What’s in a name?
Arribar means “to arrive” in Spanish, and Va means “to go” in several languages. Together, Arriva represents not just arriving, but going somewhere when you do.
Our founding story
Growing up in a working-poor neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY and spending her summers with her grandparents in the rural mountain village of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Leslie learned at an early age that hard work put food on the table, but rarely changed circumstances.
Leslie’s grandfather, Emilio, spent his life as an agricultural worker, toiling in the sugarcane fields of Puerto Rico until the industry collapsed after WWII. With few local alternatives he took a course in agriculture at the local community college and like many other men of his era became a seasonal contract laborer in the United States. As a young girl, Leslie remembers her grandfather telling her stories of working from dawn to dusk as a contractor and flying back and forth for months at a time. As his wages were not enough, and there was no hint of benefits, Leslie’s grandmother took a job as a cook at the local school to support five children.
There are many hardworking people like Leslie’s grandparents who have paved the way for future generations. Unfortunately, most arrived on a nightmare while wishing on a dream. The manual labor jobs of Leslie’s grandparents have largely been replaced with technology positions and we often hear stories of engineers in far-off lands working for leading US firms. In the end, however, their outcomes are not all that different from that of Leslie’s grandfather. They may be paid better, and no longer work under the burning sun, but there is still no opportunity to build the generational wealth that these technology positions could offer. Leslie is passionate about changing this narrative.
"To advance toward a true meritocracy, it is critical companies ensure a level playing field in advancement and opportunity — no matter where people live and work."
Founder & CEO
Leslie Pesante
As a finance professional, Leslie Pesante has played a critical role developing strategy and leading chief executives in the fast-paced world of high-growth technology startups and scaleups. She prepared Etsy to go public, built the finance department at Skillshare, and fortified the operational foundation at publicly traded OnDeck.
Leslie has the ability to both see the big picture and build and galvanize teams to deliver unprecedented results. Her passion for building companies and supporting individuals in their growth inspired her to create Arriva.