Liesl Yearsley

Liesl Yearsley is the CEO and founder of Akin, a company that creates virtual humans. Liesl has a long history of experience in the field of artificial intelligence, having founded and led two previous companies in the area.

Yearsley began their career in 2000 with the founding of Mooter, a search engine company that applied artificial intelligence to its search results. Liesl led the company through its listing on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2005, raising millions in seed and early expansion capital.

In 2005, they also founded Cognea, which was acquired by IBM in 2014. Cognea created virtual humans that were intelligent and adaptive, using an artificial intelligence platform. As CEO of Cognea, Yearsley drove vision and strategy, oversaw global expansion, and got involved in the creation of the company's technology.

Most recently, in 2018, Yearsley founded Akin. Akin uses virtual humans to help businesses with customer engagement and complex issues. Under their leadership, the company has seen rapid growth, expanding its reach globally.

Liesl Yearsley has a Graduate Certificate in Venture Development from Griffith University, a GAICD from the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a BA Psych from the University of South Africa/Universiteit van Suid-Afrika, and an MBBCh from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Some individuals on their team include Aaron Deutsch - COO, Mariza O'Keeffe - Head of AI Design.