TiE Ohio International Entrepreneur Awards
Windows on the River
September 20, 2011

The 2nd annual TiE International Entrepreneur Awards were held in a ceremony at Windows on the River. The awards were created to recognize the achievements of international entrepreneurs helping to reshape and rebuild Ohio's business landscape and to highlight how international entrepreneurs contribute to the local economy.

Reka Barabas, Director of TiE Ohio, welcomed the crowd to the 2011 TiE Ohio International Awards Ceremony.

Reka Barabas, Director of TiE Ohio

Pradip Kamat

Dr. Hiroyuki Fujita, President and CEO of
Quality Electrodynamics (QED) and eQED

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Reka Barabas thanked Dr. Hiroyuki Fujita after his keynote

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Immigration Attorney and TiE Ohio Co-Chair Richard Herman told how immigrants are driving the job-producing startups in the US.

Richard Herman

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Richard Herman then introduced TiE Community Catalyst Award Recipients Anthony Yen and Jeanette Grasselli Brown.

Richard Herman





TiE Community Catalyst Award Recipient Dr. Jeanette Grasselli Brown

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Dr Anthony Yen

Radhika Reddy

1. Immigrant Entrepreneur Award <$5M . This award recognizes an entrepreneur who was born outside the U.S., started his or her company in Ohio, and the business currently generates annual revenues under $5M). Finalists were Laura Bennett (Embrace Pet Insurance), Dr. Charu Ramanathan (CardioInsight), and Bahman Taheri (Alphamicron).

2. Immigrant Entrepreneur Award >$5M. This award recognizes an entrepreneur who was born outside the U.S., started his or her company in Ohio, and the business currently generates annual revenues above $5M). Finalists were Saji Daniel (Tradex), Stella Moga-Kennedy (Le Chaperon Rouge), and Alex Sonis (AVADirect).

3. Global Entrepreneur Award This award recognizes an entrepreneur, either foreign-born or local-born, who started his or her company in Ohio and has a global presence today). Finalists were Yuval Brisker (TOA Technologies), Dr. Mehran Mehregany (Nine Sigma), and Rini Das (Pakra).

4. International Student Innovator Award. A new award this year, this award recognizes an international student currently enrolled at a higher education institution in Ohio (or graduated within the past year) who has shown leadership and entrepreneurial spirit. Finalists were Lingxiao Xue from CWRU (Chinese Student Housing Program), Kshitij C. Jha from the University of Akron (BienaTech), Rakib Islam from the College of Wooster and Abdullah Alkhaddah from Kent State (Kent H.O.M.E. Markets).

It was an inspiring night. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners and to TiE Ohio for hosting these important awards. Enjoy these photos from the evening.

TiE Community Catalyst Award Recipients
Anthony Yen and Jeanette Grasselli Brown

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2011 Tie Ohio International Entrepreneur Award Winners

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Pulkit Gupta, Dr and Mrs Hiroyuki Fujita and Richard Herman

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Bahman Taheri of Alphamicron with award

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Gia Hoa Ryan and Dr Anthony Yen

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Richard Eastburn, Byron Dillard and Pat Valente

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Reka Barabas and Larry Miller

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Cathy Belk and Radhika Reddy

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Lev Kavfhik, Pradip Kamat and Alok Kavfhik

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Phil Alexander and Rita Patel

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Stella Moga-Kennedy and Tom Sudow

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Albert Ratner and Baiju Shah

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Olga Sonis with son (and finalist) Alex Sonis of AVADirect

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Award winner Bahman Taheri and Tamas Kosa of Alphamicron

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Finalists Charu Ramanathan of CardioInsight and Laura Bennett of Embrace Pet Insurance

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Finalist Rini Das of PAKRA with award

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Mrs and Dr. Anthony Yen

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Stella Moga-Kennedy of Le Chaperon Rouge

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Lt. Colonel Joe Meissner and Doug Sebring

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Judy Wong of Margaret W. Wong & Associates and Richard Herman

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Gia Hoa Ryan of Saigon Plaza and Dan Hanson of ClevelandPeople.Com

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Andy Zynga accepted the award for Mehran Mehregany and Nine Sigma

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Alex Sonis of AVADirect with award

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Award winner Kshitij C Jha of BienaTech with advisors

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Radhika Reddy and Stella Moga-Kennedy

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2011 TiE Awards finalists and winners

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