FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Graziella DiNuzzo
609-680-7670
[email protected]
 
Linda Conlin to Transition as President of The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia
After 13 years of dedicated service, Conlin will step down from her role later this year.
 
Philadelphia, PA (July 28, 2022) – The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP) announced today that President Linda Conlin will transition out of the role she has held after 13 years of service. The WTCGP Board has appointed a Committee to conduct the search for a new president.
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“I was fortunate to have the opportunity at the WTCGP to continue to work in a field that I know and enjoy with a supportive Board and talented team – all dedicated to helping our small businesses and communities grow through global trade,” says Conlin. “Despite the challenges that the global economy has faced these last few years, I am optimistic about the future and the ability of the WTCGP to bring the benefits of trade to more small businesses, including minority- and women-owned businesses, expanding the impact to more communities in the Greater Philadelphia region.”

During her tenure, the WTCGP became recognized as Greater Philadelphia’s preeminent nonprofit trade services provider, as well as a leading member of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), made up of more than 300 members worldwide, where Conlin served on a number of advisory committees and councils. Under her leadership, the WTCGP became one of the most effective economic development organizations and catalysts for economic growth and job creation in the region. Over the past thirteen years, Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey companies assisted by the WTCGP’s trade team recorded a total of $1.7B in increased export sales, supporting and generating thousands of family-sustaining jobs through global trade.

“As Chair, I have had the great honor of working closely with Linda and have seen firsthand the incredible impact she has made on our organization. I want to sincerely thank Linda for her tireless dedication to the WTCGP, and I look forward to her future support of the WTCGP and initiatives she championed,” says Gary Biehn, Partner, White & Williams and Chairman of the WTCGP Board. “I am confident that Linda will continue to make an impact in our communities and the international work that has been her passion.”

Having previously served as Assistant Secretary for Trade Development in the U.S. Department of Commerce and later as Vice Chair of the Export-Import Bank, Conlin brought to the region her knowledge of trade and trade policy, leveraging her prior experience to forge important partnerships with leading international trade agencies and departments, including the Export-Import Bank, the World Bank, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, to name a few. Through these partnerships, the WTCGP expanded access to trade finance and other services for local exporters.

Lauren Swartz, President & CEO, World Affairs Council of Philadelphia remarks, “Linda’s leadership has empowered a group of diverse, thriving businesses across our region to become stronger, more stable and grow thanks to expanding sales around the world. Her impact, as a sage mentor and ready partner, on those of us working to grow the local economy through trade will be long lasting. The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia remains a pillar of our region’s economic development strategy and Linda’s leadership will be missed!”

Over the past thirteen years, the WTCGP received over $3M in grant support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, providing resources essential to the support of the region’s small business exporters. Under Conlin’s leadership, the WTCGP remained a leading Regional Export Network Partner with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, accounting for up to one-quarter of the state’s overall export results.

“Linda Conlin has been a leader and a driving force behind the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia for over 13 years,” John Curley, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Sandmeyer Steel, recounts. “Her international experience and vision of trade have enabled many Pennsylvania companies to participate in global markets.”

To highlight the importance of trade as a tool for local economic growth and family-sustaining job creation, Conlin oversaw the production of events like the WTCGP’s Annual Global Business Conference (GBC) and World Trade Centers Day Awards Celebrations, bringing together the best of thought leadership in the industry to Philadelphia’s business community and recognizing companies for their global achievement.

“… Linda is truly a one-in-a-lifetime leader who could always be relied upon for her incredible knowledge on matters of international trade as well as for her impeccable organizational talent,” says Robin van Puyenbroeck, Executive Director - Business Development for the WTCA. “I am privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Linda and to receive her counsel on many matters, for which I am very grateful. While Linda will be dearly missed in the day-to-day I know she will never be far away from the WTCA – or from contributing to the promotion and facilitation of international trade.”

In its 20th anniversary year, Conlin has positioned the WTCGP well for the organization’s next decade and beyond, with the launch of its new, Selling to the World initiative, aimed at expanding exports for the region’s small- and medium-sized businesses with a focus on opening global opportunity to minority and women-owned enterprises.
The WTCGP board, staff, members and partners with whom Conlin has worked over the years are thankful for her dedicated leadership and commitment to its mission of “bringing growth and prosperity to businesses, communities and neighborhoods in Greater Philadelphia and worldwide through global trade and investment.”
Applications for the role of WTCGP President may be sent to [email protected].
 
About the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia: The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP) is a nonprofit, membership-based organization that accelerates global business growth for companies in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey. Since 2002, WTCGP has served as a catalyst for regional economic growth and job creation, helping area companies generate over $2.2B in incremental export sales in the region. WTCGP is a member of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA). Visit wtcphila.org.

Media Contact: Graziella DiNuzzo  609-680-7670  [email protected]

Philadelphia, PA…. July 20, 2023…. The Board of Directors of the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP), a leading nonprofit membership-driven organization with a mission to bring growth, prosperity, and peace to businesses, communities, and neighborhoods in Greater Philadelphia and worldwide through global trade and investment, is pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas N. Young as the President and CEO effective August 1, 2023.  WTCGP President Linda Conlin retired in January 2023. 
 
“I want to thank the entire Board of Directors and the Search Committee for its work over the last seven months in identifying Thomas as our next President and CEO.  I know Thomas will be an outstanding President and CEO.  Especially want to thank Linda Conlin for her leadership at the WTCGP over the last thirteen years and wish Linda the best in her well-earned retirement,” says Board Chair and Partner, KPMG, Joseph Scalio.
 
“The WTCGP Board of Directors is extremely excited about the public and private relationships which Thomas Young brings to our international network.  We are confident that Thomas’ leadership will elevate our influence and develop and grow our membership revenues and number of employees,” said Steven Bradley, Board Vice Chair, WTCGP and Principle, One-Digital. 
 
“I am honored and humbled to be appointed new President and CEO of the WTCGP. I would like to thank the Board for their full support, and I look forward to leading this great organization,” said Young. 
 
With more than a decade of experience in legislative affairs, policy advising and public engagement, Young joined the Board of Directors of WTCGP in September of 2022. As a WTCGP Board Member, Young also served on the Global Diversity Advisory Council and the Selling to the World program, which is focused on teaching, mentoring, and empowering Minority and Women-Owned businesses to become successful international exporters. 
 
Young will transition from his current role as Senior Associate at Bellevue Strategies, a lobbying, advocacy, and strategic communications firm. During his tenure at Bellevue Strategies, Young assisted clients to secure over $27 million state funding for capital projects in the Greater Philadelphia area. Young has served as the liaison to the Chairperson of the Delaware River Port Authority, identifying procurement opportunities for a portfolio of businesses in the infrastructure and professional services industries, and planned, developed, and implemented government relations strategies and legislative agendas for clients at the local and state levels.
 
Young also has experience working with various political campaigns including Ken Lawrence for Montgomery County Commissioner, Donna Bullock for State Representative, and Lynne Abraham for Mayor. 
 
Young’s early professional career began in sports when he played professional basketball in Hamburg, Germany, and after returning to the states in 2012, was a basketball coach at his alma mater, Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
 
Young is an alumnus of Committee of Seventy’s Bucholz Fellows and serves on several boards, including the Police Athletic League (PAL) of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Outward Bound School. 
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Young holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he played basketball and earned All-American honors, player of the year honors, and led the team to the Division II National Championship game. 
 
He lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife Melissa and son. 
 
About the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia


The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit international trade services and membership organization, providing companies in Southeastern PA and Southern NJ with individual trade counseling, educational programs, market research, trade mission support, business networking events, and powerful connections to customers and partners worldwide. The WTCGP is also a member of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) which consists of 320 members in ninety-two countries. Since 2002, WTCGP has helped small and medium-sized companies generate international export sales by a combined $2.3B - Increasing jobs in the region by over 29,000 and furthering its mission “to bring growth and prosperity to businesses, communities, and neighborhoods in Greater Philadelphia and worldwide.” wtcphila.org.
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