Meet the people behind LivePerson

In 2016, Rob again led the company to the forefront of Conversational Commerce by making it easy for consumers to connect with brands on messaging via platforms like SMS, WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, Facebook Messenger, and even brand apps and websites. In 2018, Rob delivered on his vision for AI-powered conversations, opening the door for brands to message at massive scale while still providing outstanding customer experiences. Now, Rob is a leading voice on reforming the future of work, helping cultivate innovative new systems that support the needs of LivePerson’s global staff, and challenging the reliance on physical office spaces.

As someone who has been on the entrepreneurial journey for over two decades, Rob’s mission is to inspire and help others who are on that same path. LivePerson has come a long way since its early years, having survived the dot-com crash and grown to become the leader in Conversational AI and automation solutions, currently serving over 18,000 clients, with 1,200 employees worldwide.

Beyond his decades of work at LivePerson, Rob’s interests extend past his business and reflect his close ties to New York City and his journey as an entrepreneur and humanitarian. He is a founding member of EqualAI, which works with companies, policy makers, and experts to reduce bias in AI, and the NYC Entrepreneurs Council of the Partnership for New York City. In 2001, he started the Dream Big Foundation with its first program, FeedingNYC, which gives families in need a Thanksgiving dinner. To date, FeedingNYC has donated over 100,000 meals. Its second program, the Dream Big Entrepreneurship Initiative, launched in 2014 to fund, mentor, coach, and empower local entrepreneurs in underserved communities.

Prior to LivePerson, John pioneered approaches for transforming third-party data exhaust into investment signals as Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Thasos. John also served as Portfolio Manager for a systematic equities strategy while Thasos incubated inside an NYC-based fund with over $10 billion in assets under management.

John’s previous financial services experience includes closing over $3 billion in transactions at Credit Suisse and building automated equity surveillance systems to detect suspicious trading activity at the New York Stock Exchange.

John holds an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, a JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law, and a BS from the University of Central Florida.

buddybank® is a Conversational Banking experience designed for iPhone with a 24/7 messaging-concierge and it is part of UniCredit, one of the largest pan-European banks.

Formerly, he served UniCredit as Head of Open Innovation, launching initiatives including an online banking service designed for and with senior citizens. Angelo is an expert in transforming how banks interact with their consumers, proving that Conversational Commerce can turn customers into ambassadors.

Prior to joining LivePerson, Monica served as VP, general counsel of Nuance Communications, Inc., a leading provider of speech recognition software. Previously, Monica was associated with the law firms of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, CA, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York, NY.

Monica holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from Boston University School of Law.

Previously, Mel led LivePerson’s operational excellence and transformation team, helping brands become conversational businesses by bringing operational know-how and leadership to bear on their journey from planning to ongoing execution. She has more than 25 years of experience in operating large-scale customer service and sales organizations and is driven by a passion for operational excellence. 

Prior to LivePerson, Mel served as Head of Customer Experience at Liberty Global, the world’s largest international TV and broadband company with operations in 10 European countries. She has also held senior executive positions within the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, operating major contact center operations for multiple Global 1000 brands.

Ruth has more than two decades of experience serving B2B clients in the technology, financial services, and non-profit industries. Prior to LivePerson, she served as CMO of Ada, helping to transform the company from a startup into an industry player. Previously, she led marketing for Blueprint Software Systems. Ruth is also the founder of MarketingWise, a lifecycle marketing agency that helped B2B companies develop and promote high-quality marketing content.

Ruth is based in Toronto, Canada. She earned her MSW from the University of Pittsburgh and her BA from the University of Toronto.