ZP Better Together (ZP), a leading provider of accessible communication solutions, today announced a new executive leadership team and renewed investments in technology, customer experience, and human-centered innovation. The initiative is designed to expand communication access for Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard-of-hearing people across workplaces, healthcare, education, public services, and everyday life.
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Jeff Cordell, Chief Executive Officer
The appointments include Jeff Cordell as Chief Executive Officer, Chris Estrin as Chief Experience Officer, Joshua Pennise as Chief Commercial Officer, and Shane Scaramuzzi as Chief Financial Officer. Together, they bring experience in accessibility, communications technology, customer experience, finance, commercial growth, and organizational transformation.
ZP will accelerate investment in secure, intuitive solutions that combine AI and cloud technology with professional human expertise that is rooted in Deaf community insight. The goal is to make communication more natural and accessible at home, at work, and on the go.
“Accessibility is not a choice between people and technology—it is about making them stronger together,” said Jeff Cordell, Chief Executive Officer. “ZP will pair human expertise and lived experience with secure, intuitive technology to remove barriers, expand opportunity, and make communication more natural wherever people connect.”
The Next Era of Accessible Communications
ZP’s transformation is guided by a simple belief: accessibility should be effortless, intelligent, secure, and designed around people. The strategy combines human expertise from sign language interpreters and accessibility professionals; AI, cloud platforms, and next-generation communications; and partnerships with Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard-of-hearing communities.
Strategic Product and Experience Priorities
ZP’s product and experience strategy focuses on four priorities: human-centered innovation shaped by the Deaf community; AI that supports interpreters, streamlines workflows, and personalizes experiences; trusted communications grounded in security, privacy, compliance, and reliability; and connected video, mobile, cloud, and enterprise accessibility solutions.
ZP will focus on improving Video Relay Service (VRS), Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), mobile experiences, captioning, on-site interpreting, and enterprise communication-access solutions. Customer insight and rigorous standards for security, privacy, compliance, reliability, and ease of use will guide development.
Leadership Built for Transformation
Jeff Cordell | Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Cordell is a growth-driven technology executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning communications, cloud platforms, healthcare advocacy, and language access. As ZP’s CEO, he will bring human expertise and next-generation technology together to expand communication access across healthcare, employment, education, and daily life.
His leadership record includes CEO, CIO, and CTO roles across Health Advocate, LanguageLine Solutions, and a portfolio of TP businesses. He has led the digital transformation of global language-access services and advanced cloud platforms supporting voice, video, and mobile communications. A former U.S. Air Force captain and University of Notre Dame electrical engineering graduate, he is a named inventor on more than 30 patents spanning digital communications, AI, and cloud technologies.
Chris Estrin | Chief Experience Officer
As Chief Experience Officer, Chris Estrin will lead customer experience, usability, marketing communications, and Voice of the Customer. He will ensure ZP’s technology, products, and experiences reflect the lived experiences of the Deaf community.
Estrin joined ZP’s executive team in 2007 and brings more than 25 years of management experience. A nationally recognized Deaf leader, he served more than 10 years on the National Association of the Deaf board, including as president from 2012 to 2016, and serves on the Rochester Institute of Technology Board of Trustees. He holds degrees from RIT and Colorado State University.
“Deaf communities have long challenged the world to think differently about accessibility,” said Chris Estrin, Chief Experience Officer. “The best innovation starts by listening. We will build technology that reflects lived experience, preserves choice, strengthens human connection, and expands opportunity.”
Joshua Pennise | Chief Commercial Officer
Joshua Pennise joins ZP as Chief Commercial Officer, leading growth with organizational customers across workplace VRS, captioning, on-site interpreting, VRI, and other enterprise communication-access solutions in collaboration with other TP businesses.
Pennise brings 26 years of experience as a certified ASL interpreter and interpreting-services leader. He spent 16 years at Sorenson Communications, including seven on its executive team, later served as CEO of TCS Interpreting, and built a consulting practice serving interpreting companies, investors, and AI startups. He holds a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from Old Dominion University and MBAs from London Business School and Columbia University. He is president of the Association of Language Companies.
Shane Scaramuzzi | Chief Financial Officer
Shane Scaramuzzi has been appointed Chief Financial Officer after serving as interim CFO since February 2026. He will lead financial strategy and operations, align resources with ZP’s priorities, and support sustainable investment and growth.
Scaramuzzi brings more than 20 years of experience across Fortune 500 companies, startups, and consulting, including roles at AT&T, Conagra Brands, TrueCar, and Inflect. Since joining ZP, he has strengthened forecasting, accountability, audit and compliance, and technical accounting while introducing AI-enabled reporting and analytics. He holds degrees from DePaul University and Northern Illinois University.
About ZP Better Together
ZP Better Together is a leading provider of communication-access solutions serving Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard-of-hearing people through Video Relay Service (VRS), Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), on-site interpreting, captioning, and enterprise accessibility solutions. As part of TP’s Specialized Services, ZP combines innovative technology with human expertise to help people connect confidently at home, at work, and on the go. For more information, please visit ZP Better Together.
To view an American Sign Language interpretation of this press release, please visit ZP.
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