Helping the World Speak English with Confidence

Vu Van

Co-founder & CEO

Vu Van has served as Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of ELSA since 2016. She has led ELSA’s transformation into a global leader in AI-powered English communication training. Under her leadership, ELSA has scaled to millions of users and thousands of enterprises worldwide, pioneering human-like AI speech recognition and generative AI tutoring that enable learners, enterprises, and schools to achieve English fluency and confidence at scale. 
A recognized leader in AI and education, Vu has been named among Inc.’s 2024 Female Founders 250, The Top 25 CEOs of San Francisco, and Women Leading the AI Revolution in Education (ASU+GSV), as well as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and Endeavor Outlier. Before founding ELSA, Vu was an Engagement Manager at Booz & Company. She holds an MBA and a Master’s in Education from Stanford University.

Xavier Anguera

Co-founder & CEO

Xavier Anguera is the Co-founder of ELSA and a leading expert in Speech AI and deep learning with over 20 years of experience at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation. Throughout his career, he has pioneered advancements in speech processing, large language models (LLMs), and multimodal AI across both academia and industry. Xavier holds a Ph.D. in Speech Processing, has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, and is the co-inventor on multiple patents. His work continues to shape the evolution of AI technologies that power human-like communication and language learning experiences worldwide.

Will Polese

Global VP of Revenue

Will Polese has served as Vice President of Revenue at ELSA since 2023, leading the company’s global B2B business, including sales, customer success, marketing, and revenue operations. With over three decades of experience in strategy and innovation, he has accelerated ELSA’s enterprise expansion and strengthened its position as a leader in AI-powered English communication solutions for organizations worldwide. Before ELSA, Will led New Ventures at Udemy, driving strategic growth across Asia, and held senior commercial leadership roles at MarketsandMarkets and Lux Research, where he built and scaled high-performing teams delivering transformative results for technology-driven clients.

Matan Cohen

VP Finance

Matan Cohen serves as Vice President of Finance at ELSA, overseeing the company’s global finance, legal, and compliance functions. Since joining in 2022, he has led initiatives to strengthen ELSA’s financial discipline, operational efficiency, and investor engagement as the company scales its AI-powered English communication platform worldwide. Before ELSA, Matan held senior finance leadership roles at KPMG, Amdocs, and several technology startups, where he built scalable financial operations and supported global expansion. He is a licensed CPA with over 15 years of experience in corporate finance, strategy, and governance.

Mansi Sharma

VP, Growth & Marketing

Mansi Sharma is a growth and marketing leader with experience across global technology companies and startups. She is the VP of Growth and Marketing at ELSA, responsible for B2C business. Previously, she worked with leading organizations including Google, Uber, MyFitnessPal and Rakuten, where she focused on scaling products, improving user engagement, and driving business performance. Her career spans India, Singapore, and the United States, giving her a global perspective on business growth and operations. Mansi brings a strong analytical foundation from her undergraduate degree in Mathematics and strategic acumen from her MBA at the Indian School of Business (ISB).

Charles Wong

Global Human Resources Director

Charles Wong serves as Global Head of Human Resources at ELSA, overseeing the company’s people, culture, and organizational development across Asia, Europe, and North America. Since joining in January 2025, he has focused on implementing data-driven people systems, modernizing performance and talent architecture, and scaling strategic HR capabilities to support ELSA’s continued global expansion. With 14 years of experience in Human Resources, Charles has led people functions across private equity–backed, Fortune 500, and startup environments spanning real estate, dental technology, and now education technology. He brings deep expertise in building scalable HR systems, guiding complex transformations, and developing high-performing, globally distributed teams.

Akshaya Aradhya

CTO

Akshaya Aradhya has served as ELSA's Chief Technology Officer since 2025. She brings extensive experience leading AI and engineering organizations across GitHub, Netflix, LiveRamp, Intuit, and Oscila. Throughout her career, Ara has built and shipped products used by hundreds of millions of people, including GitHub Copilot, Netflix’s machine learning platforms, and LiveRamp’s petabyte-scale data systems. She joins ELSA committed to advancing its mission and strengthening the AI technologies that empower learners and organizations worldwide. A strong advocate for ethical AI and inclusive STEM education, she mentors the next generation of builders and innovators.