Meet our team
We’re a dedicated group of designers, engineers, and managers who’ve been in your shoes.
Leadership Team
Liesl Yearsley
Liesl has founded, led multiple companies, and is a world-leading AI expert. Before aKin, Liesl was CEO and founder of Cognea, an AI platform that became a global leader and was acquired by IBM. Before that, she founded a search engine and took it public.
Dr Steve Green
Dr Green has a PhD in AI, and was the lead engineer at Cognea. He then then worked at IBM post the Cognea acquisition, and has joined aKin to further develop aKin's technology
Angela Cagliostro
Angela has led multinational corporations through digital transformation, with a focus on AI, digital sales optimisation and ensuring a seamless end to end customer experience. Former leader of Sales and Distribution Digital Transformation at Allianz Asia Pacific.
Advisory Board
Travis Giggy
As an original co-founder of aKin alongside Yearsley, Giggy is a technical product professional who builds significant value in the roles of Product Leader, CTO, Architect, and Co-Founder with 20+ years of experience in the technology space. He was key in developing aKin’s original mission, and is an active advisor to help us stay true to the course.
Professor Jane Burns
Professor Burns is a board member of the Australian Federal Government’s disability agency NDIS. Burns is an international expert in mental health and wellbeing, suicide prevention, digital transformation, and integrated models of care.
Tom Soderstrom
Soderstrom is a world-renowned technology visionary, and is currently the Director of Chief Technologists, Worldwide Public sector for AWS.
Craig Healey
Craig has worked alongside aKin CEO, Yearsly, for over a decade, and handles ethics and governance. Craig has three degrees in Law, Accounting, and Psychology, and significant field experience in social impact work.
