Meet the team bringing the future of conversational AI to you
NLX was founded in 2018 in New York City by brothers Andrei and Vlad Papancea and longtime friend Peter Szerzo. Rooted in the belief that conversational applications will define the next era of human-computer interaction, the NLX platform was built with the goal of making it possible for anyone to build AI-powered voice, text, and multimodal conversations.
Drawing in part on Andrei’s experience building the conversational AI platform for American Express, the NLX platform is distinct in its design and architecture, ensuring that the content is what truly makes it unique. To achieve this, the platform is agnostic of AI technologies, legacy systems, vendors and channels, giving enterprise brands choice and flexibility in what infrastructure they use. The platform democratizes conversational application building through a no-code canvas that caters to users of all technical abilities, abstracting the complexity typically required to build and scale conversational applications.
Our customers bring our technology to life in new and unexpected ways, and we’re totally here for it. We are partners in innovation and we think with the end-user in mind, so our customers can be sure they are delivering the best experience possible.
There's a lot of hype around AI which is why we like to stay grounded. If it won't actually work for you, we are going to tell you. Our holistic approach to NLX is practical – for you, your business and your customers.
You shouldn't need specialized skills to build and deploy conversational applications. If the future of human-computer interaction is rooted in conversation, we'll want to ensure it's accessible, regardless of technical ability.
People may not always remember what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel. Be approachable and make each other feel welcome. We expect diverse experiences and value individual input.
Andrei Papancea is CEO at NLX where he drives the vision and strategy of creating and delivering next-generation conversational experiences for organizations across industries.
Under his leadership, NLX has raised over $25 million in funding from top venture capital firms and now powers automated customer experiences for some of the world’s biggest brands, including United Airlines, Comcast and Red Bull.
Prior to co-founding NLX, Andrei built the Conversational AI platform for American Express, processing millions of conversations across AmEx’s main servicing channels. NLX grew out of this experience with Andrei building a platform that solved key challenges around deploying conversational AI at the scale and complexity large enterprises require.
He teaches graduate lectures on Cloud Computing and AI Engineering at Columbia University and New York University and holds a M.S. in Computer Science from Columbia University.
As CTO, Vlad has overall responsibility for the NLX platform and infrastructure as well as developing the technical strategy for the company. This includes implementing best practices in areas of engineering operations, security, monitoring, analytics, and automation.
He ran terabyte-scale data pipelines to facilitate AI-powered risk underwriting at Argo Group. He established DevOps standards for deploying new products on AWS, while migrating legacy applications to the newly prescribed architecture. Furthermore, he created reusable frameworks and pipelines for both actuaries and data scientists to deploy their statistical and machine learning models to the cloud.
Outside of NLX, Vlad likes to dine with friends at new restaurants in NYC and try to reproduce dishes at home. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Knox College.
Alexandra is the CFO of NLX, responsible for all things finance. She has more than 15 years of progressive experience in start-up corporate finance and is a CPA.
Alexandra was previously the CFO for Wibbitz, an online video creation platform acquired by Vimeo, and the CFO for Launchmetrics, a SaaS company that grew six-fold during her time there. In her spare time, Alexandra enjoys reading a good book, spending time with friends and family, and trying out new recipes and restaurants. She holds a BS in Finance and Accounting from the NYU Stern School of Business.
A seasoned executive with a proven track record of driving growth and innovation, Brian is a strategic leader with over 25 years of experience. As Chief Strategy Officer, he is instrumental in shaping our company's future by expanding our market reach and optimizing operations.
Brian’s deep industry knowledge, spanning healthcare, entertainment, energy, transportation, IT systems, financial services, and data analytics, empowers him to develop and execute effective growth strategies. He has held leadership roles from CEO to Engineer, building and scaling teams globally for both Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft and high-growth startups like HG Insights. As an entrepreneur and active board member, he brings a unique blend of strategic vision and operational expertise. With a keen eye for emerging trends and a passion for delivering exceptional results, he is adept at navigating complex business landscapes and fostering strategic partnerships. His experience as an advisor for two major university entrepreneur programs at the University of Washington and the University of California, Santa Barbara, demonstrates his commitment to nurturing innovation and fostering early-stage growth.
When not leading our strategic initiatives, Brian enjoys surfing, hiking, and biking. This active lifestyle reflects his energetic and results-oriented approach to business. MBA, University of Phoenix. Master’s in Computer Science and Computer Engineering, California State University Long Beach.
As Chief Product Officer, Derrick is responsible for leading product strategy with a focus on ground-breaking innovations that help customers scale AI across their business and make building conversational AI experiences accessible to organizations of any size.
Previously, Derrick served as NLX's Chief Growth Officer where he worked to scale the impact our business has with new and existing enterprise customers.
He has spent the last 12 years orchestrating product and organizational design efforts on behalf of Fortune 500 companies. Most recently Derrick was the Managing Partner at Opus, an organizational design firm where he led multi-year transformations for Twitter, American Express, and Lululemon. He is an active angel investor, speaker, and advisor to startups across North America.
Melanie Vargas is the Chief People Officer for NLX and is responsible for building and maintaining our unique culture and aligning our people strategy with our business strategy.
With an illustrious career spanning three decades working in early-stage technology organizations, Melanie has worn the hats of both the entrepreneur and the executive. This has given her a profound understanding of the challenges and triumphs in these worlds. She understands the urgency, agility, and innovation needed to thrive in this ecosystem.
Most recently, Melanie served as the Chief People Officer of HaptX, Inc. She is also the Founder and CEO of Radical Ignition, an executive coaching and leadership development firm. Additionally, Melanie served as the President of Swift HR Solutions for 16 years, a firm dedicated to helping early-stage companies design, launch, and manage their HR and leadership development infrastructure. During her tenure, she spearheaded a team of over 20 C-level HR consultants and executive coaches. She also managed the consulting business supporting more than 100 startup technology organizations at any given time. Many organizations she supported during her tenure experienced successful liquidity events. Melanie is a Certified Hudson Executive Coach and a ICF Professional Certified Coach. She also holds SHRM-SCP, SPHR credentials and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging from Cornell.
In her personal time, Melanie lives in Seattle with her husband, three kids, and two dogs. She enjoys hiking and water sports.
Christian Wagner is the Chief Customer Officer of NLX where he leads the strategy for the sales, delivery and customer success teams, drawing on his decades of experience leading flagship technologies and applications.
Prior to NLX, Christian was Global Vice President for the AWS Practice at TTEC Digital, where he led customer experience, automation, artificial intelligence, and analytics with AWS-powered solutions. Previously, he was the CEO of VoiceFoundry, a global delivery partner for AWS, which was acquired by TTEC in 2020. Before that, Christian spent five years at AWS and eight years at Microsoft in various technology leadership roles.
After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Christian cut his teeth as a developer doing pioneering work on LAN based PBXs and foundational elements on what would become Unified Communications.
In his spare time, Christian makes cocktail bitters and transports his three boys to various sporting events around the country.
Meet the co-founders of NLX, and gain some insight on the journey of NLX