Pittsburgh Innovates

Seven companies and a CEO received Tech 50 Awards during an elegant ceremony at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. Featured speaker and Pittsburgh native Regis McKenna, Silicon Valley marketing guru and author, offered sage words as the community strives to take its place among global leaders of technology.

“Innovation today requires a community and culture of big and small companies and universities working together,” McKenna noted. “The most innovative product development comes from companies that are less than 5 years old with less than 250 employees. Small companies become the incubators of larger companies.”

McKenna, whose high-tech marketing firm helped to rocket startups like Apple, America Online and Genentech to the top, encouraged the region to work together to embrace the innovative spirit of entrepreneurs.

PTC Council President and CEO Audrey Russo (see this week's Pop City story on her here) applauded the region’s efforts this year and reflected on the future of renewable energy and biotechnology for the region.

“As the world looks for clean technology, so they will increasingly look toward Pittsburgh,” she said. “If we get it right, Pittsburgh’s brightest days are just around the corner.”

This year’s winners of the 12^th annual Tech 50 Awards included:

• Respironics Inc., Advanced Manufacturing
• BitArmor, Information Technology
• Redpath Integrated Pathology Inc., Life Sciences
• BPL Global, Green Tech
• Cohera Medical, Rising Star
• MEDRAD Inc., High Rise
• Newton Consulting, Service Provider
• Greg Babe, Bayer MaterialScience, CEO of the Year

For a complete listing of the Tech 50 nominees, click here.

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Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Audrey Russo and Kevin Lane, PTC, Regis McKenna, Regis McKenna Inc.