SAN DIEGO, April 23, 2025 — Fresh off of being named a Finalist for CEO of the Year by the San Diego Business Journal, Interpreters Unlimited CEO and PATH (People Assisting The Homeless) Board Member Sayed Ali, is being honored, along with Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, by PATH at their “A Toast to Home San Diego” event on April 24^th. The event will celebrate a year of innovation, collaboration and partnership in their mission to end homelessness in San Diego.

PATH is one of the largest homeless service providers and affordable housing developers in California focusing on ending homelessness for individuals, families and communities. With over 70 locations, and serving over 150 cities throughout the state, PATH provides housing, food, medical/street outreach programs, medical and mental health support, employment assistance, Veteran services and more to those in need.

PATH is a crucial resource in San Diego and throughout California. In 2024, San Diego County once again saw a rise in homelessness, with over 10,000 people experiencing homelessness. In their 2024 Point-in-Time Count for San Diego County, the Regional Task Force on Homelessness found a 3% increase from 2023 to 2024. 6,110 of those experiencing homelessness were unsheltered, which was an 18% increase from the previous year. From July 2023 to June 2024 alone, PATH helped approximately 8,000 San Diego region homeless access critical resources, served over 150,000 meals at their interim shelter, and helped over 1,000 move into their own homes.

At the “A Toast to Home San Diego” event, they will not only shine a spotlight on the amazing dedication of PATH’s team and honor Sayed for his outstanding dedication and contributions to creating housing solutions and uplifting our community, but it will also help raise essential funds to continue delivering housing and support services throughout San Diego. Contributions during the fundraising portion of the event go towards everything from essential care items, transportation assistance, case management services and groceries for the homeless, to moving them into homes and furnishing homes.

Since joining PATH’s advisory board many years ago, Ali has been instrumental in supporting initiatives that provide housing solutions and comprehensive services to those experiencing homelessness in San Diego. His leadership and philanthropic efforts have contributed greatly to PATH’s mission.​ Ali’s involvement with PATH goes beyond board meetings, he takes an active role in hands on efforts that deliver shelter, support, and hope to those in need.

While he runs national language services company Interpreters Unlimited by day, he also spends his time advocating for people who often go unheard. Through personal volunteer efforts, company support, and deep involvement with PATH’s mission, Ali has become a key part of the organization’s efforts in San Diego. Whether he’s mentoring young entrepreneurs, helping a family navigate housing support, or donating time at a shelter or food pantry, Ali’s focus remains on giving back and lifting others up.

“When I first got involved with PATH, I knew I wanted to be more than just a name on a board,” said Ali. “Homelessness isn’t something we can ignore. These are people with stories, with families, with hopes. If we have the means to help, even in small ways, I believe we have the responsibility to do so. I’m incredibly honored to be recognized by an organization I respect so deeply. It’s the work that matters, and I’m just grateful to be part of it.”

For more information on PATH visit epath.org and for more information on Interpreters Unlimited use the contact form below or call (800) 726-9891.

Click Here To Book An Interpreter Now 

Contact us today with any questions or to get a free quote.

About Interpreters Unlimited, Inc.

The IU Group of companies include: Interpreters Unlimited, Accessible Communication for the Deaf, Albors & Alnet, Arkansas Spanish Interpreters and Translators, and IU GlobeLink, LLC, and are headquartered in San Diego, California as a minority-owned company.  IU Group is committed to providing equal opportunity in the work environment with its diverse team to aid in supplying linguistic and cultural interpretation services to clients. A combined 70 years in the industry has demonstrated a surplus of leadership and best practices, which has helped establish its respected role in the language services community. Its services include spoken translation, document translation and non-emergency medical transportation.

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SAN DIEGO, April 15, 2025 — Interpreters Unlimited (IU) is proud to announce that its CEO, Sayed Ali, has been named a finalist for the San Diego Business Journal’s 2025 CEO of the Year Award. This recognition honors leaders who demonstrate outstanding business expertise, leadership, and community impact in the San Diego region.

Ali, an accomplished entrepreneur and business leader, has spent decades building and growing successful companies. After immigrating to the U.S. from India in 1966 to pursue a degree in electronic engineering, he gained extensive corporate management experience before launching his first business, Creative Host Services, which he later grew into a NASDAQ-listed company and sold for $43 million in 2004.

In 2007, Ali acquired Interpreters Unlimited and transformed it into a nationally recognized leader in language services. Under his leadership, IU has expanded its offerings across the country, providing critical interpretation and translation services in over 200 languages. His forward thinking approach has helped IU implement cutting-edge technology, including the proprietary IU Match-Connect system, which streamlines interpreter matching and appointment management for clients.

Beyond business success, Ali is deeply committed to fostering a positive workplace culture at IU, promoting inclusivity, mentorship, and professional development. His leadership style prioritizes collaboration and innovation, encouraging employees to share ideas and drive meaningful change. His decision to implement a permanent remote work option has increased both productivity and employee satisfaction.

Ali’s contributions extend far beyond the business world. He is a dedicated philanthropist, actively supporting organizations such as the Ronald McDonald House, Endangered Species International, Survivors of Torture International, and the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resource Center. As an advisory board member for PATH San Diego, he plays a key role in efforts to combat homelessness, advocating for housing, healthcare, and outreach initiatives. Through his involvement with SBA SCORE and the Chairman’s Roundtable, he has mentored countless aspiring entrepreneurs, helping them navigate challenges and build successful businesses.

“Being recognized as a finalist for CEO of the Year is truly an honor,” said Ali. “Leadership is about empowering others, fostering innovation, and giving back to the community. I’m grateful to be part of a company and a city that values these principles.”

The finalists for the CEO of the Year Award are featured in the April 14th edition of the San Diego Business Journal. For more information about Interpreters Unlimited use the contact form below or call (800) 726-9891.

Click Here To Book An Interpreter Now 

Contact us today with any questions or to get a free quote.

About Interpreters Unlimited, Inc.

The IU Group of companies include: Interpreters Unlimited, Accessible Communication for the Deaf, Albors & Alnet, Arkansas Spanish Interpreters and Translators, and IU GlobeLink, LLC, and are headquartered in San Diego, California as a minority-owned company.  IU Group is committed to providing equal opportunity in the work environment with its diverse team to aid in supplying linguistic and cultural interpretation services to clients. A combined 70 years in the industry has demonstrated a surplus of leadership and best practices, which has helped establish its respected role in the language services community. Its services include spoken translation, document translation and non-emergency medical transportation.

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SAN DIEGO, CALIF., May 21, 2020 – Tech Company News Interviews Sayed Ali. (Via www.techcompanynews.com)

We had the opportunity to interview Sayed Ali, President and CEO of Interpreters Unlimited (IU). We began with Sayed himself, and his journey as an entrepreneur.

Q: Can you tell us your story?

A: After immigrating from India and earning an electronic engineering degree, I became a design engineer for a company owned by the conglomerate International Telephone & Telegraph. I rose quickly to director of operations and helped get the company back on the right path, eventually saving it. With orders for components topping 1500 units/day, production was half of that. I met with 1200 employees, organized a detailed study and flow chart of every fix, and had them done now. The contributions of the many outweigh those of one leader.

I left this company to begin Creative Host Services, a groundbreaking bakery-deli concept that led to a quick acquisition. For my second venture, I chose airport concessions. Millions of dollars were needed to enter this highly competitive market, so I defied business logic and went public right away. In 2006, with $186 million in sales, the company was acquired. With each venture, I was the groundbreaker: I was the first to champion healthful ingredients in bakeries and delis and to franchise the concept (business #1); the first to introduce high-end services to local airports (business #2); the first to service those in danger interpretation- and translation-wise: emergency room doctors; border patrol; police etc (currently with IU).

In 2007, I acquired my current business, Interpreters Unlimited, and successfully expanded the company nationwide. I created IU Group, the parent company which is now comprised of Interpreters Unlimited and four other companies that I acquired in different territories throughout the US under its umbrella. I continue to grow the business through strategic marketing and operations efforts and by consistently implementing new technologies into the business model.

One new technological venture is the new Interpreter Marketplace smartphone app that just launched, an affiliate to IU. It is an app that matches foreign language and American Sign Language interpreters with the limited English speakers and Deaf individuals who require their services on a daily basis. It is available for use for both personal reasons from doctor appointments and court hearings to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), weddings, etc. to company use by hospitals, school districts, corporations in any industry, etc. One thing that makes it special is that it uses actual intelligence over artificial intelligence, it uses real interpreters, sending them right to the client. Another is the option to browse interpreters by location, pricing and background. Clients can navigate through the available interpreters and compare them all to choose the one that best fits their needs. It is available in San Diego County, California right now, and we plan to expand throughout the rest of state and nationally. I am really proud of this new venture.

Q: Tell us more about IU Group and Interpreters Unlimited.

A: Interpreters Unlimited provides professional foreign language interpretation including American Sign Language, written document translation, transcription, localization and non-emergency medical transportation services to businesses throughout the United States.

For IU’s most popular service, in-person interpreting, we contract linguists for on-site interpretation appointments for our government, healthcare, education, legal and corporate clients. Examples of the types of appointments include depositions, meetings, medical appointments, parent/teacher conferences, and events.

IU’s other services, video remote interpreting (VRI), over the phone interpreting (OPI), document translation and non-emergency medical transportation which are fueled by client demand. Right now, during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, we are seeing more of a need for these services and are glad that we are able to provide video remote interpreters, phone interpreters and medical transportation to those who require it. Document translation is also really important and in high demand right now, companies need to be able to communicate their Coronavirus updates and operation information to their Non-English Speaking communities in their own language quickly.

Currently, IU’s national presence serves all major industries in 200 foreign languages and American Sign Language. We work with over 9,000 contracted linguists nationwide. IU’s comprehensive service offering eliminates language barriers to provide effective communication and understanding between English speakers and those with limited English proficiency and/or who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing.

Q: How have you grown IU into the company it is today, including some obstacles overcome along the way?

A: I feel that one of my strengths is calmly making high-risk decisions that grow companies so that employees grow, too. I have steadfastly grown IU from $2 million in sales in 2007 to projected sales of $16 million in 2020. Introduced to the business by a former board member, I flow-charted every aspect before saying “yes” to acquiring it. By 2008, financing was difficult; the market had crashed; and California, IU’s new home base, had a budget crisis. For eight months, IU wasn’t paid for critical services to the many government agencies we served. We borrowed from a factor at exorbitant interest rates and services continued uninterrupted. We provide a very essential service which is needed in hospitals, in family situations where women are being battered, a child is being taken into custody. Patients needing transportation to and from hospital “interpretation sites” received it. We couldn’t say ‘no’. With a family and two young sons, it wasn’t easy.

Through the years IU Group grew through acquisitions – first IU, the “core”; then in 2007, Arkansas Spanish Interpreters and Translators (ASIT); in 2010, the Florida-based Albors & Alnet, a language services company; then Accessible Communication for the Deaf (ACD), a sign language company; and in 2018 GlobeLink, LLC, based in Colorado, services provided there are interpretation, which is on-site and accounts for 90%; and then document-oriented translation. I was a pioneer in offering video services which are more essential now than ever as businesses adjust to operating during social distancing and the coronavirus pandemic; and in growing IU niche by local niche in order to build a powerful national reputation.

We have developed a great reputation and are one of the highest rated language service providers in the US according to Yelp, Google, Facebook, Indeed and Glassdoor combined. That creates growth through word of mouth, recommendations and in being seen as highly trusted and reliable. We pride ourselves in that along with doing everything organically. Our websites www.interpreters.com and www.interpreters.com are built and maintained organically, we focus on SEO and expanding the information that we make available online so any questions about services and industries can be answered there, it is a great resource for businesses and interpreters alike.

Q: What are some of the things you are proud of and some plans for the future?

A: I consider myself an artist among entrepreneurs, successfully creating new businesses from scratch, differentiating myself each time. I am proud of staying on top of trends and technology, typically investing in it before the rest of my industry. In 2007, I was the first to bring software development to an industry where to this day it is largely absent. In 2019, I introduced the industry’s first mobile app, the “Uber” of the business, our affiliate Interpreter Marketplace. Now, clients enter an emergency request and within seconds a list of appropriate interpreters and translators comes up. Always B2B, this app now opens up the B2C market. A new proprietary software system added a text-messaging feature for appointments. With each company, I add contracted linguists, now totaling 9000. As for the “credibility problems” for which the LSP industry is sometimes known, through our recruiting procedures and methods we have a 99% fill rate so we do not have an issue with that.

For the future IU is moving away from acquisitions after revenues for IU itself surpassed all acquisitions combined. The future of IU is with IU; with meeting every new level of “need”; and with a goal of $25 million in revenues. Future plans also include expanding the affiliate Interpreter Marketplace app throughout California and then nationwide. Always keeping an eye on the trends and tech that can help in the industry, new technological ventures beyond the app may also a part of the future.

We are starting to put more focus on video remote interpretation and telephone interpretation during COVID-19 and social distancing and are looking at partnering with video service providers to expand even more in this area. In order to continue business, the world has switched over to remote and “work from home” models and we have met that challenge with uninterrupted services through video and phone. We feel this remote need is going to continue to grow through the coming years so we are going to continue to invest in it after the pandemic has ended. As we push our remote services more, we are going to also expand beyond the United Stated and begin to offer our remote language services globally. We are also looking to push more localization, document translation and transcription. To me, the word “retirement” does not exist, business is a passion and we are excited about the future.

About Interpreters Unlimited, Inc.

The IU Group of companies include: Interpreters Unlimited, Accessible Communication for the Deaf, Albors & Alnet, Arkansas Spanish Interpreters and Translators, and IU GlobeLink, LLC, and are headquartered in San Diego, California as a minority-owned company.  IU Group is committed to providing equal opportunity in the work environment with its diverse team to aid in supplying linguistic and cultural interpretation services to clients. A combined 70 years in the industry has demonstrated a surplus of leadership and best practices, which has helped establish its respected role in the language services community. Its services include interpretation, document translation and non-emergency medical transportation.

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