About

Company

What We Do
Who We Are

It all started with this: what if we could help make the lives of people with disabilities better. Many companies offer ramps, wider isles, talking ATMs, accessible washrooms or automatic doors. But we saw a widening gap between the physical and digital world for people with disabilities.

Our digital accessibility solution then became the catalyst in helping educate purpose-driven organizations on the benefits of enhancing the customer experience for people with disabilities. We were soon able to form a global coalition of private and public sector organizations, who came together to make digital platforms welcoming to people of all abilities and to ensure the delivery of a transformational experience with universal appeal.
We didn’t stop there. We worked closely with organizations like the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) and inaugurated the People with Disabilities category in their annual Multicultural Excellence Award. Winners in the category include brands such as Duracell, Kimberley Clark, and Jockey.

We are headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and have offices in the United States and Brazil.

Our team is made up of a bunch of people crazy enough to believe that web accessibility is more than just good coding, it’s also giving people with disabilities a suite of tools for them to navigate the web.

Executive Team

Simon Dermer
CEO & Co-Founder
eSSENTIAL Accessibility’s innovative market driven approach is informed by Simon’s health care industry experience as a business development executive with a network provider and owner of an outpatient rehabilitative services facility. Simon graduated in economics from Queen’s University and completed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program.

Spiro Papathanasakis
COO & Co-Founder
Spiro’s background, with his experience in front line consumer services with some on the largest companies in the financial and healthcare sectors and as a developer of consumer-friendly digital claims, informs eSSENTIAL Accessibility’s innovative market driven approach. Spiro graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science.

Mark Steele
President & Co-Founder
Mark is a sales and business development leader with over 20 years of experience working with technology companies that offer compelling and in most cases, disruptive solutions to the marketplace.

Joanne Pires
Director of Marketing
Joanne’s passion for B2B marketing stems from her experience developing marketing strategies and campaigns for organizations in a number of different industries. At eSSENTIAL Accessibility, Joanne and her team drive business growth by developing programs and campaigns in following areas: demand generation, content, partnerships, sales enablement and other strategic initiatives. Prior to leading marketing efforts at eSSENTIAL Accessibility, she garnered experience working at agencies and SaaS start-ups in the Toronto area. Joanne holds a Master of Arts and a Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto.

Aurélio Pimenta
Director of the Latin America and Portugal regions.
Aurélio has a PhD in human physiology from the University of São Paulo and a post-doctorate in Metabolism from York University. Aurélio’s ambition to apply his scientific knowledge of the human body to the development of assistive technologies brought him to Toronto’s George Brown College where he assumed a Research Commercialization and Innovation role and taught Human Physiology and Biomechanics. Assigned to lead an assistive technology related project, this experience solidified his interest in focusing on the transformative effects of these technologies in a digital context for people with disabilities. In his position at eSSENTIAL Accessibility, Aurélio is able to translate knowledge into innovative solutions every day.

Chris Robbins
Director of Finance and Technology
Chris provides leadership for the continued development of an innovative, robust, and secure information technology environment throughout the organization. He brings more than 10 years of experience in the field of information technology and has a diverse background building and leading both private and public-sector technology teams. Chris holds a MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Bentley University.

Eduardo Meza-Etienne
Director of Compliance
Eduardo, a brain injury survivor, has been involved in the accessibility and disabilities field for 20 years working for numerous government agencies and small contractors in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. He is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals and is the Accessibility Chair for the DC Metro BLN. Eduardo holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics, a Master of Science in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Master’s degree in International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, AZ.

Naré Hamboyan
Director of Client Services
Naré drives client engagement and helps organizations optimize their utilization of eSSENTIAL Accessibility’s comprehensive digital accessibility solution. By building deeper relationships and ensuring the quality of delivered services, Naré fosters positive client experiences and success for both brand partners and the company. Naré holds a MBA from the Schulich School of Business.

Kara Zirkle
Manager, Compliance and Training
Kara has over 18 years’ experience working with individuals with disabilities and education/outreach. She is an advocate and educator with regard to providing technical support, awareness and guidance on assistive technologies as well as the laws around overall accessibility and those that protect individuals with disabilities. Kara holds a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts from West Virginia University.