ABOUT US

Greeting From Our President & CEO.

Audrey Russo

Bottom line – we’re here to serve you – Pittsburgh Technology Council members.

Talent. Business development. Government Relations. Visibility. It is the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s mission to empower our members through these four core service areas. Over the last year, we have streamlined our capabilities based on member feedback to provide the most value by connecting them with direct business building opportunities and the essential resources that they need for business growth. With this model, we are not only providing the most value to our technology members, but we are simultaneously moving our region forward through a sustainable, cluster-based approach to technology-based economic development.

While no exact blueprint exists, we are privileged enough to work with companies who are driving this region’s future. The success of any company hinges upon the application of technology. Pittsburgh is on the cusp on regaining international prominence, but we will never achieve this without several close-knit, technology-driven clusters producing marketable innovations on a world-class level. Without a doubt, we are better positioned than many regions in this regard with competencies in several emerging industries including next generation hardware and software, entertainment technology, robotics, sensors, tissue engineering, medical devices and advanced manufacturing. However, to truly move this region forward, deeply integrated, vibrant communities must exist and grow within each of these cluster areas.

With this in mind, I believe that the current economic backdrop presents a very unique opportunity for our members to retrench and outmaneuver competitors in the marketplace. As part of our new value proposition, the Council is committed to fostering a fertile, interconnected environment where technology companies, no matter what size, can grow, make connections and do business with one another. I know that we will look back collectively upon this time in Pittsburgh’s history as a turning point driven by innovation and new technology commercialization.

Accordingly, we realize that there is much more work ahead of us, and like you, we are continuously improving our methods, measuring our results, being fiscally prudent and taking decisive strides as we move ahead. I promise that the exciting new relationships we have created in the last year and our streamlined approach to member service is just the beginning.

Bio

Audrey Russo comes to the Pittsburgh Technology Council from MAYA Design where she served as vice president of operations and chief financial officer since 2005. At MAYA Design, Russo was directly responsible for profit and loss accountability. She also directed all business processes of the software and product design firm, including contract negotiations, talent development, client relationships, project management, business development and resource management.

Prior to her time at MAYA Design, Russo served as the global director of human resources and technology policy for Alcoa. Prior to that, she was manager of Alcoa’s global people strategy, business systems and information technology. As a senior-level human resources and information technology strategist, she led successful efforts to deploy and optimize global IT systems and improve global access to information. She developed internal controls to increase value and reduce waste across manufacturing businesses in almost every region of the world; she helped to shape policy for socially responsible business practices, and she managed the people strategy for the integration of three company acquisitions within one year.

Prior to her tenure at Alcoa, Russo served as director of client relations and performance support services for Reynolds Metal Company’s corporate information technology, where one of her accomplishments was the migration of common information technology systems across the company.

Russo also spent about a decade working as an independent business strategy and organizational change consultant. Her Fortune 500 clients included AT&T, Lucent and Reynolds Metals, in addition to several small and mid-sized businesses, institutes of higher learning and non-profit organizations.

Russo also previously had spent six years as an adjunct faculty member and project director at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, where she was appointed to the governor of Virginia's Executive Leadership Program. While on faculty there, Russo designed and implemented curriculum for a leadership development program. She taught graduate-level courses in strategic planning and interdisciplinary collaboration, and she also acted as a mentor for trainers, produced publications and lectured at conferences.

Prior to her time at Virginia Commonwealth, Russo served as director of the Southside Virginia Training Center in Richmond where she was senior manger of an intermediate care facility for people with chronic health care needs, developmental disabilities and patients whose needs were associated with aging. She was responsible for a $5 million budget, and she supervised 240 employees. She had oversight of all aspects of human resources, as well as compliance with federal, state and private regulatory commissions. It was here that Russo initiated the design and deployment of a patient records-automation system, while also managing the architectural transformation of the facility and hitting target performance outcomes despite labor conflicts occurring at the same time.

Russo earned her bachelor of science degree in social work from Ohio State University. After graduation, she served as director of social work for Toledo’s Northwestern Ohio Developmental Center and then as project manager of criminal justice services for Stark County Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. She also served for a time as unit director for Apple Creek (Ohio) Developmental Center.

She entered Syracuse University on a scholarship at the Maxwell School of Public Affairs, and she graduated from there with a master’s degree in public administration.

Currently, Russo is a member of CEOs for Cities: Pittsburgh Innovation Design Team. In addition, she serves as a board member of the Pittsburgh CORO Center. Russo also served on the executive board of the Rudlin Torah Academy in Richmond. Other previous affiliations include the Medical College of Virginia Treatment Center for Children, the Richmond Jazz Society, the Virginia Mental Heath Players, the Richmond Jewish Community Center, the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation, Virginia Mental Heath and Retardation Services and the Autism Society of Virginia.