Who we are

A serial entrepreneur, Dean has co-founded and served as CTO of multiple technology startups later acquired by IBM, LinkedIn, Yelp, and others. He went on to lead Yelp's Core LLM team as the current AI wave got started, building internal tools and supporting Yelp's adoption of generative AI across products and workflows.

He co-founded Expressive Machines with Mike and built ALEX, Kal-El, and the underlying AI platform. ALEX was so successful for CRA | Admired Leadership that they hired Dean into a dual role as Head of Digital Products & Strategy — while he continues as CTO of Expressive Machines.

Kristina is a CPA with expertise spanning accounting, finance, and business management. She spent over 20 years in financial roles across multiple industries, including auditing work at Ernst & Young and senior leadership positions managing business operations.

She holds a BBA in Accounting and MBA in Marketing from Hofstra University.

Ryan is a writer, musician, and educator with a background in mathematics and physics. A skeptic on the lofty promises of AI, he stress tests Expressive Machines' tools to better understand their weaknesses, their strengths, and how people can use them to achieve their goals without diminishing what makes them human.