Maria Perillo is an EdTech product leader and computational linguist with extensive experience designing and developing digital learning products across language learning, executive education, and lifelong learning.

At ABA English, she led the design and development of the ABA English Campus and mobile applications, helping transform the company’s learning methodology into scalable digital experiences and contributing to its growth to over 30 million students worldwide. Her work received international recognition at the Reimagine Education Awards, including the Best Educational App Award in 2015, a Gold Award in 2019, and a Bronze Award for Blended Learning in 2022.

As Director of the ABA English Language Lab research center, she led the development of English Skill, the first AI-powered language learning skill in the world for Amazon Alexa, created in collaboration with the Auto-ID Lab at MIT.

She currently works at IESE Business School, where she leads product initiatives focused on digital learning and lifelong learning, exploring how AI, content, and learning experiences can better support executives throughout their careers.

Her work with AI in education builds on her background in computational linguistics and educommunication, and a long-standing interest in how people learn through dialogue. Today, she explores human-machine interaction as a new learning space, looking at how the way we communicate with AI can foster reflection, critical thinking and meaningful learning while keeping human judgement and agency at the centre.