Priya Narasimhan

Believe it or not, Priya Narasimhan was not a fan of American sports when she moved to the United States in 1998 to pursue a higher education. One of the most influential women and successful entrepreneurs in the sports business today, the founder & CEO of YinzCam knew little about American football, basketball, hockey or tennis at the time, and had never even considered pursuing a career in sports.

Born in India and raised in Zambia, Africa, Priya had grown up watching cricket, rugby and fútbol, and would often stay up to watch matches from back home in the middle of the night, while attending the University of California Santa Barbara. But her focus was on earning her PHD in electrical and computer engineering, and her dream was to become a faculty member and to teach.

Until that one memorable night in 2007 at Mellon Arena on 66 Mario Lemieux Place in Pittsburgh, PA, that is.

It was also the beginning of a new dream and a second career, as her new love of hockey was the inspiration behind YinzCam, which she founded out of CMU in May of 2009.

In the decade since, Priya has won numerous awards, presented at conferences around the world, and partnered with hundreds of professional sports franchises and leagues across the globe, to enhance the experience of sports fans like herself, all while building an innovative tech company in Pittsburgh and continuing to teach as a Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon.