TransPerfect Leadership

Phil Shawe co-founded TransPerfect in 1992. Today, TransPerfect is a global family of companies and the world’s largest privately held provider of language and business services. Shawe oversees the day-to-day operations of the company, headquartered in New York City.

Under Shawe’s leadership, TransPerfect has received numerous awards and distinctions. The company is a three-time honoree of the Inc. 5000 Award, a six-time honoree of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, and has earned multiple Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service. Crain's New York Business has ranked TransPerfect as one of the largest privately held companies, as well as one of the largest women-owned companies, six years in a row. TransPerfect was also three times named one of the fastest-growing women-owned/led businesses in North America by Entrepreneur and the Women Presidents' Organization.

In 2008, Shawe was named to the prestigious “40 Under 40 list” by Crain’s New York Business. He sits on the Board of Directors for Girls Who Code, an organization with a single mission: to close the gender gap in technology. Shawe has spoken at New York University and Columbia University, and is a member of the Association for a Better New York (ABNY).

Prior to his career in the language services industry, Shawe was a Financial Analyst at Chemical Bank and a Global Custody Consultant at Merrill Lynch. Shawe holds an MBA in Finance and International Business from New York University's Stern School of Business, and he received his BS from the University of Florida where he triple majored in Finance, Marketing, and Risk Management.

Kevin Obarski is TransPerfect’s Chief Revenue Officer and has primary responsibility for company sales, client relations, and innovations that drive growth. He is a devout enabler of entrepreneurship within TransPerfect, helping employees from a wide range of backgrounds and experience levels to grow into directors, senior managers, and executive-level positions. Kevin is committed to mentoring individuals to show them how to achieve significant and lasting success in a short amount of time.

Originally joining the company’s Atlanta office in 2001, Kevin has been a critical driving force behind TransPerfect’s 100+ consecutive quarters of profitable growth. He has personally overseen multiple new division launches and assembled and led teams to solve complex business problems, both within TransPerfect and for the company’s clients around the world.

Kevin is the proud father of three girls and is actively involved in charitable efforts that include Virgin’s Galactic Unite and Girls Who Code, both of which focus on promoting STEM education and careers, as well as the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Steve Cheeseman, Vice President of Contact Center Operations, joined TransPerfect Connect in November 2018. Steve brings over 25 years of domestic and international contact center experience, 15 of those spent managing the business process outsourcing (BPO) environment for Alorica and Stream Global Services. He has successfully led contact center services across a wide range of industries and through a variety of channels, such as voice, email, chat, and social media. Steve’s operations have consistently earned accolades, including recognition for excellence in customer experience.

Prior to his BPO work, Steve directed the development and translation of web content and self-service solutions for Symantec Corporation. He also led its contact center operations in North America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe for inbound support in all languages for these regions. In his new role, Steve will be based in TransPerfect Connect's headquarters in Tempe, Arizona.

Steve received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon and Six Sigma Black Belt from Villanova University.

Michael Edwards joined TransPerfect Connect in January of 2013. In his role as Vice President of Client Solutions, Michael is responsible for the execution of TransPerfect Connect's new business sales, strategic account services, and strategic partnerships and plans.

Michael came to TransPerfect Connect from CyraCom International, Inc. where he was the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. At CyraCom, Michael was responsible for creating the Voiance line of business, which diversified the CyraCom focus into the commercial language services market. Michael has over 25 years of experience successfully creating and leading high performance sales and account management organizations, effectively serving the Fortune 500. Michael has held executive leadership positions with Xerox, ConferTech International, and MCI Communications.  

Meghan Mackow is the Director of Operations at TransPerfect Connect. She has over ten years of experience in Contact Center Operations servicing clients through call, chat, and email, and has been an integral part of the TransPerfect team since 2015. Her primary focus is leading our Workforce Optimization team, ensuring we have the right resources in the right place at the right time and providing our clients with optimal service. She has extensive experience in contact interaction performance, with a focus on the customer experience.

Meghan holds a Bachelor of Science in Technological Entrepreneurship and Management from the Arizona State University Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering and is Six Sigma certified.  

Michael Watkins is the Manager-Strategic Accounts for TransPerfect Connect. He manages the implementation of OPI and VRI services with the end customer for all phases of onboarding and training. He works directly with TransPerfect’s sales team and other internal departments to initiate service for all clients. Prior to joining TransPerfect, Mike worked in bilingual financial and customer service management roles, including Stockbroker and Assistant Compliance Manager positions with Series 6, 7, and 63 licenses.

Mike received his Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish from Arizona State University.