More Languages. More Markets. More Success.
Management Team
Meet our global team leaders
MEDIALOCATE’s team members hail from all four corners of the globe – from Mexico, Germany, China, Brazil, Canada and Romania to Ireland, Spain, Argentina, Slovakia, Turkey, Russia, Korea, and the Philippines.

Stephan Lins

CEO

Stephan has been at the helm of MediaLocate for over 20 years, successfully navigating the Pacific Grove, California-based company through several economic downturns while achieving remarkable growth year on year. He has been in the localization industry longer than most of his peers and his insights into industry trends, language technologies, and operational efficiencies have guided MediaLocate to a leadership position among mid-sized language services providers (LSPs). In addition to organic growth, Stephan led the way to multiple LSP acquisitions and to their successful integration into the family of MediaLocate companies. Stephan grew up behind the Iron Curtain, in former East Germany, and holds U.S. and German dual citizenship. A lover of wildlife photography, he’s quite handy with the camera. He also kicked one of the longest field goals in the history of Brown University football.

Ilge Karancak

CFO

Ilge brings decades of financial management experience to MediaLocate. Since 1999, she has directed all financial aspects of the business and managed human resources. She’s very involved in the community, currently serving as Rotary International’s Assistant Governor of Territory 2 (Monterey County and beyond) and as Youth Exchange Chair of the Rotary Club of Monterey Cannery Row. In addition, Ilge is an executive director at the Turkish-American Association of California and treasurer for Gathering for Women. Ilge is a certified hypnotherapist. She’s also a golden-throated singer and composer.
Thomas Edwards joined the MediaLocate team!

Thomas Edwards

Head of Strategic Account Management and Language Services

Thomas has been providing training and tactical coaching to MediaLocate for the past year. He has now taken on the responsibility of managing the account management team for the company's long-standing clients directly. With his extensive knowledge in the field, he will continue to deliver excellent work for MediaLocate and its clients in his expanded role. However, Thomas's interests are not limited to languages and localization. He had a keen interest in photography and worked as a radio DJ in France, which added fascinating layers to his personality. He now lives in Normandy with his family, indulging in his passion for history, particularly traditional Norman culture, language, history, and archaeology.
Anne Thompson - Director, Project Management

Anne Thompson

Director, Project Management

Anne leads our global project management team from our New York City office. She holds a BA in French and an MA in Translation and Localization Management from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. A translator at heart, Anne is passionate about helping our clients navigate the localization process, and loves getting to wrestle with new linguistic and technological puzzles along the way.

Marcelo Rizzo

Director, Technology Infrastructure and Innovation

Marcelo’s 20-plus year IT career includes working at globalization giants such as Lionbridge, AT&T Language Line, and Lucent. He started with MediaLocate in 2000 and turned the company into a technology powerhouse. Marcelo is fluent in Spanish and taught at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS). He owns over 30,000 comic books, is a Star Trek fan, and has designed a custom solar system for his home. (Can you say “geek?”)

Susan Hanson

Vice President, Strategic Account Management

A customer service professional for nearly 30 years, Susan has helped create a client care program that’s been recognized and referenced as a best practice by TüV Süd, a global technical service and certification leader. Susan believes that our clients deserve the utmost respect and customer service our team is able to provide. She is also Founder and Executive Director of Teddy Bears with Heart, a local nonprofit organization that has gifted nearly 200,000 stuffed animals to children in crisis, the forgotten elderly, and the terminally ill. In her spare time, Susie, with her friends, crochet items to help homeless children in Monterey County, walk in charity events throughout California, and on a very rare occasion, can be found in her garden.

Leona Zacek

Vendor Manager

Leona has been a MediaLocate team member since 1999 and her talents have made MediaLocate second to none in recruiting top talent. She is a graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), speaks Russian and Czech fluently, and is ATA-certified to translate from English to German. She once lived and worked in the Republic of Seychelles, a 155-island country spanning an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. In 1992 Leona participated in the Barcelona Olympics as a member of the Austrian National Handball Team. She also loves golf, spending time with her four cats, and volunteering at the annual Yosemite Facelift event organized by the Yosemite Climbing Association, which she’s a member of.

Vilma Campos

Director, Global Quality & Systems Engineering

A citizen of Mexico and the U.S., Vilma has over 20 years experience and extensive knowledge of translation automation tools, QA processes, production engineering and computer science. Since 1998, Vilma has led our team of engineers and developers. Vilma is an executive member of BYU Management Society. She enjoys walking on the beach and loves music.

Robin Wienands

Studio Manager

Born in Canada to German parents, Robin began his career in audio nearly 10 years ago. Like many of his MediaLocate colleagues, he leans toward art – Robin plays both classical and jazz piano and trumpet – as well as to technology – having built much of the audio electronics for his personal recording setup. He once worked as a summer intern at a nuclear/particle physics lab. In addition to being our recording studio guru, Robin enjoys hiking, biking, soccer and tennis, and holds both Canadian and German citizenships.

Cindy Brown

Terminology Manager

Cindy has been a MediaLocate team member since 1998. A professional linguist for over 20 years, her passion for all things “language” makes her a perfect fit as MediaLocate’s Terminology Manager. A graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), she is a French and Portuguese translator and interpreter, and is ATA-certified to translate from French to English. Her varied interests include public speaking, animal welfare, video games, medicine, law, and Seattle Seahawks football.

Martha Saenz

Interpretation Manager

Martha has been in the interpretation arena for over 30 years, handling tens of thousands of legal depositions, medical appointments, conferences and telephone calls. Originally a native of Bell Gardens in Southern California, Martha is fluent in Spanish and has never regretted her move to our beautiful Central Coast, where climate and cars are just a bit cooler. Martha is a big muscle car fan!

Joseph Hellebusch

Director, Localization Strategy and Automation

Joe is our tools and engineering go-to-guy, managing the technology and on-boarding needs of our East Coast clients from our office in New York City. A graduate of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, he is fluent in Japanese, C#, and ASP.net. Joe also trains custom machine translation engines and builds specialized workflow tools. He enjoys manga and comic books and traveling whenever he possibly can.
Patrick Scheufler, MediaLocate's Manager, Digital Media and Entertainment

Patrick Scheufler

Manager, Digital Media and Entertainment

Pat brings over six years of expertise in Localization, skillfully managing client relations and overseeing the Southern California territory. A graduate of San Jose State University, Pat earned a degree in Business Management with a focus on Marketing, which has been instrumental in identifying and cultivating new accounts within the Digital, Media, and Entertainment sectors. Before stepping into the world of localization, Pat gained significant experience in the production industry, working on commercials for major brands like Nike, Adidas, Cisco, Jack in the Box, Chevy, and Ford. Pat's diverse portfolio also includes producing music videos for artists such as Rage Against the Machine, Drake, and Damien Marley, and serving as a Unit Production Manager for acclaimed films like ``The Revenant`` and ``Birdman.`` Outside of professional life, Pat is passionate about the outdoors, enjoying cooking, traveling, hiking, and fishing.
Ben Curl, MediaLocate's Localization Engineering Lead

Ben Curl

Localization Engineering Lead

Ben has been working as a localization engineer for over eight years. As localization engineering lead, he oversees the engineering effort at MediaLocate, developing custom processes, workflows, and automation efforts to meet clients' needs. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with two bachelor's degrees: one in Computer Science and another in Japanese studies. He enjoys Japanese culture and tries to plan an overseas trip to visit at least once a year!