Company leader
Ken Accardi
CEO
Ankota
Ken Accardi is the chief executive of Ankota, which makes software for agencies that help older and disabled people live at home. He co-founded the company as its chief technology officer and took full ownership in 2014.
From Queens to New Jersey
Accardi was born in Queens, New York, and grew up in New Jersey. He was born with pseudoarthrosis of the tibia, and the main bone in his lower left leg broke when he first tried to stand as a baby and would not heal. Doctors raised amputation around the time he reached middle school, his mother asked them to wait, and the bone eventually healed.
Engineer turned owner
Accardi was an original founder of Ankota and its first CTO, leading product development, professional services, and customer support. In January 2014 he bought the company's assets from the other co-founders and moved operations to Boston, Massachusetts. He held other jobs for a time while he steadied the business, then became CEO in June 2015.
Avoiding the hospital
When he took over, Accardi pointed Ankota at keeping people out of the hospital: "My vision has always been to shift the focus of health care from the hospital to 'avoiding the hospital'." Since then the company has added EVV, adult day, I/DD, and self-direction software, along with its KOTA Companion app for older adults.
Teaching and the podcast
Accardi earned an MBA at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in 2003, and he teaches one class a semester there, Digital Technologies for Entrepreneurs. He also hosts Home Care Heroes and Day Service Stars, Ankota's podcast for home care and day service operators.
Personal life
Accardi and his wife moved from Wellesley into Boston's Millennium Tower in January 2017. He plays trumpet, taught himself piano, and follows the Red Sox, a habit he picked up during his MBA.