BuyBackWorld wants to be the quickest and simplest online marketplace for instant price quotes for all your consumer electronics recycling needs. Here are the people who are creating that vision and leading the way.

Andreas Leptourgos

President, Co-Founder and CEO

A lover of tech and particularly smartphones, Andreas brings a high-intensity energy and enthusiasm to work each and every day which is transpired throughout the entire company, encouraging and promoting a workspace where passion for technology and environmental responsibility meld together. He works with each and every member of the BuyBackWorld team to provide guidance and stay involved in the pulse of everyday business.

Andreas has always been intrigued by what he coins the “cultural fascination” of people in different countries who are always interested in what the inhabitants of a another country possess, whether it is music, food, fashion or in this case, technology. Driven by a longing to unearth the psychological drivers behind the motivations of behavioral buying, Andreas always thought of smartphones as a “disruptive technology” that would forever change the way we interact with each other and seek and attain information.

Acting on these beliefs and using his background with financial markets to entertain the idea that used electronics could be commoditized and turned into “trading vehicles” on a liquid secondary market, Andreas took the idea from an abstract concept to reality with the launch of BuyBackWorld. Under Andreas’ leadership BuyBackWorld is currently experiencing a hypergrowth mode, with revenues growing around 100% per quarter.

Prior to co-founding BuyBackWorld, Andreas earned a Bachelor of Science at Boston University’s School of Management with a dual concentration in Finance and Accounting and started his career as a retail analyst with Citi in New York before becoming an associate at Wells Fargo, helping to effectively manage $300 million in assets for corporate executives both domestically and internationally.

Favorite Smartphone: iPhone 4S (can't wait for Siri)

Steven J. Francess

COO and Co-Founder

Driven by a boundless passion for technology, the internet, and philanthropy, Steve’s overwhelming enthusiasm resonates through his every contribution to the growth and development of BuyBackWorld and the company’s relationship with its clients, stakeholders, and employees. Since the company’s inception in 2009, Steve has played a vital and dedicated role in every aspect of the company’s growth and development, building the business from the ground up. Described by his friends and peers as an extremely hard-working “night-owl entrepreneur,” Steve can typically be found working tirelessly day and night, with the help of a large cups of coffee, to nurture BuyBackWorld’s through its period of hyper-growth and expansion.

Steve brings nearly 10 years experience in e-commerce, online marketplace solutions, mobile technology, and consumer electronics. Possessing a unique “connection” with the internet since he was a child, Steve understands and appreciates the importance of how a business needs to deliver its service to its clients through the World Wide Web in a first class way. He also firmly believes that an excellent customer service experience is essential to developing a brand that is both trusted and appreciated by its customers, citing Walt Disney’s famous quote, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.”

Steve emphasizes that it is these principles along with delivering on promises that are at the heart of how BuyBackWorld does business. It is these guiding principles that resonate through his enthusiastic management style and keeps new clients coming through the door.

Prior to coming on full time as COO of BuyBackWorld, Steve worked at the top tier financial services institution Morgan Stanley for 3 years. He left the firm shortly after a promotion to Associate to pursue his dream as a full time entrepreneur in the internet and technology space.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major concentration in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Villanova University’s Villanova School of Business.

Favorite electronic devices:  Blackberry Bold smartphone, which is super-glued to his hand and ear, and his Nintendo 64 game system, which he still refuses to upgrade and sell to BuyBackWorld.