Smith Yewell
CEO and Founder

• Founded the company in 1997.
• Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2004 winner in Maryland in the Realizing Business Potential category presented by Microsoft.
• Deloitte & Touche's prestigious "Technology Fast 50" Program winner in Maryland 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
• "Firm of the Year" winner in 2004 awarded by the Tech Council of Maryland's Frederick County Chapter.
• Finalist for Maryland's International Business Leadership Award in 2003.
• US Army Bronze Star winner in Operation Desert Storm.
• Tulane University, BA in English.

Chris Grebisz
Chief Operating Officer

• Chris Grebisz brings over 10 years of global operations management experience to Welocalize and is an expert in localization workflow, QA testing and project management methodologies.
• Formerly CEO and co-founder of GSSI which merged with Welocalize in 2002.
• Has spearheaded more than 50 globalization implementations for both large, established companies such as Microsoft and Xerox as well as smaller growth companies such as Freemarkets and Ariba.
• Expertise includes enterprise-wide globalization strategy and methodology development and internationalization requirements definition.
• Linfield College, BA Sociology.

Eugene McGinty
Managing Director, Ireland

• As CEO and founder of Connect Global Solutions, which merged with Welocalize in 2005, Eugene McGinty brings over 20 years of business leadership to Welocalize.
• Finalist Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2003 in Ireland.
• Special commendation from Deloitte & Touche's Technology Fast 50 Program for making top ten 3 years in succession.
• Prior to founding Connect, Eugene held senior management positions with Apple's subsidiary Claris, Lotus Development and IBM.
• BS degree in Computer Science from the University of Ulster.

Gary Prioste
Vice President

• Gary Prioste brings over 20 years of experience in the delivery and support of complex IT solutions, with significant senior level experience in business management, strategic development and operations.
• CEO and President of Localize Technologies, which merged with Welocalize in August of 2007.
• Founder and CEO of Servinet Consulting in San Francisco, an IT consulting firm he grew to over $25m in revenues.
• Gary is a graduate of CSUH and the Executive Program at Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.

Olga Blasco
Director, Global Language Services & Germany Operations

• Olga Blasco brings over 10 years of experience in the localization industry to Welocalize.
• Expert in implementing Language Services improvement plans in global companies designed to align business requirements with quality management, vendor development, translation technology and language asset management.
• Prior to joining Welocalize, Olga held the positions of Language Group Manager and Business Unit Manager at Lionbridge Ireland (formerly Bowne Global Solutions and Berlitz GlobalNET).
• Her extensive management experience includes leading, recruiting and coaching successful teams of Language Coordinators, Resource Managers and Project Managers through mergers and acquisitions.
• BA in Translation and Interpreting (English, German) from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain).

Yolanda Tan
General Manager, China

• Yolanda Tan brings over 7 years of localization and management experience to Welocalize.
• She served as General Manager of Transco, which merged with Welocalize in 2006.
• Additionally, her experience as a translator, and Manager of Translation and Vendor Management for Transco brings her knowledge and expertise in both localization and operations management.
• She is an advocate of process control and management in localization.
• MA Degree in Material Science from Zhejiang University.

Sunil Sadhwani
General Manager, Japan

• Sunil Sadhwani brings over 15 years of experience in the localization industry.
• He recently served as Director of Sales and Marketing at TOIN Corp, one the largest MLVs in Japan.
• Sunil was instrumental in establishing the localization division in TOIN and growing the company from an SLV to an Asian Language Vendor by 2001.
• He founded his own translation company in 1990, which he successfully turned into a localization company and sold to ITP in 1999 (currently known as SDL Japan).

Robert (Butch) Pfremmer
Vice President, eLearning Practice

• Butch Pfremmer brings over 20 years of globalization experience and expertise in eLearning localization and translation methodologies.
• Prior to joining Welocalize, Butch held various management and development roles in software design, software development and training responsibilities at companies such as IBM, Control Data and Unisys.
• Butch was Chief Architect and team leader for IBM's Translation Workbench suite used in IBM development labs and translation centers worldwide for the internationalization of IBM software products.
• Formerly Vice President of Tools and Technology position at Language Management International (LMI) and Director of Language Technology Consulting position at ALPNET, Inc.
• BS in Computer Science; BSBA Accounting; University of North Dakota. Graduate Certificate work in Human-Computer-Interface (HCI) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Willem Stoeller
Vice President, Security/Storage and Supply Chain Practice

• Willem Stoeller brings over 15 years of globalization experience and expertise in project management.
• Has held senior management positions at Andersen Consulting and several US software companies.
• Certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
• Has served on the Board of the Project Management Institute Silicon Valley Chapter.
• Frequent lecturer at the Localization Institute, Localization World and Client Side News.
• Visiting Professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
• PhD from Amsterdam University.

Julia Yewell
Vice President, Finance

• As a co-founder of Welocalize, Julia Yewell has managed the company's Accounting Department since its inception in 1997.
• Julia brings over 15 years of valuable Financial Management experience to Welocalize.
• Prior to Welocalize, Julia founded a successful leather accessories manufacturing and retail business in Riga, Latvia.
• Her finance background includes various management positions in leading global banking institutions.
• Julia holds a BA degree in Economics and Accounting from The University of Latvia.