Roger Cranville Steps Down as GlobalPittsburgh Executive Director; Donald Bonk Named Acting Executive Director

PITTSBURGH, January 5, 2012 – Giselle Leonardo, Chair of the GlobalPittsburgh Board of Directors, today announced that Roger O. Cranville has stepped down as Executive Director of the organization.

GlobalPittsburgh has contracted with Donald M. Bonk to serve as Acting Executive Director. He served previously as Director of Strategic Business Connections at Carnegie Mellon University under a Heinz Endowments grant. He also earned a Master’s Degree in Public Management at Carnegie Mellon. He spent 7½ years as a Regional Coordinator in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s International Trade Program and has served the past eight years as a member of the U.S. Foreign and Commercial Service’s District Export Council. He is President of the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Club of Western PA/Pittsburgh, a member of the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Pittsburgh Entrepreneur Fund Advisory Committee, and a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh’s Class XXIV.

“Roger is pursuing other professional goals, and we wish him all the best,” Ms. Leonardo said. “Roger has been particularly valuable in attracting international business leaders and other key opinion leaders to our region. He has contributed greatly to the growth of this organization, which plays a very important role in connecting people, companies, universities, and governments in this region with their counterparts around the world. It also meets the needs of students from other countries who study in the region’s colleges and universities. We are grateful for his strong and lasting commitment to building international connections and global awareness in the greater Pittsburgh region.”

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.

In an email message this week, Mr. Cranville told recipients "I have decided that after 2.5 years it is time for me to take my next career step. GlobalPittsburgh has been a great experience and enabled me to continue with my passion to contribute to the globalization and resulting economic growth of the Pittsburgh region. In August of 2009, I moved from my position on the board of directors to fulfill the role of Executive Director for PCIV. PCIV is now doing business as GlobalPittsburgh and, as such, has a larger footprint and greater regional impact. GlobalPittsburgh is now more diverse in its programs and services and poised for growth despite these challenging economic times. I thank my GlobalPittsburgh colleagues and members of the Board of Directors for allowing me the privilege of contributing to such a worthwhile organization."

For more information, go to www.globalpittsburgh.org.

Donald M. Bonk
Acting Executive Director
GlobalPittsburgh
650 Smithfield Street, Suite 1180
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Office: (412) 392-4513
Mobile: (814) 244-7888
dbonk@globalpittsburgh.org
www.globalpittsburgh.org