The first German Stevie Awards were presented this past March in Berlin. Nominations of more than 200 organizations were considered for this year’s competition. The full text of the Gold Stevie winning entries is now published online.

 

ACCESS THE GOLD STEVIE-WINNING ENTRIES HERE.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners were selected by more than 50 executives who participated in judging. The Stevie Award trophy, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major international awards, is among the world's most coveted prizes.

The German Stevie Awards welcomes nominations from all organizations operating in Germany – large and small, for-profit and non-profit, publicly-held and privately-held - with a wide range of categories to choose from, including:

• Company of the Year awards
• Management awards
• Marketing awards
• Public relations awards
• Customer service awards
• Human resources awards
• IT awards
• New product awards
• App and website awards
• Video awards
  and more

Here is a preview of some of the Gold winning entries:

Feingold Technologies GmbH – App Awards

Feingold Technologies created a series of smartphone apps (Stress Manager, Stress Control, Call Sense, iCoach) to analyze mindsets and emotional states, enabling the user to recognize stress in the early stages and avoid it before it becomes a problem. The smartphone apps help users (managers and employees in the workplace) reduce time and money spent on dealing with stress, and propels them to strengthen business and personal relationships that can be negatively affected by stress.

Relying on findings of game theory, behavioral science, neuropsychology, and mathematical models to objectively assess stress levels, the apps analyze a variety of vocal characteristics such as frequency patterns to measure how stressed a person is. Depending on the type of emotional distress detected, the apps will recommend certain corrective behaviors such as relaxation exercises, physical activity, and tips for dealing with stress while engaged in critical discussions. The recommendations preserve the mental and physical health of the user, thus having a positive effect on the user’s productivity. Responding to the user’s stress levels, the apps determine incoming stressful times and help reduce stress and anxiety, therefore helping the user to avoid workplace burn-outs.

Emanate PR – PR Awards

Emanate PR won a Stevie Award for their campaign for Burger King. In Germany, Burger King has successfully positioned itself as a leading fast food restaurant since 1976. Currently, there are nearly 700 locations with the company employing approximately 25,000 people.

In 2014, German Burger Kings experienced shortcomings in sales compared to their franchises in different countries. It was up to Emanate PR to help bring back customer confidence in Burger King’s food and to elevate Burger King’s social media standing. Focusing on the franchisees at the local level, Emanate PR created an ad campaign in which franchisees from the region guaranteed quality and freshness in their restaurants. Emanate PR conducted interviews for television stations and social media, hosted questions and answer sessions on YouTube, created appealing videos, presented individual stories, and referred to historical and regional references. Tours were also provided for journalists so they could evaluate the freshness of ingredients and the quality of store maintenance. The kitchen tours were a new concept for Germany to adopt and are still being given today. So far, over 1,000 kitchen tours have been given in 250 restaurants.

Following the campaign, Burger King received 2,000 applications for an advisory board that meets four times a year to “review freshness” and suggests updates for the brand. Overall, the campaign garnered an overwhelming positive response on television and Facebook.

Coca-Cola Germany – Corporate Social Responsibility Awards

Coca-Cola Germany is a subsidiary of the American 'The Coca-Cola Company' and filled its first bottles of coca-cola in 1929.

Coca-Cola Germany has been committed to its corporate social responsibility program, “Me, We, World,” and strives to achieve sustainability within three categories: economical, ecological, and social. Recently, Coca-Cola has been even more committed to make significant economical, ecological, and social strides by 2020.

In regards to ​​climate protection, Coca-Cola Germany utilizes efficient cooling equipment, improved production processes, and environmentally-friendly transport of products to reduce CO2 emissions (this program runs alongside steadily rising sales figures - managed by around 100,000 tons, or eight percent absolutely to reduce the overall CO2 footprint since 2010). At all locations, the company generates electricity using 100 percent renewable energy.

Another priority for the company is to protect water resources. Coca-Cola Germany ensures that all water used during production for water extraction sources does not adversely affect the regions in which production takes place. Various measures reduce Coca-Cola water consumption in production and prepare global wastewater production so that it doesn’t negatively affect the natural living conditions of plants and animals.

All suppliers of ingredients, packaging, and salesmanship are obliged to adhere to strict global guiding principles of the Coca-Cola Company that include labor, health, and safety standards, environmental protection, and sound business practices.  In addition, Coca-Cola produces about 99 percent of all 80 non-alcoholic beverages sold in Germany and both indirectly and directly backs the entire value chain of 120,000 jobs.

For a balanced diet, Coca-Cola provides a variety of products including soft drinks with and without calories, juices, juice spritzers and different flavored waters. Being mindful of impressionable consumers (elementary school children aged12 and under), Coca-Cola specifically advertises to more mature costumers. Coca-Cola Germany is part of the “Mission Olympic-Wanted” effort and engages its most active cities in the running to host the Olympics to “convey an awareness of a healthy beverage embossed with a regular sports life.”

ACCESS THE REST OF THE GOLD STEVIE-WINNING ENTRIES HERE.

Entries for the 2016 edition of the German Stevie Awards will be accepted starting this August.  Join the mailing list so that you get the entry kit as soon as it's available.

International Business Awards Offers Entrepreneurs Chance to Benchmark Against the World’s Best

It’s hard to start a business. It’s even harder to make it successful. In order to honor the courage and ingenuity of entrepreneurs around the world, the prestigious International Business Awards award this year have introduced four Startup of the Year categories. There is no cost for startups of all kinds to nominate themselves to win a Stevie® Award trophy.

As founder and president of the Stevie Awards Michael Gallagher knows about the challenges entrepreneurs face when starting their businesses: “Founders must overcome many obstacles in order to succeed. Therefore, we at the Stevie Awards want to help remove one of those obstacles by providing the world’s best startup companies with a platform on which to generate national and international brand recognition.”

All organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to The International Business Awards. Small organizations have just as much chance to win a Stevie as big companies do.  Every year, household-name companies such as Hyundai, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever are joined in the winners' circle by small and medium-size organizations that are still building their brands. Entering the IBAs is a cost-effective way to thank and honor a firm‘s valued employees and to build or burnish a corporate brand.

Young companies can only benefit from nominating themselves in The International Business Awards, explains Gallagher. In addition to the increased media awareness gained by winning a Stevie Award, winning entrepreneurs can use their entries for international benchmarking. “The individual entries are examined and evaluated by an international jury of more than 200 business experts. It doesn’t matter to the judges whether a startup company operates regionally, nationally or internationally. What counts is the extraordinary dedication of the entrepreneurs, the outstanding implementation of ideas and a special corporate culture. The jury is also interested to see how the company has dealt with challenges or crises,” says Gallagher.

The most important part of a startup’s nomination to The International Business Awards is an essay of up to 650 words about the company’s recent achievements (since the beginning of 2014, for the 2015 IBAs). “The short format provides the jury with an insight into the company and gives the organization the opportunity to precisely focus on their performance highlights. The process of preparing its own success story allows a firm to fine-tune its public profile and isolate its strengths and weaknesses. So the very act of preparing a nomination for The International Business Awards is in itself valuable.”

Lea Lange, founder and CEO of JUNIQE, a Stevie Award winner in Berlin, Germany, confirms this: “The Stevie Awards’ entry process was a good opportunity for self-reflection and to review our last year. In the entry essays we had to focus on what our company means to us and what makes it so special. It is very motivating to see that we had achieved putting our values into practice and then get this confirmed by winning multiple awards.” The young company won a Gold Stevie Award as “Start-up of the Year” in this year’s German Stevie Awards program.

Eligible to enter the IBA’s Startup of the Year categories are companies and entrepreneurs that began operations since the beginning of 2013. The final entry deadline for the International Business Awards is June 10, 2015. The entry kit and complete details on the competition are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

 

Entry Fees Eliminated for Government and Non-Profit Participants

The 12^th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business is now accepting entries, and in more categories than ever before. All female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated.

This year the Stevie Awards for Women in Business will honor women in more than 85 categories including, among others, Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Maverick of the Year, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Employee of the Year and Most Innovative Company of the Year.

The fields of government and non-profit are crucial to every society, and are increasingly being shaped by women. In the U.S.A. alone, the non-profit sector has 1.6 million organizations, and provides a great range of services in conjunction with government agencies such as relief for the poor, adoption, job placement, and community outreach.

Because of the dedication of women around the globe in these crucial sectors, the Stevie Awards has eliminated the entry fees for most of the categories for Government and Non-profit organizations and women! Each of the Government and Non-Profit categories is subdivided by organization size. 

• Female Innovator of the Year – Government or Non-Profit
• Female Executive of the Year – Government or Non-Profit
• Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit

Submission Requirements for Female Innovator of the Year, Female Executive of the Year, and Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit includes:

1. An essay of up to 525 words describing the nominated individual's / organization's achievements in the category since July 1, 2014

2. A biography of up to 125 words of the nominee

3. 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 executive categories are for women who run all or some part organizations founded by others. Employee totals are for the entire organization.)

The Stevie Awards realize it’s hard to start a business and it’s even harder to make it successful. In order to honor the courage and originality of women entrepreneurs around the world, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business now offers four Startup of the Year categories. There is no entry fee for these startup categories.

The categories recognize startup’s achievements since July 1, 2014 of organizations that began operations after July 1, 2013.  The Startup of the Year categories are for the following industries:

• Business Products Industries
• Business Services Industries
• Consumer Products Industries
• Consumer Servies Industries

The last of the new Women in Business categories for 2015 is Women-Run Workplace of the Year. It is broken down into two categories by company size: 10 or less employees, or more than 10 employees.

Now that there are increasingly more women in the workplace, and in positions of leadership and as CEOs, the Stevie Awards are thrilled to introduce this new category to honor women run businesses all over the world.

To enter the new categories, request your entry kit and find complete details on the competition at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The early-bird entry deadline is July 22, with reduced entry fees. The final entry deadline is August 26, and late entries will be accepted through September 23 with payment of a late fee. Winners of the 12th annual competition will be announced at a gala awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on November 13, 2015.

If you're in the government or non-profit industries, run or work for a startup, or own a woman-run business, take a look at these new categories. You could be one of the first to ever take home these titles!

Questions?  Contact us at help@stevieawards.com.

 

The Stevie® Awards today announced the nine executives who will chair and form specialized final judging committees for its 13th Annual American Business Awards, the top business awards competition in the USA.

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. - public and private, large and small, for-profit and non-profit - are eligible to submit nominations to The American Business Awards.

The nine committee selections are based on the categories that will be judged. The appointments are as follows:

COMPANY/ORGANIZATION

Chair:
Dennis M. Najjar, CPA, co-founder
AccountingDepartment.com, Pompton Plains, New Jersey

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dennis had a vision that would change the world of accounting services as we knew it. He envisioned a world-class team of professional bookkeepers and controllers, providing full-charge bookkeeping and financial controllership services to small and mid-sized businesses throughout the United States. He saw an opportunity to build the entire company virtually from the ground up, virtual brick by brick. Thus a new age of outsourced, cloud-based accountancy dawned. Since that moment, Dennis has striven, alongside AccountingDepartment.com co-Founder Bill Gerber, to build and promote an entirely virtual company dedicated to the promotion and advancement of enterprise-level services for the SMB market.

Now, AccountingDepartment.com is the leader in virtual accounting, bookkeeping, and controller services. Founded in 2004, AccountingDepartment.com provides comprehensive online accounting and accounting technology services for established businesses. The 2014 Gold Stevie Award winner for Company of the Year – Professional Services, AccountingDepartment.com is leading the revolution in the online accounting services industry.

“As a previous Gold Stevie Award winner, I understand the weight receiving such an honor carries in our community,” Dennis told us. “To have the opportunity to Chair a final judging committee is a great way to give back and to help further the recognition of excellence in business.”

CREATIVE MEDIA - WEBSITES

Chair:
Laura Ribas, Vice President of Marketing
Klein Steel Services, Inc., Rochester, New York


Laura was honored that Klein Steel was recognized among such highly esteemed, organizations in The 2014 American Business Awards. She is looking forward to reviewing the 2015 Finalists in her role as Chair of the Website Final Judging Committee.

CREATIVE MEDIA - PUBLICATIONS/APPS/LIVE EVENTS/VIDEOS

Chair:
Scott Cullather, Global Managing Partner,
inVNT, New York, New York


Scott has over 20 years of experience in brand communications and campaign marketing. He is an industry leader who has helped to shape and refine the way organizations communicate to their employees, customers, consumers, the media, and their business partners. Scott is a regular speaker at industry events and has been covered by, or featured, in trade publications and national media outlets that include Ad Age, FOX Business News, BIZBASH, Brand Republic, 1to1 Media, Forbes, CNBC, Event Marketer, ADWEEK, The Guardian, Successful Meetings, MPI One+, Crain’s New York Business, Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, and Fortune Magazine. Scott has led teams in the design, production, and execution of hundreds of the largest B2B and B2C campaigns for many of the worlds leading brands, companies, and trade organizations to include: PepsiCo, Merck, Honeywell, Porsche, Barnes & Noble, Genentech, NewsCorp, Weight Watchers, Gatorade, and MetLife.

In his own words, Scott is “psyched to Chair the Final Judging Committee for these categories, to review and evaluate significan achievements in business.”

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS/INVESTOR RELATIONS/PUBLIC RELATIONS

Chair:
Chris Hook, Director, Global Marketing
AMD, Austin, Texas


Chris is delighted to have been selected as Chair for the Corporate Communications Final Judging Committee.

CUSTOMER SERVICE/SUPPORT

Chair:
Joni Arison, Leader, Emerging Consumer Products
AT&T U-verse, Dallas, TX


Prior to her current role, Joni was responsible for the Small Markets Solutions business unit. This multi-billion dollar organization, which included legacy voice, DSL, and satellite TV, served Home Solutions customers throughout the 22-state footprint. Previously, Joni had served as Chief Marketing Officer for Home Solutions, where she was responsible for driving consumer wireline marketing, product definition, lifecycle management, customer experience, and key consumer marketing programs. In 2012, she served as Senior Vice President of Small Business Marketing. From 2010 to 2012, Joni was Senior Vice President of Sales for Advertising Solutions in the Southeast and South Central regions, where she was responsible for a revenue stream of over a billion dollars while leading the Online and Print Advertising sales force. Joni started her career with AT&T as part of a management training program while in undergraduate school in Connecticut. Her sales career began when she was appointed an Account Executive in Advertising and Publishing, and her experience spans wireline and wireless, business and consumer channels, and includes sales, sales training, sales management, and call center management as well as consumer and business marketing.

Joni is an active volunteer, supporting Big Brothers & Big Sisters, The Boys and Girls Club of Fort Worth, and Junior Achievement of Dallas. She is a member and mentor of Women of AT&T, and is also a National Advisory Board Member for OxyGEN. Joni is a supporter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and has participated in the Breast Cancer 3-day walk. She also serves as a board member for the YWCA of Metropolitan Dallas. After graduating from Quinnipiac University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management, Joni earned an MBA with a concentration in Marketing from the University of New Haven. Now residing in Southlake, Texas, Joni enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys.

MARKETING

Chair:
Alison von Puschendorf, Director of External Communications
Dealertrack Technologies, Inc., Burlington, Vermont


NEW PRODUCT & SERVICE / INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Chair:
Dr. Dan Yang, Founder & CEO

VINCI Education, North Andover, Massachusetts

Following a series of technology ventures, including startups in Canada, the United States, France, Germany, and China, and inspired by her then-toddler daughter, Dr. Yang launched VINCI Education in 2010 to transform early childhood education. VINCI Blended Learning has earned numerous awards in the education industry, including a CODIE award for the Best Game-Based Curriculum in 2014.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Chair:
David Gilman, President and Principal Cosultant
Gilman Performance Systems, Inc., Brookfield, CT

Prior to establishing GPS in 1986, David was a manager in the training departments of Salomon Brothers, Prudential Relocation, and GE Capital. He also held design and training positions with the SCM Corporation and NYC Transit Authority.

David is either active in, or is a member of, a number of professional organizations including the Association for Talent Development (formerly known as ASTD), Society for Human Resource Management, and the Project Management Institute. David holds an MBA in Management and Organizational Behavior and a B.A. in Business and Industrial Organizational Psychology.

On being appointed Chair of the Human Resources Final Judging Committee, David commented: “The Stevie Awards and The American Business Awards serve a very important purpose for smaller and larger firms. This allows for an even playing field, not just for the ‘most admired’ or ‘best to work for’ awards we all hear about. The idea that the judging is department-specific is of great value. I am privileged to Chair the Human Resources committee, which to me is the most critical, since all results are through our people!”

MANAGEMENT

Chair:
John Hingley, Co-founder
Dasheroo, San Francisco, California


After that, John led the turnaround of wine.com after the company went into bankruptcy. He bought the URL and other assets for a song and in less than a year had moved the company from Portland to San Francisco, done a complete re-organization, and delivered both revenue growth and the company’s first profitable quarter. Wine.com is now the amazon.com of the wine industry. Following that, John founded and raised a Series A for a SaaS Social Media Analytics technology company, Andiamo Systems. In the first 12 months of its 2007 launch, the company won enterprise clients including Warner Bros., Disney, multiple divisions of Microsoft, Pfizer, Roxio, and Adobe/Omniture. Andiamo was sold in 2009.

In 2013 Deluxe (NYSE: DLX) purchased VerticalResponse, a leading email and social media marketing SaaS for small businesses that John had co-founded with his wife, Janine Popick, its CEO, in 2001. John served as a consultant and board member, and was heavily involved in the March 2014 launch of its freemium business offering.

In 2014, John co-founded Dasheroo with James Ryan, Josh Feinberg, and Alf Brand. Dasheroo provides a way to bring together all the separate data sources a business needs to look at in order to be successful, make sense out of it.The application is free of charge and enables teams to track and collaborate on business metrics across the company in one dashboard. Dasheroo is backed by Cloud Apps Capital Partners and is located in both San Francisco, California and Austin, Texas.

The following professionals participated in first-round judging of The 2015 American Business Awards.  Their average scores determined the Finalists who are eligible to be considered in final judging.  We thank them for their time and insights.

Final judging of the ABAs begins on May 27.

Ahmed Al Hai, Drilling Services Automation Project Manager & RTOC Project Member, ADCO, United Arab Emirates
Amal Al-Najjar, HR Manager, Fluor Kuwait, Kuwait    
Nirso Amaya, Accountant, Lynx, Orlando    Florida
Stewart Andrews, Noodlebox Design
Zainab Ansari, Director/CEO, Xenith PR (Pvt.) Ltd, Pakistan    
Daniel Arenas, Creative Director, Sunday Morning NY, Astoria, NY
Dean Aslinia, Managing Director, New Horizons Center for Healing, McKinney, TX
Jeff Bell, Partner, NCT Ventures, LLC Kirkland, WA
Justin Bell, CEO, Arc+Arrow Creative Group, Miami, Florida
Debra Bergevine, EVP, Marketing    DCR Workforce, Inc. Boca Raton Florida
Rob Betts, Director of Creative Services, Akavit, Denver, CO
Israel Bonequi, Creative Director, Birds Nest Foundation, Canada    
Tanya Candia, CEO, Candia Communications LLC, Los Gatos, CA
Kevin Chen, Ph.D., CMC, President/CEO, Business Methods Corporation, Management Consulting Division, Randolph, NJ    
Pamela    Clark, Founder/Director    New Heights Educational Group, Defiance, OH
Ken Collis, CEO, VIIVIIVII, Toluca Lake,  CA
Irene Corpuz, Head of Planning & IT Security, Western Region Municipality, United Arab Emirates    
Dave Craig, Vice President, HR, Fazoli's Restaurants, Lexington, KY
David Crawford, Senior VP, Managing Group Creative Director, GSD&M, Austin, TX
Scott Cullather, Global Managing Partner, inVNT, New York, NY
John Cushman, VP - eSales & Service, formerly AT&T, CA
Emilia D'Anzica,  Senior Director, Customer Success, WalkMe, San Francisco, CA
Suzanne Darmory, Creative Director, Moxie, New York, NY
Jordan Darrow, President, Darrow & Associates, Melville, NY
Kelley Dawkins, CEO and Owner, Imaginal Transformations, Tigard, OR
Saraida De Marchena Kaluche, President & CEO, Markatel, Strategic Communications, PR & Events, Dominican Republic
Jennifer Deare, President, Deare Marketing, Inc, Tenafly, NJ
Natalia Diaz, Marketing Specialist, Forte Payment Systems, Allen, TX
Frankie DiCarlantonio, Vice-President, Scaffidi Restaurant Group, Steubenville, OH
Mary DiMaggio, Senior Vice President, BioCentric Inc., Collingswood, NJ
Richard Dixon, Advertising Director, Dallas Business Journal, Keller, TX
Sue Dowd, SVP Retail Strategy, Miller Zell, Marketing for Financial Svcs, Atlanta, GA
Brenda Dukart, Executive Account Manager, Managed Business Solutions, Colorado Springs, CO
Alyssa Dver, Founder & CEO, Mint Green Marketing, Westborough, MA
Gene Ehrbar, Managing Partner, Emerging Technology, ISITE Design, Portland, OR
Elizabeth Enselein, Director of Operations, Murthy Law Firm, Owings Mills, MD
Mike Faith, CEO, Headsets.com, San Francisco, CA
Jim Fanucchi, Managing Director, Head of West Coast Operations, Darrow & Associates, Los Gatos, CA
Guy Fighel, Director of Engineering, TangoMe, Mountain View, CA
Dr. Hüsniye Firat, Çanakkale, Onsekiz March University, Turkey
Minerva Garcia, Vice President of Human Resources, Accordant Media, New York, NY
Jack Gault, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marketing, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Marketing Department, West Chester, PA
David Gilman, President, Gilman Performance Systems, Brookfield, CT
Holly Gilthorpe, Head of Global Communications, GE Software, San Ramon, CA
Katharine Goldman, SVP, Executive Creative Director, Jack Morton Worldwide, New York, NY
Abigail Gray, VP, Head of Design, AOL, Brooklyn, NY
Lisa Gregovich, Manager, Vendor Operations, Prime Therapeutics, Denver, CO
Seth Hall, Vice President, Customer Service, Philadelphia Insurance Companies, Bala Cynwyd, PA
Deanna Harms, SVP, Greteman Group, Wichita, KS
Danita Harn, Founder, Harn & Associates, Woodstock, GA
Bonnie Harris, President, Wax Marketing, Inc., St. Paul, MN
Batul Hasan, CEO, BSH Consultants, Market Research, Pakistan
William Holmes, Principal, Business Planning Consultancy
Judah Holstein, President, Miracom Computer Corp., Eastchester, NY
Jaimon Jacob, Head - Customer Service & Business Excellence, UAE Exchange Centre LLC, United Arab Emirates
Ananda Jagoda, Chief Creative Officer, Smart Media - The Annual Report Company, Sri Lanka
Stephen Jannetta, Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, Philadelphia, PA
Allen Jernigan, President & CEO,My Marketing Department, Inc., Seminole, FL
Stuart John, Head of Interactive & Emerging Media, Mind Over Eye, TEN: The Enthusiast Network, Santa Monica, CA
Billie K. Johnson, VP, Client Results, Incept, Canton, OH
Kyle Johnson, Principal/Creative Director, BlkMrkt. Cr8tiv Labs
Anila Kalleshi, President, Kalleshi Center, Albania
Scott, Kellner, VP Marketing, George P Johnson, San Carlos, CA
Laura Kerr, Customer Support Partner, Sabre Airline Solutions, Southlake, TX
Raj Khera, Partner, MailerMailer LLC, Rockville, MD
Bernard Kilkelly, Managing Director, Darrow Associates, Lynbrook, NY
Claudia Koehler, Corporate Vice President, VOK DAMS. Events GmbH, Germany
Hao Kuo, Marketing Coordinator, Aurico, Arlington Heights, IL
Michele Landry, VP Corporate Communications Spansion, Mountain View, CA
Brian MacPhee, General Director, John Hancock, Financial Services, Portsmouth, NH
Krushna Prasad Mahapatra, Global Head HR- GE ISU, Tata Consultancy Services,North America Edison, NJ
Janice Maiman, Senior Vice President, Communications & Media Channels, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, New York, NY
Laura Maniccia, Principal, Interactive Marketing Solutions, South Lyon, MI
Wessam Massoud, Programme Delivery Manager, Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Center (ADSIC), United Arab Emirates
Colin McKillop, Executive Director, WECAN, Canada
Robyn McNeely, Sr. Manager, Agile Best Practices and Technology Training, Asurion, Murfreesboro, TN
Diane McNulty PhD, Associate Dean External Affairs, UT Dallas, Naveen Jindal School of Management, Richardson, TX
Catherine McQuaid, Principal, Big Game Hunting, Canada
Kathy Menzie, Associate Professor & Chair, Washburn University, Mass Media Department, Topeka, KS
Jessica Merz, Director Global Corporate Communications, Bacardi-Martini, Inc, Coral Gables, FL
Andrea Michaels, President, Extraordinary Events, Sherman Oaks, CA
Jon Michaels, Executive Vice President, Extraordinary Events, Sherman Oaks, CA
Jay Mitchell, President, Mereo, LLC, Colorado Springs, CO
Matt Mlodzinski, Category Manager, Commercial Services Procurement, Johnson and Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc., Fort Washington, PA
Rajesh Kumar, Mudiakal, Ernst & Young, India
Lisa Murphy, VP/Service Executive, Black Knight Financial Services, Jackson, FL
Kirk Musselman, Director, Human Resources, Cars.com, Chicago, IL
Judi Niedercorn , CEO, SysTactics, McLean, VA
Bob Older, President, Creative Travel Inc. dba Rainbow Charter Service, Wilmington, DE
Linda Olsan, Director, Customer Care, ACE, Rancho Mission Viejo, CA
Nick Padley, Director of Implementation, CD2 Learning, Overland Park, KS
Audrey Pannell, Director of Public Relations & Social Media, STYLE Advertising, Birmingham, AL
Emily Passer, Director of Communications, Quartz, New York, NY
Paul Patton, Senior R&D/Regulatory Manager, Delta Faucet Co. Research Development, Indianapolis, IN
Regis Riney, Site Facilities, Operations and Maintenance Manager, Dixon RSF, Vacaville, CA
Chris Risheill, Senior Manager of Communications & Events, Ohio AEYC, Westerville, OH
Mary Roseman, PhD, RD, CHE, Associate Professor & Hospitality Management Program Director, University of Mississippi, University, MS
Colleen Rosso, Director of Communications, Hartland Township, Milford, MI
David Saef, EVP, MarketWorks & Strategy, GES, Hodgkins, IL
Viurniel Sanchez, Information Management, Infrastructure Technology Services, Florida Power & Light, Miami, FL
Hakan Satici, Supervisor Garanti Bankasi, Turkey
Scott Sauder, Area Operations Consultant, The UPS Store, Noblesville, IN
Susan Saurage-Altenloh, President, Saurage Research, Inc, Houston, TX
Jeffrey Scott Frichner, CEO/Founder, voteAir powered by voters"
Dan Seidman, CEO, GOT Influence?, Barrington, IL
Lauren Selikoff, Managing Director, Selikoff+Company, Orange, NJ
David Sentman, SVP-Change Management Executive, Bank of America, Newark, DE
Santosh Sharma, HCL Technologies, Lombard, IL
Mark Shewmaker, Chief Experience Officer, SMITH, Seattle, WA
Michael Shmarak, Vice President, DKC Public Relations, Marketing & Government Affairs, Chicago, IL
Sushrut Shrotri, Managing Partner, Novus Global Solutions, North Brunswick, NJ
David Siskin, Founder and Partner, Boomity, San Francisco, CA
David Street, Creative Director, Streetworks Studio, Ashburn, VA
Ted Studwell, Senior Vice President, Engineering and Operations, Virtela, Greenwood Village, CO
Mahdad Taheri, CEO, TVI Designs, New York, NY
Alice Takpemongo, Mindjet, Customer Success, United Kingdom
Lori Teranishi, Partner, IQ PR, Inc., San Francisco, CA
Sophy Tereschenko, Business Strategist, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA
Scott Thomas, CEO, Exegan Music Group, Las Vegas, NV
Han Tjan, Corporate Communications, Daimler, New York, NY
Adriana Husz Toledo, Director / Brand Marketing Practice Leader, Ketchum, Brazil
Noel Unciano, Science Research Specialist, Industrial Technology Development Institute - DOST, Environment and Biotechnology Division, Philippines
Robin Vaitonis, SVP, Strategic Communications, Tanis Communications, San Jose, CA
Meghan, Valnoski, Clinical Sourcing Specialist, Theradex
Rajani Veeramachaneni , President, E Center, Inc., Newtown, PA
Vinny Verdi, Producer, CUNY-TV, New York, NY
Dr. Basavaraj Wadi, UGSI, Bangalore, India
Charles Kirby Wadsworth, Vice President of Global Marketing, F5 Networks, Wayland, MA
Maggie Wang, Service & Support Manager, Nolo--Law for All, Pleasanton, CA
Karen Weldon, Manager, Executive Communication & Strategic Collaboration (Office of the CIO) Consumers Energy, Business Technology Solutions, Jackson, MI
Linda Whitten Stalters, Executive Director, Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America, Houston, TX
Ron Williams, Executive Creative Director, TEAM, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Becky Wilson, President, WDS Marketing and PR, Overland Park, KS
Terry Wisner, Founder & President, The CPO Institute, Grand Blanc, MI
Barbara Zenz, President and CEO, The Stephenz Group, Inc., San Jose, CA
Tarek Ziadeh, Customer Service Manager, DHL Express, Lebanon
Chris Zoloth, Director, Global Customer Care, IHG, Salt Lake City, UT
Kathryn Zuber, Vice President of Human Resources, JAB Wireless, Inc., Englewood, CO

You're invited to apply to be a judge for next year's American Business Awards.  You'll read fascinating and instructive case studies from organizations across the U.S.A., you'll be invited to join our exclusive Stevie Awards Judges group on LinkedIn, and if you're among the two judges who score the most entries, you'll win two tickets and $1,000 toward the cost of attending one of the two awards banquets.

 

Coveted Stevie® Awards to Be Presented at Ceremonies in Chicago and San Francisco

Finalists were announced today in The 13th Annual American Business Awards. Lists of Finalists by category have been published at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

The American Business Awards are the U.S.A.’s premier business awards program. All organizations and individuals in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations.

This year’s Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie® Award winners will be announced at two banquets. The first will take place on June 22 at the Fairmont Millennium Park Hotel in Chicago, Illinois; and the second, with awards in the new product and technology-related categories, will be held on September 11 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom at The Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco, California. More than 800 executives are expected to attend the events. The ceremonies will be broadcast nationwide by the BizTalk Radio Network.    

Among the organizations with multiple Finalists are Accenture, Actiontec Electronics, AT&T, BMO Capital Markets, C-4 Analytics, Callidus Software, CAN Capital, Capital One Investing, CD2 Learning, Cigna, Cisco Systems, The Control Group, CyraCom International, Dell Inc., DEVENEY, Engility, Farbman Group, Fareportal, George P. Johnson, Guitar Center, Hewlett Packard, Information Builders, Isagenix International, iTalent Corporation, Jasper, Jeunesse Global, Level 3 Communications, LIMU, Makovsky & Co., Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Merkle, MWW, The Navicor Group, ORBCOMM, Pacific Life, Quality Systems, Inc., Relayware, Roth Staffing Companies, SoftPro, TangoMe, Tata Consultancy Services, Thomson Reuters, Toshiba America Business Solutions, TriNet Group, Inc., U.S. Green Building Council, United Credit Consultants, USANA Health Sciences, Vectra Networks, Virtusa Corporation, Walker Sands Communications, and Workplace Answers.

More than 3,300 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories, including Startup of the Year, Executive of the Year, Best New Product or Service of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Live Event of the Year, and Human Resources Department of the Year, among others.

Finalists were chosen by scores of business professionals nationwide during first-round judging in April and May. Members of specialized final judging committees will determine Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among Finalists in judging that will begin later this month.

Voting will open in early July for the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, a component of The American Business Awards that invites the general public to vote for their favorite new products of the year in a number of categories.

For press credentials for the June 22 and September 11 awards banquets or for more information, contact Maggie@StevieAwards.com

Sponsors and partners of The 2015 American Business Awards include Biz Talk Radio, CallidusCloud, Engility, Fareportal, John Hancock, PetRays, and Softpro.

The following professionals participated in first-round judging of The 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the top business awards program in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region, in December-April.  Their average scores determined the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners.  We thank them for their time, insights and support.

English-Language Judges

Doa’a Arafat, Quality & Development Specialist, Jordan Engineers Association, Amman, Jordan

Benj Arriola, VP of SEO, Internet Marketing, Inc., San Diego, California, USA

Heena Bulchandani, Specialist, Training & Development, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, Dubai, UAE

Saraida De Marchena Kaluche, President and CEO, Markatel, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Mohammed Fattoum, Management and Information Technology Expert, Fujairah Police General Headquarters, Dubai, UAE

Stephen Gill, President, Stephen Gill Associates, Bangkok, Thailand

Shridhar P. Joshi, Consultant Advisor, TATA Motors, Pune, India

Yamini Kurup, VP Customer Experience, Aditya Birla Financial Services, Mumbai, India

Lyn Kwek, Senior Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific, Arkadin Global Conferencing, Singapore, Singapore

Donald Lim, Chief Digital Officer, ABS-CBN Corporation, Quezon City, Philippines

Anil Machado, Managing Director, T Nell, Sieradz, Poland

Joseph Mathew, CEO & Chairman, Corrections India, Kottayam, India

Shadiya Mohamed Baqutayan, Senior Lecturer, Perdana School Of Science Technology and Innovation Policy, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kim Morgan, Managing Director, Maroochy River Resort, Cotton Tree, Queensland, Australia

Rajendran Nair, Senior Director, Marketing, Intalio, Fremont, California, USA

Virgilio Perniot, CEO, Population Services Pilipinas Incorporated, Pasay City, Philippines

Sharon Rudd, Organisational Development & Sales Consultant, TNT Express, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Carolyn T Salud, CEO, Max’s Restaurant, Makati City, Philippines

Brian Arthur Tallador, English Teacher & Trainer, Damrongratsongkroh School, Chiang Rai, Thailand

Noel Unciano, Research Specialist, Industrial Technology Development Institute, Taguig City, Philippines

Chinese-Language Judges

Lindy Chen, Founder, China Direct Sourcing, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Li Chuxin, Director, 126.com, China

Guangtao Deng, Director, hdtMEDIA, China

Wufan G., Director, Jahwa, China

Richard Huzhaoyang, PhD

Li Laubie, Professor, Skema Business School, Suzhou Campus, China

Zhang Fu Lian, CEO, Beijing Baifentonglian Tech. Co., Beijing, China

Jiangxian Liu, New Media Director of Programming Office, Shanghai Media Group, Shanghai, China

Fox Shen, Executive Creative Director, WMTAD Advertising Group, Shanghai, China

Dr. Shih-Wei Sheu, Management Consultant, New Taipei City, Taiwan

Wujing Xian, President, Hisdesign Company, China

Joe Ye, President and CEO, CyWee Group Ltd., Taiwan

Japanese-Language Judges

Mitsuyo Arimoto, President, GlobalLINK Consulting Group, Osaka, Japan

Ryuichi Funatsu, General Manager, Ayumu Associates, LLC, New York, New York, USA

Satoshi Hino, President, Global Management System, Inc., Tokyo, Japan

Takashi Honda, Director General, Office T Inc., Osaka, Japan

Shunsuke  Mizoe, President, ZOE Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Hideki Saito, Director, Contemporary-Tech, Inc., Tokyo, Japan

Kanami Saito, President, Elance Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Atsuko Sakamoto, Representative Director, Prime Time, Inc., Tokyo, Japan

Takashi Takano, COO, Aqua Environmental System TOJO Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Hiroshi Toya, Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan

Junichi Tsuji, CEO, Macchinesti Coffee, Inc., Tokyo, Japan

Toki Ura, President, Office Ura Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Kazunari Yasuda, Director, Yasuda Engineering Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan

Korean-Language Judges

Seog Bong Bae, Executive Director, Korea Commercial Film Makers Union, Seoul, South Korea

Jin Mu Cho, Vice President, Korea Business Communicators Association, Seoul, South Korea

Young Il Hong, Professor, Nam Seoul University

Tae Hee Jung, Chief Director, International, Korea Business Communicators Association, Seoul, South Korea

Hung Ki Kim, President, Korea Business Communicators Association, Seoul, South Korea

Ju Hwak Lee, CEO, SIDM, Seoul, South Korea

Myung Joo Lee, PR Team Leader, Samyang Holdings, Seoul, South Korea

Jinhee Park, Professor, Yongin University, Seoul, South Korea

Jong Sun Park, CEO, BRCom, Seoul, South Korea

Jung Hieh Shon, CEO, Hanaro Adcom, Seoul, South Korea

Thai-Language Judges

Stephen Gill, President, Stephen Gill Associates, Bangkok, Thailand

Jiangxian Liu, New Media Director of Programming Office, Shanghai Media Group, Shanghai, China

Dr. Shih-Wei Sheu, Management Consultant, New Taipei City, Taiwan

Brian Arthur Tallador, English Teacher & Trainer, Damrongratsongkroh School, Chiang Rai, Thailand

 

Nearly 10 years ago, Mariah Fenton Gladis, a professional psychotherapist in the state of Pennsylvania in the U.S.A., won the Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in the 2006 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Here we take a look at her life and what she is continuing to achieve.

The 2015 (12th Annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business will open for entries on May 11. Request an Entry Kit here and it will be emailed to you when entries open..

In accepting her 2006 Stevie Award, Mariah Fenton Gladis said: "I’m honored to be recognized among a group of such remarkable women. We, as women leaders in the emerging global community, have the responsibility and the privilege of instilling both passion and compassion in the workplace and the world.”

Mariah is herself truly remarkable. She is a 34-year survivor of Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS), and has recently given an inspirational TIM Talk (Together In Mission). This TED-like talk series, sponsored by the Lutheran Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod, is an event with multiple speakers about the best ideas they have for the future.

Creating Moments That Matter

Mariah chose the topic “Creating Moments That Matter,” talking about the power that moments large or small, spontaneous or planned, can have in your life. Moments that can transform, connect, elevate, and sometimes heal. Mariah believes that as moment makers and receivers, we all have the opportunity to make positive changes in the lives of others and ourselves. During her talk, Mariah is also self-revealing of some moments that have changed her life. Here is a link to her talk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4RaJEQrJHE

Strength of Spirit

In 1981, when Mariah was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), three prominent national neurologists gave her a 10% chance of surviving two years. Yet, three months after the diagnosis, she married Ron Gladis and went on to have two children: Luke, a graduate of James Madison University; and Cole, a graduate of Ithaca College. Today, Mariah continues to be a loving wife, a doting mother, and a licensed professional psychotherapist in the state of Pennsylvania. Her courage to continually go forward with grace and determination demonstrates the very nature of her character and the amazing survival capacity of the human spirit.

After nearly 35 years, ALS has ravaged Mariah’s body. She needs help waking, walking, dressing, eating, and multitudes of other personal chores. Her tongue muscles have atrophied and she speaks with what she calls her “ALS accent.” Wearing a special speech-enhancing microphone to enhance the articulation and projection of her voice, Mariah often tells her audiences, with characteristic humor, that she gives new meaning to the term “high maintenance woman.”

A Privileged Position

None of this, however, diminishes her powerful presence and expert ability to do her work. In fact, Mariah acknowledges that it is her personal healing journey that has expanded and deepened her capacity to heal others.

“People often ask me how I do it, listening to people’s problems all day long for over 35 years, and not get burned out, drained or disheartened. I tell them that I don’t hear problems. I see people reaching for health; wanting to change, wanting to be better human beings, wanting to create happier families. I have been privileged to work with people from every continent and from all levels of life and I hear them wanting to love and be loved more effectively, wanting to remove the barriers in their life and provide more for their loved ones on every level, economically and emotionally. This is a privileged position that I have, sharing so many heartwarming moments of laughter and tears with people working toward healing.”

Mariah Fenton Gladis Foundation

Since it was formed in 2006, the Mariah Fenton Gladis Foundation has funded special workshops: “An Afternoon of Forgiveness” is for anyone who needs to let go (check here for the next workshop); “Embracing Yourself into Wellness,” for cancer patients, offers the opportunity to create the necessary moments needed to move forward in wholeness and health; “Befriending Death/Transforming Life” explores the practical and psycho-spiritual preparations for death; and “Bless the Broken Road” presents an opportunity to experience physical or emotional heartbreak more as a gift, a resource to mine wisdom and compassion, than as an impediment to living a full life.

The Foundation has also supported needy students in life-skills training; provided private counseling for the underserved and financially destitute; given inspirational lectures on the value of hope and personal sustainability; and there is more to come. The Foundation wants to create more special workshops on self care, attract more of the served and underserved, give back more to the community—all with the concept of reaching inward and outward to provide more love, compassion, and forgiveness in the world.

Be An Agent Of Change

The goal of the Foundation is to empower people to master, monitor, accept, and enjoy their inner life as well as their life in the world. According to Mariah: “I believe that each of us is a powerful agent of change. As more people spread love, compassion, and forgiveness, the more we will create peace in our hearts, our families, our community, our country, and ultimately peace in our world.”

A Remarkable and Inspirational Woman

“I am extremely proud of Mariah,” says husband, Ron Gladis, “especially considering she’s spent more than two-thirds of her business career with the life-threatening disease of ALS. Mariah is a truly remarkable and inspirational woman.”

Mariah’s son, Coleman, is making a documentary of her life. You can see a 3-minute trailer for the film “Mariah” at http://www.mariahmovie.com.

Honorees for Achievement in Business to Be Recognized in Shanghai on 5 June

Winners in the second annual Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, the only awards program to recognize achievement in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region, were announced today.  The list of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners is available at http://Asia.StevieAwards.com.

The Stevie Awards are considered to be the world's premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in the workplace over the past 13 years in programs such as The International Business Awards and The American Business Awards. 

The 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards have recognized organizations in 13 nations including Australia, China, East Timor, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nominations of more than 300 organizations were considered by the judges this year.

PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia has won five Gold Stevie Awards, the top prize in a category, more than any other organization. Zomato NZ Media Private Limited (New Zealand) are runners up, with three Gold Stevie wins. Winners of two Gold Stevie Awards include DHL Express NZ Customer Services (New Zealand), iTalent Corporation (multiple Asian offices), Mater Health Services (Australia), Stephen Gill Associates (Singapore), and Tecsia Lubricants (Singapore).

Stevie winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet at the InterContinental Hotel in Shanghai, China on Friday, 5 June.  Tickets for the event are now on sale.

More than 60 executives around the world participated in the judging to determine the Stevie Award winners.  A second round of judging will choose Grand Stevie Award winners from among the Gold winners in May.

The Stevie Award trophy, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major awards, is among the world's most coveted prizes.

Visit http://Asia.StevieAwards.com to learn more about the program.

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of The American Business Awards, announced today that the final entry deadline for the 13^th annual ABAs has been extended to May 1. This is the first time in the history of The American Business Awards that the final entry deadline has been officially extended.

“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 April 22.

No additional late fees will be charged for entries submitted through May 1, and late entries will not be penalized in any way in the judging process.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

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 2015 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2014.  Entry details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

The American 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

There are many new categories in the ABAs this year, including Woman of the Year (in the Management categories), Branded Content Campaign of the Year (in the Marketing categories), and Best Business Book (in the Publication categories).   There are also several new Company/Organization categories that don’t require entry fees, including five Startup of the Year categories and Energy Industry Innovation of the Year, a category that will recognize singular innovations in energy-related technology, production, conservation, storage or delivery.

The New Product & Service categories have been greatly expanded for 2015, with entirely new sets of categories to recognize Content- and Education-related products and services.

Stevie Award winners will be selected through two stages of judging by more than 200 professionals worldwide. Finalists will be announced on May 7, and the awards presented at two gala events: on June 22 at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, and on September 11 at San Francisco’s Julia Morgan Ballroom. Stevie Awards will be conferred at three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze. Several Grand Stevie Awards also will be conferred as best-of-competition prizes. Stevie Award trophies are among the world's most coveted prizes.