The International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organizations in more than 60 nations and territories each year, is currently accepting entries through the extended entry deadline of Wednesday, July 13.

All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to The International Business Awards.

Today we will highlight the Company/Organization Awards categories, recognizing the achievements of entire organizations. A bonus perk of entering the Company of the Year awards categories is also being included in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies voting. 

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

How to Win Twice the Recognition for Your Organization

Every organization that is honored with a Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award in the following Company of the Year categories (categories B01 - B34) will automatically be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies.  Voting will be conducted by the general public worldwide in August - September, and the winners will be honored at the IBA awards banquet in Rome, Italy in October 2016.  When the results of the IBAs' peer-conducted judging are announced in August, honorees in the Company of the Year categories will receive instructions on how to promote People's Choice voting to their own customers and stakeholders.  Note that only nominees that receive at least 100 public votes are eligible to win a People's Choice Stevie Award.

Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories in the 2016 competition include

a. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominated organization's achievements since 1 January 2015

b. In bullet-list form (up to 150 words), a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the nominated organization's chief achievements since 1 January 2015

c. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges

Company of the Year 
May be for-profit or non-profit, public or private, large or small.  New for 2016, each of these industry categories now has three sub-categories:

• Small (≤ 50 employees and turnover ≤ €10 m / $11 million)
• Medium-size (≤ 250 employees and turnover ≤ €50 m / $55 million)
• Large (> 250 employees and turnover > €50 m / $55 million)

B01.    Accounting
B02.    Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations
B03.    Aerospace & Defense
B04.    Automotive & Transport Equipment
B05.    Banking
B06.    Business or Professional Services
B07.    Chemicals
B08.    Computer Hardware
B09.    Computer Software
B10.    Computer Services
B11.    Conglomerates
B12.    Consumer Products - Durables
B13.    Consumer Products - Non-Durables
B14.    Diversified Services
B15.    Electronics
B16.    Energy
B17.    Financial Services
B18.    Food & Beverage
B19.    Health Products & Services
B20.    Hospitality & Leisure
B21.    Insurance
B22.    Internet/New Media
B23.    Legal
B24.    Manufacturing
B25.    Materials & Construction
B26.    Media & Entertainment
B27.    Metals & Mining
B28.    Non-Profit or Government Organizations
B29.    Pharmaceuticals
B30.    Real Estate
B31.    Retail
B32.    Telecommunications
B33.    Transportation
B34.    Utilities

B35. Startup of the Year (for companies that began operations since 1 January 2014).  There are no entry fees for the Startup of the Year categories.
a. Business Product Industries
b. Business Service Industries
c. Consumer Product Industries
d. Consumer Service Industries

B36. Most Innovative Company of the Year (recognizing product and/or marketing, sales, manufacturing, management, etc. innovation in the past year)
a. in Asia, Australia and New Zealand
b. in Asia (China, Japan and Korea)
c. in Europe
d. in the Middle East and Africa
e. in Canada and the U.S.A.
f. In Mexico, Central and South America

B37. Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year (recognizing organizations' contributions to society)
a. in Asia, Australia and New Zealand
b. in Asia (China, Japan and Korea)
c. in Europe
d. in the Middle East and Africa
e. in Canada and the U.S.A.
f. In Mexico, Central and South America

B38. Fastest-Growing Company of the Year (recognizing outstanding revenue growth since the start of 2015 over 2014)
a. in Asia, Australia and New Zealand
b. in Asia (China, Japan and Korea)
c. in Europe
d. in the Middle East and Africa
e. in Canada and the U.S.A.
f. In Mexico, Central and South America

B39. Health, Safety & Environment Program of the Year  (recognizing organizations' successful implemention of policies to prevent workplace accidents and injuries, increase safety awareness, and meet the requirements of environmental and occupational health and safety laws and requirements)
a. in Asia, Australia and New Zealand
b. in Asia (China, Japan and Korea)
c. in Europe
d. in the Middle East and Africa
e. in Canada and the U.S.A.
f. In Mexico, Central and South America

B40. Energy Industry Innovation of the Year: This category recognizes singular innovations in energy-related technology, production, conservation, storage or delivery, by an organization or an individual anywhere in the world, since 1 January 2015. There is no entry fee for this category.

 

Past winners in the Company/Organization awards categories include:

Reading Room Pte Ltd, Singapore

Elixirr Partners LLP, London, United Kingdom

M-CAT Enterprises, LLC, Austin, TX USA

Geosoft, Toronto, ON Canada

Amira Nature Foods Ltd., Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Hoteles City Express, Mexico City, Mexico

Today Newspaper, Seoul, South Korea

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Beraca Ingredientes Naturais S/A, São Paulo, Brazil

Monkey tie, Paris, France: Premier site de recrutement affinitaire

Coca-Cola Icecek, Istanbul, Turkey: 3.2.1 Move!

 

The winners of the 2015 People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies are:

•     Banking: Odeabank AS, Istanbul, Turkey
•     Business / Professional Services: Freelancer.com, Sydney, Australia
•     Computer Services: ScaleFocus, Sofia, Bulgaria
•     Computer Software: RheinBrücke IT Consulting GmbH, Cologne, Germany
•     Energy: Bahrain National Gas Company (B.S.C.), Manama
•     Financial Services / Insurance: USHEALTH Advisors, Grapevine, TX, USA
•     Health / Pharmaceuticals: OptumCare Operations, Phoenix, AZ, USA
•     Hospitality & Leisure: Creative Lodging Solutions, Lexington, KY, USA
•     Internet / New Media: Freelancer.com, Sydney, Australia
•     Non –Profit / Government: The National Archives (UAE) – Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
•     Transportation: Road & Transport Authority – Rail Agency, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Atomic 212° in Sydney, Australia, won a number of awards in the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, including a Gold Stevie for Most Innovative Advertising or Marketing Agency of the Year in the Marketing Awards Categories, and for Innovation in the Use of Events in the Corporate Communications Awards Categories with their campaign “Lucy The Robot.”

We talked with Jason Dooris, chief executive of this young and rapidly-growing agency.

Atomic 212° is an independent, technology-driven, full service marketing agency, which opened in 2014. In just two years, revenue has grown from a base of $20m to $180m. According to Jason: “We have worked hard to grow and we love what we do.”

We asked Jason about how winning the Stevie® Awards would contribute to his company’s success. His response: “We were proud to have been so successful in the Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards program with 13 gongs under our belt. These results position us as a market leader with a competitive edge.”

He added: “Winning these Awards falls within the amazing Atomic awards Hall of Fame for 2015–2016. Overall this has enabled the agency to position itself as a market leader in media, content, creative, public relations, and beyond.”

Rapid Growth

From 2014 to 2015, Atomic 212° grew its staff from 21 to 85 and opened new offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, and Newcastle.  At the same time, revenues increased by 1,105%.

We asked Jason how he had coped with such rapid growth.  He told us: “While our growth has been rapid, we always had strong processes in place and had positioned ourselves for rapid growth from the outset. Our targets may have been incredibly ambitious, but when we achieved them, we had the right systems and staff in place to support this expansion.”

When asked what his plans were for the future, Jason replied: “We have a number of plans for 2017 that we are currently working on … but you will have to wait and see.  Watch this space: we expect 2017 to be an even bigger year!”

Lucy The Robot - A Viral Campaign

Double Robotics, a technology company based in Burlingame, California, USA, wanted to launch their robot in Australia. A user can maneuver it from the comfort of their home or office.

The objectives were to launch the Double Telepresence Robot in the Australian and Asian markets; and to support existing North American, French, and UK activity

Context

Awareness was nil. Where normally this would be considered a disadvantage, the team at Atomic 212° decided to turn this to their advantage by tapping into the fact that customers had no preconceptions of robots. The territory of robots therefore presented a wonderful opportunity to engender the imagination and interest of customers. Budget constraints meant that something extraordinary was required.

Strategy

Atomic 212° recognized the need to create an engaging story and ignite the imagination. The robot needed personality. The agency also needed a launch platform that would cost almost nothing, providing powerful and positive value to everyone’s experience. Some would say this was asking the impossible.

The idea was to seek out and identify a positive, almost fanatical world event of such significance that the eyes of customers and media would be focused on it.  It was also necessary to give the robot personality, drive massive user-generated content, and—more importantly—drive media-generated content.

The Ideal Platform

Atomic 212° identified the launch of the iPhone 6s as the ideal platform and developed an idea adding relevance and entertainment to those fixated on the event.

The agency focused on Lucy Kelly, the girl behind the device. She was positioned as a young, energetic, innovative woman who did not want to stand in the wind and torrential rain. The humanoid robot was placed outside the George Street Apple store in Sydney to line up for the global release of the iPhone 6s. It queued for days and interacted almost constantly with Apple fanatics, the media, and people passing by.

With Sydney being the first Apple store to release the 6s globally, Lucy The Robot ended up being the first person—droid or human—to buy the iPhone 6s. The story was: Robot Buys First iPhone 6s in the World.

Support

The campaign was driven by PR, branded content marketing, and social media. A number of mainstream publications were targeted, such as news.com.au and The Australian, along with popular television programs like The Project, and well-known technology websites like Mashable.

Phase two came after the mainstream phase. The agency used the hype to target business titles and programs regarding the practical uses of the Double Robotics device in the workplace. A microsite was developed to support lead generation and sales.

Results

“The result represents a new record for a genuine viral marketing campaign both in terms of speed and reach,” according to Fabiano Destri Lobo of the Global Mobile Marketing Association.

The story was covered in some 4,000 news items across print and broadcast—including The Australian, Gizmodo, BRW, Seven News, Nine News, The AFR, and Mashable. Globally, it was translated into 32 languages, reaching 123 million people in total. The estimated media value was $73.2 million.

There were 12,452 sales enquiries, which generated $44,777,392 in sales opportunities.

As an added benefit, the Apple store PR team invited the robot to be part of its own marketing effort.

The results were remarkable by both Australian and global standards and, according to the Mobile Marketing Association, set new benchmarks for viral media campaigns.

On the Cutting Edge

When we asked Jason what he most enjoyed about his work at Atomic 212°, he replied: “Where to begin? The agency is at the cutting edge crossroads of innovation and technology. When guests walk through our offices, they are blown away by the level of energy and amount of technology: robots and holograms … you name it.”

About Jason Dooris:

Jason Dooris is the CEO and Founder of Atomic 212°.  Starting his career in London in 1995, Jason’s experience is rare in that it includes media, creative, and management consulting. Over the past 20 years, Jason has held a variety of senior local and global industry positions, including CEO MediaCom UK, Deputy CEO MediaCom Europe, GM Saatchi & Saatchi NZ, GM Ogilvy & Mather Australia, GM Dentsu Australia, and Consulting Practice Director Deloitte Asia.

Jason is well known in the industry for his firm stance on transparency and integrity within the media community and he is active on the speaker circuit. Particular areas of interest include brand reinvention, the performance and accountability of media, and behavioral psychology. Jason’s strategic leadership is reflected in the depth and range of professional awards, which include 2016 Adnews Agency of the Year, B&T Agency of the Year, Interactive Agency of the Year, Gold Lion Cannes, Cyber Lions Cannes, Deloitte Tech 50 2015, BRW Fast100 2015, and many more.

Personal interests include travel, the beach, rugby, his wife Marisa, and his three lovely children.

About Atomic 212°:

Atomic 212° started out in 2007 as Atomic Search, a performance media-buying agency and data-driven search specialist. The business has since transformed into Atomic 212°.

Atomic has grown into a completely independent, full-service media agency, with competencies across media, strategy, digital, data, creative, content marketing and so much more. Atomic competencies cross media buying and strategy, data and analytics, search, content marketing, PR, creative, production, consumer insights, publishing, and more.

Atomic is the only full service business in Australia to have started out as a search specialist, and accountability and performance lie at the core of everything the agency does. It is also the largest independent communications agency in Australia, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Auckland, and San Francisco. For more information go to http://atomic212.com.au/

The 13th Annual International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organizations in more than 60 nations and territories each year, is currently accepting entries through July 13. This is the extended final entry deadline this year.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to The International Business Awards. An international judging panel of more than 200 executives will determine the Stevie Award winners. Results will be announced in mid-August. Stevie Award winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet in Rome, Italy on October 21.

Today we will highlight the Video Awards Categories. These categories recognize excellence in videos produced for a business- or work-related purpose that were first released or otherwise made public since January 1, 2015 .

Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories in the 2016 competition include: 

a. An essay of up to 125 words describing the video's purpose and results to date
b. If applicable, the video itself, in the form of an attachment or a URL, which you must attach to your entry through our attachment/link uploading tool
c. Optionally, you may list creative and production credits for your work - a list of the people and organizations that contributed to its development

We prefer that you submit your video online.  However, if you will submit your video on DVD for review by the judges, you must first submit your entry information online. Then print out a copy of your entry and mail it with one (1) copy of the DVD to: The Stevie Awards, 10560 Main Street, Suite 519, Fairfax, VA 22030. U.S.A.

Q01. Branded Entertainment
Q02. Corporate Overview
Q03. Events & Webcasts
Q04. Internal/Employee Communications
Q05. Magazine Format
Q06. Meeting Modules
Q07. Motivational
Q08. Orientation
Q09. P.R.: Annual Reports
Q10. P.R.: Government
Q11. P.R.: Industrial
Q12. P.R.: Media & Entertainment
Q13. P.R.: Non-Profit Fund Raising
Q14. P.R.: Other
Q15. P.R.: Technology
Q16. Sales: Direct Response Marketing
Q17. Sales.: Government
Q18. Sales.: Industrial
Q19. Sales.: Media & Entertainment
Q20. Sales.: Other
Q21. Sales.: Technology
Q22. Sales: Product Sales
Q23. Sales: Service Sales
Q24. Security/Safety
Q25. Tourism/Travel
Q26. Training
Q27. Viral

Past Stevie Award winners in the  Video Awards cateogries include:

• Passion Film, Mumbai, India: Shakti Bhog Brand Film- Corporate Overview
• PayPal, San Jose, CA USA: PayPal in 90 Encourages PayPal Employees to Be the Customer- Internal/Employee Communications
• Hyundai Heavy IndustriesCo., Ltd (HHI), Ulsan, South Korea: The World’s Leading Heavy Industries Company, HHI- P.R.: Technology
• Vend Limited, Auckland, New Zealand: Vend Ecommerce & TopShelf Style- Sales: Technology
• The Korea Scholarship Foundation (KOSAF), Seoul, South Korea: Kim Hung Ki Mentor Team- Training
• BBG Production, Istanbul, Turkey: Kerem Bürsin Destroys “Buffering”!- Viral
• …and many more!

The Stevie® Awards is accepting entries for the first annual Stevie Awards for Great Employers, which will honor the world’s best companies to work for and the HR teams and professionals, HR achievements, new products and services, and suppliers that help to create and drive great workplaces.

Other Stevie Awards programs such as The American Business Awards and The International Business Awards do offer New Product & Service categories, but the categories we will highlight today are specifically for the best HR products and services. This is one of the larger category groups in the Stevie Awards for Great Employers. No other competition offers these category varieties.

The last day entries will be accepted is July 20 with payment of a late fee. Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/HR

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

New Product & Service Categories:

These categories recognize specific achievements - individual, team, or organizational - since the beginning of 2015.

The information requirements for entries:

in these categories in the 2016 competition include:
a.  An essay of up to 625 words describing the nominated product or service: its benefits, features, functions, and sales results to date.

b.  Summarize in up to 10 bullet points (up to 150 words) the chief benefits, features, and functions of the nominated product or service.

c.  Add to your entry up to 10 webpage links and up to 10 document uploads to support your case to the judges.  These might be press articles, press releases, videos, or images, for example. 

SOFTWARE

F01      360 Degree Feedback Solution - New
F02      360 Degree Feedback Solution - New Version
F03      Applicant Assessment or Tracking Solution - New
F04      Applicant Assessment or Tracking Solution – New Version
F05      Attendance Tracking Solution - New
F06      Attendance Tracking Solution - New Version
F07      Benefits Management Solution - New
F08      Benefits Management Solution - New Version
F09      Compensation Management Solution - New
F10      Compensation Management Solution - New Version
F11      Course Authoring Solution - New
F12      Course Authoring Solution - New Version
F13      Employee Engagement Solution - New
F14      Employee Engagement Solution - New Version
F15      Employee Recognition Solution - New
F16      Employee Recognition Solution - New Version
F17      Employee Scheduling Solution - New
F18      Employee Scheduling Solution - New Version
F19      HR Reporting Solution - New
F20      HR Reporting Solution - New Version
F21      Human Capital Management Solution - New
F22      Human Capital Management Solution - New Version
F23      Human Resource Information System - New
F24      Human Resource Information System - New Version
F25      Human Resource Management System - New
F26      Human Resource Management System - New Version
F27      Job Board Solution - New
F28      Job Board Solution - New Version
F29      Learning Management Solution - New
F30      Learning Management Solution - New Version
F31      Onboarding Solution - New
F32      Onboarding Solution - New Version
F33      Payroll Management Solution - New
F34      Payroll Management Solution - New Version
F35      Performance Appraisal Solution - New
F36      Performance Appraisal Solution - New Version
F37      Performance Management Solution - New
F38      Performance Management Solution - New Version
F39      Self-Service HR Solution - New
F40      Self-Service HR Solution - New Version
F41      Talent Management Solution - New
F42      Talent Management Solution - New Version
F43      Time and Expense Solution - New
F44      Time and Expense Solution - New Version
F45      Workforce Management Solution - New
F46      Workforce Management Solution - New Version

           
TRAINING PROGRAMS OR MEDIA

May be blended, instructor-led, microlearning, video or web-based. 

F50      Brand Training
F51      Compliance Training
F52      Consumer Education Training
F53      Diversity or Sensitivity Training
F54      Interpersonal Skills Training
F55      Leadership Training
F56      Literacy Training
F57      Managerial Training
F58      New Hire Training
F59      Problem-Solving Training
F60      Product Training
F61      Professional or Legal Training
F62      Quality Training
F63      Safety Training
F64      Sales Training
F65      Skills Training
F66      Systems Training
F67      Technical Training
F68      Other

CURATED TRAINING PLATFORM OF THE YEAR

F70      Consumer
F71      Industrial/Technical
F72      Managerial/Professional
F73      Technology
F74      Other

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of The International Business Awards, announced today that the final entry deadline for the 13th annual IBAs has been extended to Wednesday, July 13. Recognized as the world’s premier business awards program, the IBAs attract nominations from organizations in more than 50 nations and territories each year.

 “We’ve received so many requests for individual deadline extensions that we’ve decided to extend the deadline for everyone,” said Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher. The original final deadline was June 15. Gallagher emphasizes that no additional late fees will be charged for entries submitted through July 13, and late entries will not be penalized in any way in the judging process. All organizations now have an additional four weeks to prepare and submit their entries.

All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to The International Business Awards. The 2016 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2015.  Entry details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

• Management Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards
  •New Product Awards
• Public Relations Awards
• Website Awards, Smartphone and Tablet Apps, and other Media Awards

A variety of new categories were introduced for the 2016 competition including Technology PR Campaign / Program of the Year, and Re-Branding / Brand Renovation of the Year. The 34 Company of the Year categories have each been split into three categories, based on company size (small, medium-size, and large).

Stevie Award winners will be selected during the judging process by more than 200 professionals worldwide. Winners will be announced on August 11, and the awards will be presented at a gala awards ceremony at the Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Rome, Italy, on October 21. 

The Stevie® Awards will present The 14th Annual American Business Awards, the top business awards program in the U.S.A., on Monday, June 20 at 7:00 pm ET at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.   The presentations will be broadcast live via Livestream.

Close to 500 executives from across America will attend the June 20 presentations. More than 3,400 nominations were reviewed in The American Business Awards (ABA) judging process this year by more than 250 professionals, whose average scores determined the winners in categories such as Executive of the Year, Woman of the Year, Startup of the Year, and many more.

The format of the ABA presentations has been changed this year.  In the past, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winner placements were not revealed until the gala.  At the event, only Gold Stevie winners were called to the stage to accept their awards and make a speech.  This year all Stevie winners were pre-announced on May 2. All Stevie-winning organizations that attend the gala will come to the stage to accept their awards. 

Monday's event will feature a silent auction to benefit CARE.  CARE fights poverty for all by focusing on girls and women with programs that bring lasting change to whole communities

For a complete list of the Stevie Award winners, visit www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Awards to Be Presented at Gala Ceremony on June 20 in New York City

Liaison Technologies and West Unified Communications are the top winners in the 2016 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, a feature of The American Business Awards, the U.S.A.’s top business awards program, which are now in their 14th year.

The nationwide public vote was conducted last month, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in a variety of product categories. More than 26,000 votes were cast.  To win, a category’s leading vote-getter had to receive at least 100 votes.

Liaison Technologies, the Alpharetta, Georgia-based provider of integration and data management solutions, and West Unified Communications, the Omaha, Nebraska-based telecommunications group, both won People’s Choice Stevie Awards in two categories. LIMU LEAN BURN garnered the most votes of any nominee.

The crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards will be presented to winners at The American Business Awards’ gala event on Monday, June 20 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The winners of peer-adjudicated Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards will also be presented their awards that evening. More than 400 executives from across the U.S.A. are expected to attend.

All new products and services recognized as Stevie winners in the new product awards categories of this year’s American Business Awards were eligible to be included in public voting for the people’s choice awards.

The winners of the 2016 People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products are:

Business-to-Business Products: ClearSlide Mail
Business-to-Business Services: iTalent Digital Transformation Service
Computer Hardware: Link by Fasetto
Consumer Electronics: TomTom Spark GPS Fitness Watch
Consumer Products & Services: LIMU LEAN BURN
Content Solution: West Unified Communications’ Webcast Pro
Education – Cloud/Virtual: Study.com Video Lessons
Education – Enterprise Solution: SchoolMint
Education – Other: Youth Digital’s Server Design 1
Education – Personalized Learning: Epiphany Learning K-12 Learning Relationships Management (LRM) Solution
Financial Services: The Caregiver Mortgage
Health & Pharmaceutical: Beltone Legend 17 – Custom
Other Products/Services: Gorilla Safety’s Fleet and Safety Management Mobile App
Software - Big Data:  Progress® DataDirect
Software –  Cloud Application/Service: Infor CloudSuite Facilities Management
Software – Cloud Backup/Storage: Hedvig Distributed Storage Platform
Software – Cloud Infrastructure/Platform: Liasian Alloy Platform
Software – Collaboration/Social: Zoom’s Collaboration Product Suite
Software –  Content Management: Progress® Sitefinity^TM
Software – Ecommerce: Elavon’s Commerce SDK
Software – Financial Management: Host Analytics’ Cloud-Based Financial Modeling
Software –  Governance/Risk: Simility’s Fraud Prevention
Software – Human Capital Management: mroads Paññã
Software – Integration Solution: Liaison ALLOY Platform
Software –  Learning/Workforce Development: Brainshark for Coaching
Software –  Marketing/Public Relations: West Unified Communications' Webcast Essentials
Software –  Mobile: CD2 Mobile Platform with Enhanced Gamification
Software – Project/Systems Management: Epicor ERP 10.1
Software—Security Solution: SecureAuth’s SecureAuth IdP
Software –  Social Business: TouchCommerce TouchSocial
Software– Other: Qmatic Orchestra 6
Telecommunications – Product: Ooma Telo
Telecommunications – Service: Broadview Networks' MyOfficeSuite

The 13th annual International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, is accepting nominations through June 15. This is the final entry deadline this year. The IBAs attract nominations from organizations in more than 60 nations and territories each year.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

All individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small—may submit nominations to The International Business Awards. An international judging panel of more than 200 executives will determine the Stevie Award winners. Results will be announced in mid-August. Stevie Award winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet in Rome, Italy on October 21.

Today we will highlight the IT Awards categories. These categories pertain to all information technology, software and web development professionals.

The information requirements for entries in these categories in the 2016 competition include:

a. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee's achievements since January 1, 2015

b. In bullet-list form (up to 150 words), a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the nominee's chief achievements since January 1, 2015

c. Optional (but highly recommended): a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges

The categories:

H01. Information Technology Department of the Year

Enter this category if you wish to recognize everyone who works in technology functions in your organization, regardless of function, location, seniority or position.

H02. Information Technology Team of the Year

Enter this category if you wish to recognize some subset of your entire IT organization, such as a specific web maintenance, software development or infrastructure planning team, for example. The team may be multidisciplinary, may stretch across multiple organizations (your own organization, client organizations and agency or vendor organizations, for example) and may be a permanent team or a temporary team that was assembled for a specific task or assignment.

H03. Information Technology Executive of the Year

Enter this category to recognize the achievements of individual IT executives at the VP level or above.

Past Stevie Award winners in the Information Technology categories include:

• Dubai Statistics Center, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: DSC IT Department- IT Department of the Year
• Cisco Systems, San Jose, CA USA: IT Database Droids: Innovative Operational Excellence- IT Team of the Year
• TangoMe, Mountain View, CA USA: Guy Fighel, Director of Engineering, Platform Infrastructure- IT Executive of the Year
• …and more!

 

All Female Entrepreneurs, Executives and Employees Worldwide are Eligible

The Stevie^® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards programs, has issued the call for entries for its 2016 (13^th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor the achievements of working women in more than 85 categories including, among others, Best Entrepreneur, Best Executive, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Women Helping Women, Employee of the Year, Woman-Owned or -Run Company of the Year and Innovator of the Year. All female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and the organizations they run, anywhere in the world, are eligible to be nominated.

The early-bird entry deadline is July 20 and includes reduced entry fees. The final entry deadline is August 24, but late entries will be accepted through September 21 with payment of a late fee. Finalists will be announced on October 5. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be revealed at a gala awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 18, 2016.    

Most categories require the payment of an entry fee for the submission of a nomination. Several categories, such as most honoring women in the non-profit and governmental sectors, and the Startup of the Year categories, do not have a fee.

Susan LaPlante-Dube and Maureen Condon, principals at Precision Marketing Group and 2015 Gold Stevie Award winners, commented on the impact of their win.

“Being recognized as one of the first-ever Women-Run Workplace of the Year winners was truly an honor. We’ve worked hard to balance our commitment to being responsive to our clients with our vision of maintaining a flexible, supportive work environment for our team. It’s important to us that our employees are engaged and challenged every day—and winning this Gold Stevie Award was a great testament to the team and the way the company culture allows employees to have  rich, fulfilling personal lives."

Other winners of the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women in Business include, among others: 

•     Debbie Madden, CEO, Stride, New York, NY
•     Stephanie Mitelman, President, Founder and Inventor, Senseez Pillows, Montréal, QC, Canada
•     Brittany Stresing, Prosthetist / Orthotist and President, LimBionics, Durham, NC
•     Gorkem Özkan, HR Director, Calik Energy, Ankara, Turkey
•     Carrie Rich, CEO and Co-founder, Global Good Fund, Arlington, VA
•     Kerri Evans, Senior Director, DHL Express (Canada), Ltd, Brampton, ON, Canada
•     María Esteve, Managing Director, LLORENTE & CUENCA in Colombia and Madrid, Spain
•     Heather Magaha, Senior VP and National Client Services Manager, Wells Fargo, San Francisco, CA
•     Dream it. Code. Win it., New York, NY
•     Family Development Foundation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
•     Ooredoo, Doha, Qatar
•     Virtual Legal Pty Ltd, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

The 2015 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflected a diverse group of large and small organizations around the globe. The 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business will be judged by more than 200 leading professionals around the world, and nominees will have access to the judges’ comments and suggestions about their nominations.

The Stevie® Awards have announced the twelve executives who will chair the specialized judging committees for the 13th Annual International Business Awards, the premier business awards competition around the world.

All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to The International Business Awards.

Winners in this year's International Business Awards will be announced on
August 11. Judging will take place in June and July. Winners will be celebrated at an awards banquet in Rome, Italy on October 21. 

Here are this year's judging committee chairs.

COMPANY/ORGANIZATION

Chair:
Ronald Tse, Founder
Ribose Inc., Hong Kong, China

Ronald is the founder of Ribose, an award-winning, secure, cloud-collaboration platform trusted by regulated industries and users with heightened security needs. Interested in solving real-world problems elegantly and efficiently using computation, Ronald currently serves on CSA’s International Standardization Council, technical committees at CalConnect, as well as the ISO/IEC’s JTC1/SC27.

Ronald graduated from Brown University in Providence, RI, USA, with Bachelor's Degrees in Computer Science and Biology and a Master's Degree in Computer Science.

CUSTOMER SERVICE/SUPPORT

Chair:
Amy Downs, Chief Customer Success & Happiness Officer
Lifesize, Austin, Texas

It's not every day that you see a business leader whose professional title includes the words “customer happiness.” But for Amy Downs, Chief Customer Success and Happiness Officer at Lifesize, there are simply no better words to describe her critical role at the company.

Amy joined Lifesize in 2014 to evangelize the importance of its customers throughout the organization, a core value she calls “Customer Obsession.” Amy’s role is to ensure that everyone who interacts with the company has a smile on their face. From customer success, support, service, training, community, and renewals, Amy drives the strategy and execution of programs that provide world-class experiences for Lifesize customers and partners to bring successful video collaboration to their companies. For example, introducing Net Promoter to Lifesize now propels the voices of its customers and partners into all areas of its business and is driving great organizational improvements.

Prior to joining Lifesize, Amy led Voxeo’s industry-leading customer success, support, and service organizations and oversaw all post-sales interaction with customers. She previously led professional services at Fiserv Corporation.  Amy has a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, specializing in MIS, from the University of Florida.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Chair:
Gerald Hüsch, CEO
Global Leadership School, Berlin, Germany

In addition to being Founder and CEO of the Global Leadership School in Berlin, Gerald Hüsch is a Founding Member and CEO of the German Society for Stress Diagnostics & Prevention GmbH, and is also a Senator in the German Senat der Wirtschaft. Gerald has been training and guiding executives from the upper and middle management of multi-national corporations for 20 years. He is regarded as a visionary expert and the pioneer of an Evidence Based Leadership & Collaboration System, a world-class collection of tools and methods that encourage ideal collaborative and leadership behaviors throughout an entire organization. His many years of work experience have enabled Gerald to establish an entirely new system that is extremely powerful while easy to use. The aim is to achieve outstanding performance–and to avoid managerial blunders such as those seen recently in the automotive industry.

In addition to his credentials as a certified coach and trainer, Gerald is also a contributing author to “Human Resource Management–The Human Face” by Dr. Parveen Prasad und Sekhar Seshan.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Chair:
Thomas B. Cross, CEO
TECHtionary, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Tom has decades of experience in startups and is a consulting advisor with leading providers and venture capital companies in market planning, marketing and development, hardware/software design and development, project management, intellectual property in telecommunications, information technology, conferencing, teletraining, telecommuting, groupware, networks, call centers, internet, artificial intelligence, and more. He has managed the successful development of more than 10 software, hardware, and Internet products to market and received industry awards for this work. He has authored 13 books, and has written, produced, and directed 15 commercial videos. He has also created thousands of online e-learning tutorials on intelligent buildings, WiFi, WiMax, IPTV, telecommuting, VoIP-SIP security, artificial intelligence, and voice/data networking.

“The International Business Awards is the leading independent evaluation of companies’ business strategies, customer engagement, and benefits to a global society,” Tom told us. “I believe this competition represents the opportunity for companies to align and focus their goals for a greater purpose as it is not just the challenge of the competition, but also the ability of a company and its people to collaborate together.”

Twitter - https://twitter.com/techtionary

MANAGEMENT

Chair:
Dr. Amanda Hamilton-Attwell, Managing Director
Business DNA, Pretoria, South Africa

Dr. Amanda Hamilton-Attwell is a globally acclaimed specialist in improving employee efficiency. She has assisted organizations in the mining, manufacturing, and hospitality industries to improve their business results through enhanced communication and customer service. She is recognized for her knowledge in communicating to operational employees and training leadership to communicate effectively with their teams; and for her experience in change communication, communication with shift workers, and communication in crisis situations.

Amanda frequently participates in radio programs on women in management and has had several articles published on this topic.

She holds a Doctorate in Communication Science from the University of South Africa, is an Accredited Business Communicator with the IABC (International Association of Business Communicators), and is a Certified Public Relations Officer with the Public Relations Institute of South Africa. She is a Fellow of the IABC.

MARKETING

Co- Chair:
Julie Toma, General Manager–Marketing and Communications
Sonic Clinical Services, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Julie Toma is the General Manager–Marketing and Communications at Sonic Clinical Services, a fully owned subsidiary of Sonic Healthcare, which is in the ASX Top 50. Julie has a background in healthcare, marketing, and management consulting with experience on global strategic planning teams, Asia Pacific marketing strategy, and new product and service development for leading corporations including Cochlear Limited, Kimberly-Clark, and BD. 

Julie is currently a non-executive Board Director for CareWest and is the Chair of the Australian Marketing Institute NSW Committee. Julie is an Australian Marketing Institute Marketing Awards for Excellence Judge and is also a member of the Cancer Australia Research Grant Advisory Committee. 

Julie has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Biomedical) Degree from the University of Technology, Sydney, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Co-Chair:
Professor Han Sangpil, Department of Advertising and Public Relations
College of Communications and Social Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea

Since 2002, Han Sangpil has been Professor at the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Hanyang University. He joined the department as an Assistant Professor in 1991, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1997. In addition to being Head of Department at various times between 1993 and 2002, Professor Han was Associate Dean of the College of Communications and Social Science from1999 to 2002.  Outside of his academic role, Professor Han has also been Director at the Hanyang University Broadcasting Station, and earlier was the Director of Internet Hanyang.

In addition to his impressive academic achievements, Professor Han is a member of the American Academy of Advertising, and was president of the Korean Academy of Advertising from 2010 to 2011. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Korean Service Marketing Association, the Korean Academy of Marketing, and the Korean Academy of Customer Satisfaction.  He is also an enthusiastic supporter of the MBC Children’s Football Foundation.

Professor Han received a BA (Honors) from Hanyang University in 1985, having completed his military service.  In 1987, he received an MS in Advertising and Public Relations, going on to earn his Ph.D. in Communications in 1990, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

NEW PRODUCT & PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Chair:
Moussa Habib, Under-Secretary-General
Jordan Engineers Association, Amman, Jordan

Since 2014, Dr. Habib has held the position of Under-Secretary-General, Professional Development and Scientific Affairs, at Jordan Engineers Association. From 2010 until 2014, he was the Assistant Director General, Chief Capacity Management Officer at the Istishari Hospital in Amman, Jordan. Before that, he was Acting Dean of Engineering, Director of the Nanotechnology Program, and Associate Professor of Electronics, at Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Amman, Jordan.

Dr. Habib has worked as a technical consultant to a number of engineering firms in the areas of Speech, Imaging, IT, and Biomedical Engineering. He has written over 100 publications and articles in peer-reviewed journals and for international conferences. From 2011 to 2013, he was the Vice President of the IEEE Jordan Chapter. Dr. Habib has been the Chair or Co-chair for a number of international conferences in the area of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. He is actively involved in a number of community service committees, including Rakhaa’ Noble Invest, the English Language Olympics, and JEA Consulting Committee.

Dr. Habib holds a Master’s Degree in Science and Doctorate in Medical Electronics from Dalhousie University, Canada.

PR/IR/CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

Chair:
Dr. Elke Neujahr, Managing Director
comm:up Kommunikation und Management GmbH, Dusseldorf, Germany

Dr. Elke Neujahr has been an Acting Partner of comm:up since 2004. The agency provides consulting services for the corporate communications of globally operating companies and organizations. Its main consulting areas are change management, coaching for top executives, media training, crisis management, and communications and corporate reputation topics. 

Elke is a communications expert and has completed trainer and coach-the-coach training.  She has 11 years of experience at companies such as Continental AG, BEB Erdgas GmbH, and as the Head of Publicity and Public Relations at Hanover Airport. She has worked at public relations agencies since 1992 and for 10 years was an Acting Partner and the CEO of ECC Kohtes Klewes (now KetchumPLEON) and its holdings (650 employees).

On being appointed Chair of the Corporate Communications/Investor Relations/Public Relations Awards Judging Committee, Elke commented: “Communication is essential for a good reputation. With The International Business Awards we are able to honor best practice approaches that underline the leading role of communications in our increasingly global world.”

CREATIVE: LIVE EVENTS

Chair:
Kristin Marcell, Vice President
SmartMark Communications, Langhorne, Pennsylvania, USA

Focused on ensuring high-quality deliverables and results, Kristin is responsible for managing all aspects of PR and marketing for clients at SmartMark Communications. Prior to joining SmartMark, Kristin gained experience at a large, global public relations firm based in Washington D.C., where she provided communications counsel and service to a number of clients, including several high-profile energy and environment organizations, utilities, and corporations.

Previously, Kristin was the Communications Director of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and directed the agency’s communications program, as well as serving as its official spokesperson. Kristin was also the Director of External Affairs for the U.S. House Committee on Resources, General Electric’s Political Action Committee Manager in their Washington, D.C. corporate office, and she served as a legislative staffer to two former congressmen in the U.S. House of Representatives.

CREATIVE: PUBLICATIONS

Chair:
Tore Claesson, Director
TIO Agency, Beijing, China

Tore’s background at agencies such as Ogilvy, based in Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong in Asia, and Anderson & Lembke McCann based in Amsterdam in Europe, in addition to his many years in New York, means that TIO has a leader that knows the ins and out of cross-culture communication better than just about anybody on this small planet.

“I think I’ve learned more from judging the Stevie Awards than from any book on creativity!” Tore told us recently. Tore sees judging as an opportunity to peek into other professionals’ brains. As he puts it: “To see how others have solved certain business and creative problems is invaluable. It’s like a secret peek behind the curtain.”

You can read and see more of Tore’s adventures in China on his blog.

CREATIVE: VIDEO

Chair:
Begüm Susar, Consumer Engagement Services Manager
Nestlé, Istanbul, Turkey

Begüm has a diverse background in both the financial services and food-and-beverage sectors. After 6 years in the banking industry with various responsibilities, she is now Consumer Engagement Services Manager at Nestlé Turkey.

In the early years of her career, she worked at creative, media planning, and PR agencies. Then, she moved to the marketing communications department of an international bank. She gained experience in credit cards marketing, digital banking marketing, customer management, and finally in the digital marketing and design department, where she worked as an Assistant Vice President. 

From 2005-2009, Begüm studied Economics at Yeditepe University in Istanbul. She also studied in the Netherlands for 6 months with the Erasmus Program.

CREATIVE: WEBSITES/APPS

Chair:
Simon Hardy, VP Brand Experience
FCV Interactive, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Simon Hardy leads FCV’s Design, Brand, and Content teams, creating solutions that engage customers and deliver results. An award-winning creative director, designer, and copywriter with international experience across digital, print, and TV for brands including Starbucks, Nike, lululemon athletica, and EA Sports, Simon also serves on the Digital Design Advisory Board at Vancouver Film School.

Simon previously worked at Blast Radius and TBWA\Worldwide.  He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Buckinghamshire New University in the United Kingdom.