LEADERSHIP + BOARD
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Youssef Saleh
Co-Founder/CEO
Youssef Saleh is Co-Founder and CEO of Ava Robotics. Youssef is an entrepreneurial leader with a passion for turning ideas into profitable and growing businesses. Previously, Youssef was SVP and GM of the Remote Presence Business Unit at iRobot, where he was responsible for iRobot’s leading-edge autonomous robots for commercial applications. Prior to iRobot, Youssef was VP/GM of Telepresence & Vertical Solutions at Polycom. He started his career as a software engineer and has a BSEE in Computer Science Engineering from Northeastern University.
Marcio Macedo
Co-Founder/VP Products
Marcio is Co-Founder and Vice President of Product at Ava Robotics. Previously, Marcio was Director of Product Management for commercial robots at iRobot where he led the product strategy for iRobot's leading-edge autonomous robots for commercial applications. Prior to iRobot Marcio served in product management leadership roles at Polycom and HP. Marcio has a BSEE from the Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro, an MSEE from Northeastern University and an MBA from Babson College.
Rob Kutner
Chief Revenue Officer
Rob Kutner is Chief Revenue Officer at Ava Robotics. Rob is a strategic and results-oriented business development leader with a passion for building high-performance teams. Previously, Rob was the Vice President of Sales and Strategic Real Estate at Bigbelly where he managed the North American sales operation and helped drive strategic direction for the company. After graduating from Dickinson College, Rob started his career successfully growing a sales team and territory in the investment management industry with Eaton Vance.
Alyssa Pierson
Chief Scientist
Alyssa Pierson is the Chief Scientist at Ava Robotics and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University. With a background in robotic systems, she has extensive experience in the field, having worked as a research scientist at MIT CSAIL under Professor Daniela Rus, as well as in the Multi-Robot Systems Lab at Boston University and Stanford University. With a strong focus on advancing the capabilities of robotic technologies, Alyssa's expertise contributes to Ava Robotics' mission of providing innovative robotic solutions.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Daniela Rus
Director, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT
Daniela Rus counsels and guides Ava Robotics’ leadership and engineering teams to best meet market demand for intelligent robots in the workplace. Her research addresses the gaps between where robots are today and the promise of pervasive, workplace robots. The focus of her work is developing the science and engineering of autonomy toward the long-term objective of enabling a future with machines pervasively integrated into the fabric of life, supporting people with cognitive and physical tasks.
Venkat Srinivasan
Managing Director, Innospark Ventures
Venkat Srinivasan, founder and managing director of Innospark Ventures, has worn the shoes of an entrepreneur for most of his career. He has deep expertise in AI and computational algorithms, especially computational linguistics combined with deep functional knowledge in multiple domains. He has founded successful AI-led startups, including eCredit (acquired by ICG) and Rage Frameworks (acquired by Genpact), and has founded several double bottom line enterprises: EnglishHelper, KnowYourMeds and Intelligent Machines Lab. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Indus Entrepreneurs [TiE] in 2017. Venkat currently serves as a vice-chair of the board of the American India Foundation and serves on the board of New Profit, a pioneering venture philanthropy organization. Venkat is a Trustee of BUILD and member of the Dean’s Executive Council at the D’More-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University.
Youssef Saleh
Chairman of Board
Marcio Macedo
Board Member