Richard Fruehauf
Chief Venture Officer
As Chief Venture Officer, Rich leads our efforts securing the partnerships and investment needed to bring next generation robotics and AI innovation to market. He brings several decades of global corporate leadership experience in manufacturing and technology. Rich is known and sought out for his insights on green investing, sustainability, engineering, public policy, and decarbonizing industrial and energy sectors.
Before joining Carnegie Foundry, Rich was the Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer at U.S. Steel. There, he shaped the company’s strategy and sustainability efforts, aiming for profitable growth. He also developed policies that aligned business sustainability with organizational opportunities. Rich led teams in Strategic Planning and Business Development, Government Affairs, and Sustainability. In addition, at various times Rich had executive responsibility for Innovation, Performance Analytics, Environmental Affairs and Corporate Communications. He also chaired the U.S. Steel Foundation.
Rich’s journey at U.S. Steel began in 2014 as Assistant General Counsel – Commercial, where he managed a team of attorneys handling M&A, real estate, and commercial legal matters. He climbed the ranks to Associate General Counsel – Corporate in 2015, overseeing intellectual property and other transactional legal issues. By 2017, he was Deputy General Counsel – Corporate and later served as Interim General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, managing the company’s legal, environmental, and compliance matters.
Before U.S. Steel, Rich was Assistant General Counsel – Americas at Westinghouse Electric Company, dealing with commercial legal matters for clients in the western U.S., Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. He also supported the corporate supply chain, real estate, government affairs, government contracts, and IT functions. Rich previously oversaw compliance programs for export control, customs, antitrust, anti-bribery, and cybersecurity across Westinghouse’s global operations.
Rich has also practiced law with Alcoa, Inc., Cohen & Grigsby, P.C. in Pittsburgh, and Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. Earlier in his career, he held national security positions with the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Arms Control & Disarmament Agency, and the Department of the Navy.
A Pittsburgh native, Rich earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, a Master of Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
He’s a member of the bars of Pennsylvania and D.C., and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Rich also chairs the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross Chapter for Southwestern Pennsylvania.
