About Robert Meese
In a 2017 interview, Bob Meese, then vice president of business at Duolingo, discussed his recent move back to Pittsburgh after eight years at Google in California. Meese said that Pittsburgh has experienced steady growth and that the university system, particularly Carnegie Mellon University, has been compelling in driving that growth. He described the presence of a Google office in the city as a powerful influence on Pittsburgh's development.
Meese stated that the foundation created by universities and larger companies like Google has generated opportunities for companies such as Duolingo, by attracting talent and creating a broader talent pool. He also noted that the energy around the city has increased since his childhood, with downtown becoming a more densely packed urban environment that creates a "buzz" that spills over into other areas.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Robert Meese's recent appearances.
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Transcript (4 segments)
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Interviewer0:23
So since you moved back a couple weeks ago, what would you say is the biggest difference that you notice now as opposed to when you were living here and growing up?
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Robert Meese0:30
Sure. For me, Pittsburgh has experienced steady growth over time, but looking at what are those changes that can really drive big growth... For me, I've always been interested in technology businesses. The university system here has been really compelling. One of the differences is the Google presence, the Google office here. It's something where I would come back there often during the last eight years as I was working at Google, and just seeing that impact on the development of this city was very, very powerful. And then how that whole foundation creates the opportunities for companies like Duolingo to build on top of it, having people come out of CMU with interesting technologies, and then having a broader group of people who are attracted by larger companies to come to this area, and then creating the talent pool to grow successful companies like Duolingo.
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Interviewer1:22
And what about the level of energy and excitement around technology in Pittsburgh?
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Robert Meese1:29
Yeah, one of the biggest differences as well is just the energy around the city. When I was growing up here, the city really wasn't... downtown proper wasn't an area where people spent a whole lot of time. And just that piece too, having more densely packed urban environments creates a lot of the buzz on the city that spills over into a lot of other elements.
