The Charlotte International Cabinet and the Office of the Mayor Honor Klaus and Concha Becker

Beckers receive the Global Leader Award at the 2105 Charlotte Mayor's International Community Awards 

Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter presents the Global Leader Award to Concha and Klaus Becker

The Charlotte International Cabinet and the Office of the Mayor have hosted the Mayor's International Community Awards (MICA) since 1998. This event honors foreign-owned firms in the Charlotte region for their outstanding contributions to philanthropy. MICA also recognizes three individuals or organizations who have displayed strong leadership and contributed to the development of Charlotte's international community. The three categories for these awards are the Richard Vinroot International Achievement Award, the Patrick McCrory International Entrepreneur Award, and the Global Leader Award

This May, Klaus and Concha Becker received the Global Leader Award, the first time a couple has received the honor. The Becker's passion and dedication can be found in both their entrepreneurial endeavors and their commitment to community. Klaus is the Honorary Consul for the Federal Republic of Germany, a prominent member of the Charlotte community. In the short of his tenure as Honorary Consul, he has tirelessly worked to bring German politicians, journalists and artists to the Charlotte region. Since the 80s, he has run a total of five steel companies. He has also played a crucial role in founding the Chapter of the German American Chamber of Commerce, of which he remained the organization`s President from 2004-2011. He is also dedicated to working with the Charlotte World Trade Association, World Affairs Council of Charlotte, and The N.C. Zeitgeist Foundation, an organization celebrating German art and culture and the long-standing German-American bilateral relationship with the Charlotte region.

Concha pushes the boundaries of conventionalism to succeed in the international business community. Born in Mexico City, Concha spent her career forging a path in international industries that are predominantly male. She has always been involved in international business by selling Italian and German textile machinery to Mexico.

She was responsible for all exports of the garden equipment of Homelite-Textron throughout the world, and worked closely with a Japanese-French conglomerate manufacturing printing machines. She also served on the board of the Charlotte World Trade Association and the advisory board of the Schiele Musuem of Natural History. Currently, she is a member of the German American, French American, and Latin American Chambers of Commerce, the Charlotte World Affairs Council and the Southeastern World Affairs Institute.

The N.C. Zeitgeist congratulates Klaus and Concha, and the other prestigious winners. View more photos from the event here.

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Top left to right: Klaus Becker, Global Leader Award Winner; Mayor Dan Clodfelter, host of the event; Dick Thomas, Domtar, Foreign-Owned Business winner in the large category; Dianne Gallagher, WCCB-NBC Charlotte and host of the event; Larken Egleston, Chairman of the Charlotte International Cabinet Bottom left to right: Hilda H. Gurdian, Patrick McCrory International Entrepreneur Award winner; Concha Becker, Global Leader Award winner; Susan Jackson, LensCrafters, Foreign-Owned Business winner in the medium category; Colin Bain, Foreign-Owned Business winner in the small category