joel’s experience in the public sector, Predata now has  
 the talent and leadership to succeed in our next stage of growth.”

“Predata has opened the doors to harnessing alternative data to understand human behavior online  
 in order to anticipate market moves and risk events. We’ve assembled a team of experts from  
 machine learning, technology, and across industry sectors to create a powerful platform. I’m  
 excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead the company now,” said Hazem Dawani.

Predata builds models of human behavior online using alternative data and machine learning  
 techniques to identify and map patterns that precede major global macro events. The data and  
 models are then transformed into risk signals, market indicators, and political and economic event  
 predictions. Clients across financial, commercial and government verticals leverage the Predata  
 platform to discover, quantify, and act upon the risk of future events.

For example, Predata recently used its platform to predict a move in the Japanese Yen one week  
 in advance of the actual USD/JPY drop. In 2017, Predata also used its platform and algorithms to  
 help its clients accurately anticipate the attacks on UN peacekeepers in Mali, PKK violence in  
 Turkey, and flare-ups in tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

“I’m excited to be working with Hazem again. He successfully built and sold OptionsCity, an  
 Edison Partners fintech investment. Predata is at the forefront of alternative data and machine  
 learning and poised to be the leader in predictive analytics,” said Chris Sugden, Managing Partner  
 at Edison Partners, who serves on Predata’s Board of Directors.

Based in New York, Dawani will be responsible for setting go-to-market strategy, vision, and  
 managing all aspects of the business. Meyer, based in Washington, D.C., will be responsible for  
 managing and developing business with corporate and government partners, including corporate  
 security officers and public-sector agencies.

“There are so many organizations that can take advantage of Predata’s robust technology platform  
 and unique anticipatory signals. I welcome the opportunity to bring Predata’s capabilities to more  
 corporate firms and government organizations,” said Meyer.

**About Hazem Dawani**  
 Dawani joins Predata having spent the past 10 years as co-founder and CEO of OptionsCity  
 Software, a global electronic trading platform with offices in Chicago, New York and London. He  
 led the business through various growth stages, managing multiple investments rounds, ramping  
 to over $10 million in recurring revenue, and overseeing product vision and business development  
 efforts. The company was acquired in June 2017 by Vela Trading Systems in an all-cash deal.  
 Following the acquisition, he joined Vela as Chief Product Officer to focus on go-forward  
 strategies for its products.

Previously, Dawani served as a director in the software department at Chicago Trading Company,  
 where he led the design and creation of their main electronic trading and market-making system.  
 He also worked at SSI as a software engineer and built real-time embedded systems solutions.  
 Dawani grew up in Jordan and moved to Chicago to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology,  
 where he was a scholar in their Leadership Academy. He has a B.S. in computer engineering from  
 IIT.

**About Joel T. Meyer**  
 Prior to joining Predata, Meyer was a Senior Vice President at Dataminr, working with public  
 sector clients. He previously served in the U.S. Government in several capacities, including as a  
 Director on the White House National Security Council staff focusing on countering violent  
 extremism online and at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the Office of the Secretary  
 as Senior Advisor to the Coordinator for Counterterrorism focused on countering terrorist threats  
 to the Homeland emanating from abroad.

Following his government service, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson appointed Meyer to  
 serve as a member of the Countering Violent Extremism Subcommittee of the Homeland Security  
 Advisory Council. He is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Meyer previously practiced law at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP. He has a B.A. in  
 International Affairs from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from the American University  
 Washington College of Law.

**About Predata**  
 Predata uses alternative data and predictive analytics to identify and map human behavior online  
 to anticipate the risk of future events. The company is building the world's smartest platform for  
 political, financial, and market risk intelligence. Predata's platform enables customers to discover,  
 quantify and act on dynamic shifts in online actions about topics of interest to them. Combined  
 with a proprietary event database, Predata's signals provide users with early warning for different  
 types of risk events in any given country, operational footprint, or area of interest. For further  
 information, visit www.predata.com.

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