# Joseph Ansanelli

> Joseph Ansanelli is a San Francisco-based entrepreneur, investor and co-founder and executive chairman of Gladly. His earlier ventures include Trio Development, acquired by Apple; Connectify, which merged with Kana ahead of its 1999 IPO; and Vontu, acquired by Symantec for $350 million in 2007. He also co-founded photo-sharing service ZangZing and joined Greylock in 2012. He hosts the Radically Personal podcast and now focuses on Gladly’s AI product strategy and customer adoption.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at Gladly
- **Organizations:** Gladly, Greylock, Vontu, Connectify, Kana, Trio Development, Apple, Macromedia, ZangZing, Lookout, Smartling, Sumo Logic, Trifacta, Wharton School
- **Education:** B.S. in Applied Economics, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Co-founded Trio Development, whose product became Claris Organizer., Co-founded Connectify and helped take Kana public after their merger in 1999., Co-founded Vontu, acquired by Symantec for $350 million in 2007.

## Career timeline

- **1991** — Helped create Wharton’s Musser Schoemaker lecture series while an undergraduate.
- **Before 1992 graduation** — Started Trio Development with two engineering students as a class project; the software became Claris Organizer after acquisition by Apple/Claris.
- **1990s** — Worked at Apple and Macromedia and co-founded Connectify as CEO.
- **1999** — Connectify merged with Kana; Ansanelli worked in marketing and helped take Kana public.
- **2001** — Vontu was founded; Ansanelli was its co-founder and CEO.
- **2003** — Testified before a US House subcommittee on identity theft and consumer data protection.
- **2007** — Symantec acquired Vontu for $350 million.
- **2010–2012** — Co-founded photo-sharing startup ZangZing.
- **2012** — Joined Greylock.
- **2015** — Began leading Gladly as co-founder and CEO, alongside Michael Wolfe and Dirk Kessler.
- **2016** — Publicly introduced Gladly’s people-centered customer service architecture.
- **2025** — Announced Charlie Besecker’s promotion to CEO and his own move to executive chairman.
- **2026** — Presented Gladly Connect Live’s opening keynote on conversational commerce and AI.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Trio Development, whose product became Claris Organizer.
- Co-founded Connectify and helped take Kana public after their merger in 1999.
- Co-founded Vontu, acquired by Symantec for $350 million in 2007.
- Co-founded Gladly with Michael Wolfe and Dirk Kessler.
- Helped organize and fund Wharton undergraduates’ Silicon Valley visits in 2015.

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Announced that Charlie Besecker would become Gladly CEO and that he would become executive chairman, focusing on AI strategy and major customers.
- **2026-05** — Delivered the opening keynote at Gladly Connect Live in Atlanta; the on-demand session covers conversational commerce, AI and the product roadmap.

## Links

- Website: https://www.gladly.ai/author/joseph-ansanelli/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ansanelli
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ansanelli

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joseph-ansanelli
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14