GlobalPittsburgh Presents International Bridge Awards to Foreign-Born Executives for Creating Jobs

GlobalPittsburgh today presented its International Bridge Awards to two executives in the Pittsburgh region who have built important connections between Pittsburgh and the rest of the world, symbolizing the importance of foreign-born entrepreneurs to the region’s economic and cultural vitality.

Priya Narasimhan
Yinzcam, Inc

Receiving the GlobalPittsburgh International Bridge Award for New Company Executive was Priya Narasimham, founder and Chief Executive Officer of YinzCam, Inc., an interactive application for sports fans, and associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University, for “securing or creating jobs locally at a startup through global growth and also enhancing the reputation and international strength of the Pittsburgh region,” from Giselle Leonardo, Chairperson of GlobalPittsburgh.

Receiving the GlobalPittsburgh International Bridge Award for the Corporate Member Executive was Raymond S. Kalouche, Chief Operating Officer of Tube City IMS and President and Chief Operating Officer of the company's Mill Services Group, for “securing or creating jobs by creating company growth globally and thereby also enhancing the reputation and international strength of the Pittsburgh region,” from Chairperson Giselle Leonardo.

Narasimhan was born in India and raised in Africa, and came to the United States to study at UC Santa Barbara before coming to CMU. She created YinzCam based on her belief that Pittsburgh should exploit its unique combination of high-tech capability and sports mania. Yinzcam also developed the first smartphone application for Pittsburgh drivers to report potholes to the city roads department. The company now employs 10 people in Pittsburgh, a number that increases during peak sports seasons.

Raymond Kalouche
Tube City IMS

Kalouche was born in Lebanon and was sent by his parents to the United States at the age of 18 to escape the war in his home country and to pursue a college degree. He earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Civil Engineering from The Ohio State University before joining IMS in 1989. IMS combined with Tube City in 2004 to form Tube City IMS.

Tube City IMS is the largest provider of outsourced industrial services to steel mills in North America, with 79 customer sites in 10 countries, and operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Trinidad, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Serbia, Slovakia, the Middle East and Taiwan. The company employs approximately 300 people in Western Pennsylvania and 2,200 nationwide.

GlobalPittsburgh, formerly the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors, is a non-profit organization that engages international delegations, groups and individuals by creating itineraries and facilitating introductions through the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and other international programming agencies in many fields, including energy and environment, life sciences and medicine, education, business and technology, clean/green design, advanced manufacturing, arts and culture, government and finance, social services and law, and other areas.

GlobalPittsburgh welcomes individuals and families to engage in citizen diplomacy as dinner and home stay hosts, tour guides, office and event volunteers, and greeters for visiting delegations and individuals, and also provides activities for internationals and globally-minded residents through the GlobalPittsburgh Connect program.

GlobalPittsburgh also recognized six members for hosting the most international visitors in their homes during 2011 and for “long and continuous service as a host or volunteer.” Receiving the GlobalPittsburgh Citizen Diplomat Awards were Rosemary Coffey, Ron Gaydos, Eva Hui, Adam Gubitosi, Christine Weaver and Clyde Weaver. The awards were presented by Chairperson Giselle Leonardo and Vice Chair Harry Edelman IV.

The organization also honored two of its partner resource organizations for hosting the most visiting delegations during the year. Receiving the awards were Project Olympus at CMU, a new partner resource, and the University of Pittsburgh, a longstanding partner resource whose Swanson School of Engineering met with numerous during 2011. The awards were presented by Chairperson Giselle Leonardo and Vice Chair Harry Edelman IV.

The GlobalPittsburgh International Bridge Awards have been presented since 1993 to recognize individuals and companies that have distinguished themselves in connecting Pittsburgh with the rest of the world, engaging in activities that benefit the Pittsburgh region and the countries in which they interact and do business.

Previous International Bridge Award recipients include Manchester Craftsman's Guild, Westinghouse Electric, Omnyx, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Medrad, Vivisimo, the H.J. Heinz Company, Alcoa, The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Sony Electronics, Fallingwater and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, and former Gov. Richard Thornburgh.

The awards were presented during GlobalPittsburgh’s Annual Dinner held at LeMont on Mt. Washington. The event featured Richard T. Herman, co-author of Immigrant, Inc. – Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs are Driving the New Economy and How They Will Save the American Worker.

For more than 50 years, GlobalPittsburgh, formerly known as the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors, has forged relationships between the Greater Pittsburgh Region and the global community through citizen diplomacy – connecting people and institutions in the region with audiences around the world through a wide range of hosting, training, networking, educational and outreach programs and services. For more information, go to www.globalpittsburgh.org.