--- title: "American Business Awards 2016: Company / Organization Awards Judging Committee" description: The American Business Awards is proud to announced the individuals who comprise the Company / Organization final judging committee in 2016. image: https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/16-ABA-CO-Chair.gif?t=1458570599456&width=243 --- [![stevie-awards-full-logo](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stevie%20Awards%20Blog%20Theme%20Files/stevie-awards-full-logo.png?width=347&height=70&name=stevie-awards-full-logo.png "stevie-awards-full-logo")](http://stevieawards.com) Click to View Posts by Stevie® Awards Categories # American Business Awards 2016: Company / Organization Awards Judging Committee Posted by [Maggie Gallagher](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/author/maggie-gallagher) on Thu, Mar 24, 2016 @ 02:36 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) **Did you know The 2016 [American Business Awards](http://www.stevieawards.com/aba) extended the final entry deadline through Tuesday, April 19? There is still plenty of time to submit your nominations. Learn a bit more about who is judging the [Company / Organization](http://stevieawards.com/aba/2016-company-organization-awards-judging-committee) submissions in The ABA's this year.** The American Business Awards are widely considered to be the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small.  The 2016 awards  honor achievements since the beginning of 2015.  Entry details are available at [http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA](http://www.stevieawards.com/aba). **[REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.](http://www.stevieawards.com/uploads/file/ABA16EntryKit.pdf)** **Judging Chair:** ![16-ABA-CO-SMALL-Chair-2.gif](https://blog.stevieawards.com/hubfs/16-ABA-CO-SMALL-Chair-2.gif "16-ABA-CO-SMALL-Chair-2.gif")**[Robert Frost](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-frost-1278503), Vice President, Customer Care** ** Carbonite, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, USA** Rob Frost is Vice President, Customer Care for Carbonite, a leading provider of hybrid backup (cloud and local) and recovery solutions for home users and businesses. Rob is hyper-focused on customer satisfaction and sets the highest standards for customer service. As VP of Customer Care, Rob and his award-winning, global customer care team continually strive to make sure every customer interaction is a positive experience.  Prior to joining Carbonite, Rob was Director of Client Services and Technical Support at Intronis. Rob also served as Senior Director of Support and Global Client Relations at Acronis, where he spent three years in Moscow, Russia, delivering global support in nine languages. **Committee:** [![Ilene Adler](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/0b9bf944-48c4-4a8f-86fb-c7d61749ea4c/Ilene.jpg)Ilene Adler](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ileneadler), CEO Vantage Communications, San Francisco, California, USA As an executive in the tech world since the 80s, Im always learning. My experience ranges from international marketing director to president of RAD Data Communications in the US; founding Vantage PR in 1990 to acquisition by PAN Communications in 2015. The best part is connecting with amazing people. [![Jennifer Cherry Foster](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/e480e271-1f68-4f8d-91d6-3ae011117e5f/Jennifer-Cherry-Foster.png)Jennifer Cherry Foster](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferlcherry), Senior Vice President Marx Layne, Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA Cherry Foster is Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer. She oversees media and social relations for clients in a broad range of industry sectors including retail, restaurant, real estate and emerging technologies, and directs the agencys social media practice. With extensive experience in the retail sector, Cherry Foster also counsels clients on retail theory as well as sales and communications strategies. [![Dave Craig](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/2f335b00-9bcc-43f1-ab72-78f8fd39888b/D-Craig.jpg)Dave Craig](http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dave-craig/a/9aa/798/), Vice President, Human Resources Fazoli’s Restaurants System Management, LLC, Lexington, Kentucky, USA Dave Craig is Vice President, Human Resources for the 220-unit, Lexington, KY-based Fazoli's Restaurant chain. A native of Akron, Ohio and graduate of Ohio University, Dave has been in the restaurant industry for over 30 years, including 20 years with Fazoli's as the Company's senior HR leader and 10 years in various HR roles with the Long John Silver's Seafood chain. Dave and family reside in Lexington, KY. [![Dennis Gallagher](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/7034da00-a252-42e3-b15e-67edaf202cf9/DG-Pic.jpg)Dennis Gallagher](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-gallagher-880a562), Director of Customer Service and Payments Golden Nugget’s Online Gaming, New York, New York, USA| Dennis Gallagher is a Customer Service professional with 20 years of experience managing Customer Service based organizations in the Telecom, E-Commerce, Media, and Hotel / Casino industries. Dennis feels that customer satisfaction is directly proportional to his employees' satisfaction, and so he has approached his Management positions with this in mind. His strategy of taking care of the folks who take care of customers has proven invaluable in building world class service organizations. Dennis focuses on creating enjoyable working environments to build loyal, hard-working and successful teams. [![Eric Halvorson](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/66aebfcb-e8f8-42bf-bee3-efc16d9f954a/eric-head-shot.jpg)Eric Halvorson](https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-halvorson-2841845?trk=hp-identity-name), Senior Vice President, National Services Group Wells Fargo, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Eric Halvorson is a Senior Vice President in the Treasury Management Group. Based in Minneapolis, he is responsible for Operations, Implementation and Client Support for the newly created, enterprise-wide Banking as a Service Channel. Eric has a wide range of experience in consumer finance, treasury/cash management, mortgage and banking spanning more than 20 years. Prior to moving to Treasury Management, Eric managed operations for Wells Fargos Joint Venture mortgage companies. [![Fatih Hidirligil](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/414902a9-cea3-4166-b879-6404e77678d2/Fatih-head-shot.JPG)Fatih Hidirligil](https://www.linkedin.com/in/fatih-hidirligil-b6357336), President It's Always Christmas in NY, Inc., New York, New York, USA Fatih Hidirligil, born in Turkey 1977, has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics and Business Administration, with expertise in import and export. He is CFO running his wife’s Christmas businesses with acclaimed success, and they have a precious son. He serves on the board of a non-profit organization. [![Neslihan Hidirligil](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/e03a4f8f-337e-449f-a701-750486d21e44/Nesli-head-shot.JPG)Neslihan Hidirligil](https://www.linkedin.com/in/neslihan-hidirligil-5a5276105), Founder N&F Global Corp, New York, New York, USA Born in Turkey in 1978, Neslihan came to U.S. in 2002. In 2004, she found that her passion is to spread Christmas spirit year-round, and her ornaments now hang worldwide. She is the largest Christmas retailer on the East Coast, and designs the ornaments and displays at her stores. [![Jaimon Jacob](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/c67a6895-b7f5-4d42-988c-98323a53de45/Jaimon-Jacob.jpg)Jaimon Jacob](https://ae.linkedin.com/in/jaimonjacob), Associate Director - Customer Service & Business Excellence UAE Exchange Centre LLC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Jaimon Jacob, a Master of International Business, has over a decade of experience in addressing operations management and organisational excellence. He has been instrumental at work on designing, developing and establishing systems for critical elements of Business Excellence such as Strategy Deployment, Performance Management, Continual Improvement, Break-through and Daily Work Management, among others. [![Anila Kalleshi](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/ff350cfe-6555-43a4-985b-c55dd748d6ba/AnilaKalleshi.jpg)Anila Kalleshi](http://kalleshicenter.com), President Kalleshi Centre, Tirane, Albania My name is Anila Kalleshi. I'm 44 years old and I am from Albania. I am a nutrionist and I run the most successful Weight loss center in Tirana. I've written 5 books: "How to loose weight", " Diet?! Not only", "Challenges Diet", "28 Day Diet" and "Live Healthy". [![Jennifer Cherry Foster](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/8f4d93d3-a11a-4b26-b285-a3c1e6fd4cd5/headshot-high-res.jpg)Jennifer Maldonado](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenmaldonado), Senior Business Analyst Activision Blizzard, Santa Monica, California, USA Jennifer has served in customer advocacy roles for over 20 years. She was recently one of six customer experience practitioners globally to be recognized with the 2015 Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) Impact Award. Jennifer currently runs Activisions Voice of the Gamer program and manages its Customer Service Analytics team. [![Greg Merril](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/3d2ca0fb-54d8-4a3a-9236-cf9a37934154/greg-merril-head-shot.jpg)Greg Merril](https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-merril-11aab31), CEO YOST Labs, Inc., Portsmouth, Ohio, USA Greg Merril served as CEO for four VC-backed companies. He led HTMedical through a $42M merger with Immersion Corp. He delivered fifty+ lectures/keynotes covering VR, medical, and consumer electronics. An inventor with nineteen patents, he is recognized as a TEDMED Innovation Scholar. Greg Merril is a regional Ernst&Young Entrepreneur-of-the-Year winner. [![Vaughn Mootoo](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/d855a673-14fc-4b49-9fda-7776c508d039/VM.jpg)Vaughn Mootoo](https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaughnmootoo), Global Category Analyst Chevron, Houston, Texas, USA Vaughn Mootoo is the Production Operations Category Manager for the Chevron San Joaquin Valley Business Unit. He is responsible for developing contracting strategies, leading strategic sourcing events, managing supplier relationships, and leading category management initiatives that lower the total cost of ownership while maintaining operational excellence. Previous roles at Chevron include global category business analyst and supplier diversity coordinator. [![Don Pearce](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/58884fdc-2c69-4f2a-accb-9b14eb5831b8/Don-Pearce-Photo.jpg)Don Pearce](https://www.linkedin.com/in/donpearce1?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile), Owner Pearce Advisory Services, Dallas, Texas, USA Don Pearce is currently the Owner of Pearce Advisory Services, a Company specializing in helping companies increase sales. Before then he served as Vice President for the Texas division of Alliance Technology Group and before then he held Executive Sales Management positions with Sun Microsystems, STK, Amdahl, and IBM. He has serves the Advisory Board for the Computer Science Engineering Department at Southern Methodist University and holds a B.S. in mathematics from SMU. He earned a M.S. in mathematics from Louisiana State University, where he also taught Mathematics for two years. Mr. Pearce is also a recognized leader in business management with a significant track record of success including 32 years achieving over 100% of his team's revenue quotas. [![Churchill Dass Prince](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/9d91eb3d-a44f-4b9f-8809-01c25bd596fd/Churchill-Dass-Prince.jpg)Churchill Dass Prince](https://www.linkedin.com/in/churchill-dass-prince-22a6291), Founder & CEO Sales Intellect Company, Chennai, India Churchill Dass Prince is a well-known Research person and an Industry Thought Leader, in multiple industries. He founded a Sales Intelligence Company named "Sales Intelligence Services, Inc" and "Sales Intellect Company" with his trademark "Sales Intelligence(tm)", based on his award winning software innovation during 2003. Churchill Dass Prince has presented 100+ research papers in International and national conferences and honoured as "Chief Guest" in 100+ International and National Conferences. [![Noah Rowles](http://contact-form-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/35655/671e4a82-4187-47a8-b036-068d725d5994/NoahRowles.jpg)Noah Rowles](https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahrowles), CEO Rowles Holdings, LLC, Pasadena, California, USA Noah Rowles is the founder of iolo technologies, a worldwide leader in the performance optimization software market. As CEO he led the business through 15 years of autonomous growth, profitability, and market leadership that ultimately culminated in a successful acquisition. As a self-taught technology architect, inventor, strategist, and multiple patent-holder, Mr. Rowles enjoys fostering high-growth business environments that produce game-changing results though a contagious spirit of innovation, quality of design, and collaborative efficiency. **[The Categories](http://stevieawards.com/aba/company-organization-awards-categories):** The Company / Organization categories are one of the largest award category groups in The ABAs, with more than 34 categories for Company of the Year, including: **Company of the Year **(may be for-profit or non-profit, public or private, large or small) B01.    Accounting B02.    Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations B03.    Aerospace & Defense B04.    Automotive & Transport Equipment B05.    Banking B06.    Business Services B07.    Chemicals B08.    Computer Hardware B09.    Computer Software ...and many more. **There are no entry fees in the [Startup of the Year categories](http://stevieawards.com/aba/company-organization-awards-categories):** B35. **Startup of the Year** (for companies that began operations since January 1 2014).  a. Business Product Industries b. Business Service Industries c. Consumer Product Industries d. Consumer Service Industries B36. **Tech Startup of the Year** (for companies that began operations since January 1 2014). [**New categories for 2016 include:**](http://stevieawards.com/aba/company-organization-awards-categories) B45.  **Minority-Owned Business of the Year**: **A new category for 2016**.  This category will recognize the achievements since January 1 2015 of businesses in the U.S.A. that are majority owned by members of an ethnic minority B46. **Veteran-Owned Business of the Year**: **A new category for 2016**.  This category will recognize the achievements since January 1 2015 of businesses in the U.S.A. that are owned by veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. [****See all of the Company / Organization categories here.****](http://stevieawards.com/aba/company-organization-awards-categories)     Topics: [American business awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/american-business-awards), [company awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/company-awards), [organization awards](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/topic/organization-awards) ### Request an entry kit for one or more of the stevie awards programs [Remove my information](https://blog.stevieawards.com/blog/american-business-awards-2016-company-/-organization-awards-judging-committee#) Entry kit will be sent to you by email. We don't sell or disclose email addresses. 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