LanguageMate.com: The LanguageMate Management Team

The LanguageMate Management Team

Our dynamic team consists of experts in linguistics, anthropology, cross-cultural communication, medicine, health education and business management, as well as professionals in information technology, interactive design, and multimedia production.

William Z. Tan
Founder & President

Vijay Bachani
SVP of Finance & Operations

Brian Engler
Director of Technology

Robert Powers
Supervising Producer

Brian Yarnell
Director of Product Management


William Z. Tan Founder & President	The company was founded in 2002 by Mr. William "Bill" Z. Tan, a visionary thinker and social entrepreneur. Immigrating to the U.S. at age 15, Bill began high school in New York City with an English vocabulary of 500 words. In the ensuing years, he often accompanied his parents and grandparents to healthcare facilities, acting as their interpreter. The obstacles that confronted non-English speaking patients, along with the frustrations experienced by their healthcare providers, made an indelible impression on him. With the chronic shortage of trained medical interpreters and the adverse impact of language barriers on critical outcomes such as patient safety, quality of care, and satisfaction, sustainable solutions were clearly needed. At LanguageMate, Bill is leading a team of highly talented colleagues to pursue a sweeping vision—the creation of an array of cross-cultural communication tools that are technologically enabled, scientifically validated for effectiveness, and economically viable. Bill received a bachelor's degree from the Stern School of Business, New York University, where he served as the President of the Entrepreneur's Club. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine.

Vijay Bachani SVP of Finance & Operations	Vijay joined LanguageMate in the beginning of 2009 as Senior Vice President of Finance & Operations. As SVP Vijay has oversight and responsibility for all financial functions and oversees all revenues, costs, and budgets. In addition Vijay also has responsibility for setting the policy for the operations of the firm. From a very young age, Vijay developed an interest and passion for entrepreneurship. He started his first business during his sophomore year in high school. After graduating from college, he wanted to gain professional experience and know-how in Corporate America and joined Arthur Andersen. After graduating with his MBA, Vijay decided to pursue his passion and joined a financial start-up as a Portfolio Manager. Vijay earned his BS in Finance/International Business and his MBA at New York University's Stern School of Business.

Brian Engler Director of Technology	As Director of Technology, Brian sets the technology strategy of LanguageMate, leading all development efforts and managing day-to-day technical operations. He is responsible for establishing the technology architecture and infrastructure for all LanguageMate products. He previously served as Director of Application Development of Money-Media, a Financial Times Company, leading the technology team in growing and delivering financial news services to leading international financial institutions. Prior to that, Brian managed system and development teams as Director of Web Technology at Atkins Nutritionals. He was instrumental in the launch and expansion of a significant online information and e-commerce destination. Other engagements include projects for Vodafone, US State Department, and Nikon while at RightNow Technologies, an information sharing system for the United Nations Development Programme. Brian holds a degree from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York.

Robert Powers Supervising Producer	Robert comes to Languagemate having worked in the New York animation industry since 1999. He has always had a passion for storytelling in this medium. As Supervising Producer Robert is the driving force behind Languagemate's The Big Adventures of the MiniMities. Robert has directed on such shows as Nickelodeon's Little Bill, and The Wonder Pets. He has also worked on many nationwide broadcast commercial productions. Robert recently directed the award winning music video Test. The video has won the Silver Ace Award at the 2010 Las Vegas Film Festival as well as Best Music Video at the Cannes Independent Film Festival for 2010. Robert also directed on a multiple on-air and online creative advertising package for Moby's album Wait For Me in 2009. In addition this package included two fully animated music videos Mistake and One Time We Lived. Robert is a graduate from The School of Visual Arts in 1999 with a BA in Film/TV Animation.

Brian Yarnell Director of Product Management	Brian joined LanguageMate in 2010 as the Director of Product Management. In this role, Brian leads the effort to bring Languagemate's innovative technology to market. His team bridges the gap between business partners and internal research and development. Brian brings more than ten years of experience creating products across a variety of industries including consumer package goods, business intelligence, interactive marketing and digital media. Working at several technology startups, he has delivered cutting-edge solutions to some of the most respected organizations in the world including Anheuser-Busch, Colgate Palmolive, Diageo, ConAgra, Abbot Labs, SAP, Michigan State University and many others. Brian earned his BS in Marketing and International Business at the Pennsylvania State University.