Our Story

Using Sight for Sounds

At Xander, we are dedicated to helping people understand and feel understood. We use augmented reality (AR) to enhance in-person conversations to create deeper connections. Our first product is XanderGlasses, captioning glasses for people with hearing loss. Our glasses work like a simple on/off appliance. Put them on and you'll see speech-bubbles-like captions of what other people are saying, helping you to better listen, understand, and connect. 

Meet Our Team

Alex
Alex Westner
Co-Founder & CEO

20+ years leading product strategy at iZotope, Gibson, and Fidelity. He earned an MS from MIT Media Lab for acoustics and audio processing, and is a former electropunk keytarist.

Marilyn
Marilyn Morgan Westner
Co-Founder & Content

20+ years researching and educating at Harvard, HBS, and UMass Boston. She has a PhD in history and believes in the power of stories and dark chocolate to change the world.

Alex T Parisi
Alex T. Parisi
Software

7 years developing products across multiple industries and platforms after earning an MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech. He’s an active traveler, fashion enthusiast, and amateur origami artist.

Willy
Willy Jones
Operations

15 years in customer success, web dev, DevOps, MOps, RevOps, IT, compliance & security. He is an avid berry farmer, collector of chickens, purveyor of fine maple syrup, Bari Sax player and just an OK drummer.

Curtis
Curtis Eichner
Software

5 years as a game developer with a focus on innovation and new technologies. When he's on the ski slopes, he has a focus on not falling!

profile-picture
Luka Jovanović
Software

A Master's student at Northeastern University, specializing in AI. His passion lies at the intersection of machine learning and biomedical research.

Richard
Richard Einhorn
Advisor

Hearing loss industry expert, advocate, and former board chair of the Hearing Loss Association of America. He is an award-winning composer of contemporary classical music.

matt panucci
Matt Panucci
Advisor

20+ years as an intrapreneur with large consumer goods companies including EssilorLuxottica. He’s served as an advisor to numerous tech-enabled consumer goods startups.

David
David L. Rose
Advisor

30 years as an entrepreneur, founded 7 companies in interactive media, IoT, augmented reality, and health tech. He is a former VP at Warby Parker.

Iroro Orife
Iroro Orife
Advisor

20 years as an Electrical Engineer developing audio tech and widely cited expert in conversational speech recognition. He is a thought leader in natural language processing research of West African languages.

Tom von Sternberg, MD
Tom von Sternberg, MD
Advisor

38 year career in Geriatrics, designing innovative care solutions to help seniors remain independent, focusing much of his work on individuals with dementia. When weather permits, he can be found at his rowing club on the Mississippi.