The 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business will be held this coming Friday, November 8 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.  The event is a complete sell-out - we're adding names to a waiting list for available tickets at this point.

These are the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.  Almost 400 women - and men - from around the world will gather this Friday evening to celebrate the Grand, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners in this year's Stevies for Women.  Winners were selected by the scores of more than 240 judges around the world.

A PDF of the program book that all awards dinner attendees will receive is now available - get it here.

So who's coming to this celebration of the achievements of women in the workplace worldwide?  Here's the list of organizations that have confirmed their attendance.

ACADEMI LLC McLean VA USA
Accenture  Chicago  IL USA
Acxiom Corporation Foster City CA USA
Advice Interactive Group McKinney TX USA
Agency marketing services public relations and media Siegburg Germany
Aio Wireless Alpharetta GA USA
AIReS Pittsburgh PA USA
ALOM Technologies  Fremont  CA
Amadeus  Miami  FL USA
ARIIX Bountiful UT USA
At Media  Philadelphia  PA USA
A-T Solutions  Vienna VA USA
AT&T Dallas TX USA
Babesta New York NY USA
Barclays Jersey City NJ USA
Barnum Financial Group Shelton CT USA
Bluegreen Vacations Boca Raton FL USA
Bounce Consulting Maryborough VIC Australia
Brain Power Enrichment Programs: Language Arts Thornhill ON Canada
BrightLine  New York  NY  USA
Business TalkRadio Network Greenwich CT USA
bytes of knowledge Nashville TN USA
CardioDx Inc. Palo Alto CA USA
Cascades Tissue Group  Candiac QC Canada
Cass and Company  Kennett Square PA USA
CellScape Corp.  Newark CA USA
Cenergy International  Houston  TX USA
CFS2  Tulsa  OK  USA
CGI Inc. Toronto ON Canada
Child's Play Communications New York NY USA
Citrus Lane Mountain View CA USA
Clayton Kendall Inc. Monroeville PA USA
CMI Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
CoachingLabs LLC / LeBootCamp Los Altos CA USA
Colombian American Chamber of Commerce  Miami  FL  USA
CommonKindness Sausalito CA USA
Cross Country Home Services Sunrise FL USA
CSOFT International  Bejing China
CSSS.NET  Washington  DC  USA
CVS Caremark  Woonsocket  RI USA
Deborah Mitchell Heaven Health & Beauty Ltd  Wolverhampton United Kingdom
DentaSpa Seminars N. Miami Beach FL USA
Designated Editor  Newport RI USA
EMC Corporation Hopkinton MA USA
Enterprise Community Partners Inc.  Columbia  MD  USA
ERA Environmental Management Solutions Belle Mina AL USA
Family Development Foundation Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
FCi Federal Leesburg VA USA
Final Salute Inc. Alexandria VA USA
Financial Voyages LLC Atlanta GA USA
Frank Frank Goldstein & Nager P.C. New York NY USA
Frieda's Inc.  Los Alamitos  CA  USA
gemaker Sutherland (Sydney) NSW Australia
Global Leaders in Law Beaconsfield United Kingdom
Goodwill Industries of Arkansas  Little Rock AR USA
GreyHawk Films  Charlotte  NC  USA
Happy Family Brands  New York  NY USA
Happy Family Brands New York NY USA
HIPA  Dubai  United Arab Emirates
Hitachi Data Systems Santa Clara CA USA
HMA Associates Inc. Washington DC USA
iAcquire  Phoenix  AZ  USA
ICE Worldwide Portsmouth NH USA
iFinance Canada Inc.  Toronto ON Canada
InfiniEDGE Software. Inc Prairieville LA USA
Inspired to Health  Weehawken NJ USA
Interakt  New York  NY USA
Isagenix International LLC. Chandler AZ USA
Joy Lynn Inc. Roswell GA USA
JUMP Technology Services Oklahoma City OK USA
KC Projects Birmingham AL USA
Kennedy Austin TX USA
Kristen White TV  St. Louis MO USA
Lab42 Chicago Illinois USA
Little PINK Book  Atlanta GA USA
Management Consultancy International Sydney NSW Australia
Marketing 24/7  Birmingham AL USA
Marketing Maven Public Relations Camarillo CA USA
Marnie Homes Bethany Beach DE USA
MBX Systems  Libertyville IL USA
Melissa Sones Consulting New York NY USA
Metso Mining and Construction York PA USA
MHL Consortium Sunnyvale CA USA
Motional Multimedia Kansas City MO USA
MQ Enterprise LLC Anacortes WA USA
MS Derm Consulting  Bangalore India
MTS Allstream  Toronto ON Canada
MWW East Rutherford NJ USA
Nathalie Lussier Media Inc. Brooklyn NY USA
National Center for Documentation & Research  Abu Dhabi  United Arab Emirates
NEI Global Relocation  Omaha NE USA
NetApp Vienna VA USA
Network9  New York NY USA
Neustar, Inc. Sterling VA USA
NJVC LLC Chantilly VA USA
One Legacy Pty Ltd Gold Coast QLD Australia
Ontario Systems Muncie IN USA
Optum  Eden Prairie  MN  USA
other London United Kingdom
Performics Chicago IL USA
Pink Elephant Burlington Ontario Canada
Pivot Communications Salt Lake City UT USA
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP  New York NY USA
Primrose Schools Acworth GA USA
Proforma Amplified Detroit MI USA
ProgenyHealth Plymouth Meeting PA USA
Prosperity Organic Foods Inc. Boise ID USA
Rebecca Jean Alonzi San Francisco CA USA
Rhea Lana Inc. Conway AR USA
RTR Rete Rinnovabile Rome Italy
Sage Environmental Services Inc. Seattle WA USA
Sandra L. Leyva Inc. Plano TX USA
She Takes on the World Inc. Kitchener ON Canada
SPARK Publications Charlotte NC USA
Sparta Systems Inc. Hamilton NJ USA
Spellbinders Paper Arts LLC Phoenix AZ USA
SPLICE Software  Calgary  AB  Canada
Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. Phoenix AZ USA
Staff Management | SMX Chicago IL USA
Strategic Medical Orange County CA USA
Stratus Interactive  West Chester PA USA
sweetriot New York NY USA
TalkSession Inc. New York NY USA
Terri Bennett Enterprises Charlotte NC USA
The Assistance Fund  Inc.  Orlando  FL  USA
The Assistance Fund Inc. Orlando FL USA
The Avoca Group Princeton NJ USA
The Dr. Pat Show and The Transformation Network  Seattle WA USA
The S3 Agency Boonton NJ USA
The Suburban Jungle Realty Group Greenwich CT USA
The Thomas Collective  New York  NY  USA
The Volel Consulting Group  Washington  DC USA
Tobin Enterprises St. Thomas ON Canada
TravLynx, LLC  Hendersonville TN USA
Tugboat Brand & Business Development  Highwood IL USA
Utah Avalanche  Salt Lake City UT USA
Vaco Los Angeles  Los Angeles  CA  USA
Vantage PR San Francisco CA USA
Ventyx an ABB Company Atlanta GA USA
Verne Global Falls Church VA USA
VerticalResponse San Francisco CA USA
Visible Communication LLC Livonia MI USA
Wells Fargo Bank San Francisco CA USA
WhiteHat Security Santa Clara CA USA
Women Presidents' Organization  New York  NY USA
Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Boston MA USA
ZinePaak  New York NY USA

Join the mailing list for the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business and you'll be emailed the entry kit as soon as it's available next May.

The awards dinner of the 2013 (10th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business, in New York on Friday, November 8, is sold out. Winners of the Grand, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards will be announced that night in the world's top honors for women executives, entrepreneurs, employees, and the organizations they run.

The Stevie Award placements were determined from among the finalists by 90 members of five final judging committees during online judging from October 14-23.  Their average scores determined the Stevie-winner placements.  (Finalists were determined by the average scores of 150 preliminary judges over six weeks starting in early September.)

We can't thank these great professionals enough for their help in determining this year's women in business awards winners.  Here are the members of the five final judging committees.

(One quick aside first.  If you'd like to apply to participate in the judging process for the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, apply here.)

Communications & Marketing Awards Categories Final Judging Committee       

Committee Chair
Ruwena Healy, CEO and President
Marketing 24/7, Inc.
Trussville, AL, United States

Beth Blake, Director of Operations, Enterprising Women, Cary, NC, United States
Carol Blanton, APR, Director of Communications, Mississippi Public Universities, Jackson, MS, United States
Kathleen Bouldin, Vice President, Digital Marketing, PrimsWorks, Inc., Landenberg, PA, United States
Deborah V. Bowie, CCE, IOM, Vice President, Chamber Development, Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, Gainesville, FL, United States
Annie Castellano, Chief Creative Officer, Switch: Liberate Your Brand, St Louis, MO, United States
Dale E Gerstenslager, Communications Manager, Doosan Heavy Industries Vietnam Co., Ltd, Quang Ngai, Vietnam
Alice M.Gordon, CEO & Executive Problem Solver, Skye Connect, Inc., Birmingham, AL, United States
Kristina Hendrix, APR, Internal Communications Strategist, Analytical Services, Inc. for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Madison, AL, United States
Karin Hopkins, Vice President of Communications, k2 MediaMax, Tuskagee, AL, United States
Rebecca Jones, Owner, bScene Marketing Solutions, Miami, FL, United States
Joanne Meredith, Senior Associate Director, Direct Response Marketing, Johns Hopkins University/Office of Annual Giving, Baltimore, MD, United States
Davie Rickey, APR, Senior Vice President-Communications, birminghambusinessalliance, The Chamber for Regional Prosperity, Birmingham, AL, United States
Monica Smiley, Publisher/CEO, Enterprising Women, Cary, NC, United States
Carla Spain, Communications Specialist, Patelco Credit Union, Pleasanton, CA, United States
Kim Stiglitz, Content Marketing Director, VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA, United States
Dawn Walker, Executive Director of Internal Communications & Public Relations, Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Julia Zamorska, Communications Specialist, New York, NY, United States

Company/Organization & New Product Awards Categories Final Judging Committee

Committee Chair
Jessica Eaves Mathews, CEO
Leverage a Lawyer LLC
Albuquerque, NM, United States

Lisa Abeyta, Founder/CEO, APPCityLife, Inc., Albuquerque, NM, United States
Eline Altenburg-van den Broek, Director, Quid Novi Foundation, The Hague,  Netherlands
Susie Andrade, Managing Director, Channel Islands Skills Academy, St Peter Port, Guernsey, United Kingdom
Niamh Barker, Managing Director, The Travelwrap Company, New Milton, United Kingdom
Maureen Borzacchiello , CEO, Creative Display Solutions, Bensalem, PA, United States
Larry Broughton, CEO, broughtonHOTELS / BROUGHTONadvisory, Newport Beach, CA, United States
Phil Dyer, CEO, Dyer Financial Advisory, Baldwin, MD, United States
Kiyla Fenell, CEO, Fenell International LLC, Tulsa, OK, United States
Tina Forsyth, CEO, Automate Your Growth, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
Linda Ginac, CEO, TalentGuard, Austin, TX, United States
Jennifer Longmore, CEO, Soul Journeys Corporation, Burlington, ON, Canada
Sizile Mabaso, Managing Director, SM Business, Sandton, South Africa
Scott Maloney, Chief Business Officer, Seed Worthy LLC, Albuquerque, NM, United States
Leith Mitchell, IBM Growth Markets Diversity Recruitment Lead, IBM, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Ray Quinana, General Partner, Cottonwood Technology Fund, Albuquerque, NM, United States
Doreen Rainey, CEO, Radical Success institute, Bowie, MD, United States
Katie Sczcepaniak Rice, Senior Associate, Epic Ventures, Albuquerque, NM, United States
Tim Weil, Managing Partner, Providence Capital, Dallas, TX, United States
Becky Wilson, President, WDS Marketing and Public Relations, Overland Park, KS, United States
Kris Wittenberg, CEO, Be Good to People, Eagle, CO, United States

Entrepreneur Awards Categories Final Judging Committee

Committee Chair
Kristen White, CEO
Creative Catapult, LLC/Instant Celebrity Academy
St. Louis, MO, United States

Gloria Buono-Daly, Founder, AllThingsDigitalMarketing.com, Yonkers, NY, United States
Saskia Chiesa, CEO, International Checkout, Santa Monica, CA, United States
Denise Clancey, President, Teledirect Partners, Boston, MA, United States
Ben Clark, President, Big Ben Media, Inc., Lima, OH, United States
Nikki Clark, Project Manager, Big Ben Media, Inc., Lima, OH, United States
Dr. Sayalee Gankar, Director & Professor, MIT Group of Institutions, Pune, India
Barb Girson, President, My Sales Tactics, LLC, New Albany, OH, United States
Kate Darcy Hohenthal, Founder, The Birthday Club, Manchester, CT, United States
Craig Jacobson, Founder, Open Spaces Marketing, Vista, CA, United States
Ann Macindoo,CEO/Founder, So, You Want To Write!, Palm Desert, CA, United States
Margaret Manning, CEO, Reading Room, Singapore, Singapore
Deborah Mitchell, Founder, Heaven Health & Beauty Ltd, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, United Kingdom
Julie Pond, CEO, Sage Environmental Services, Inc., Seattle, WA, United States
John Schwab, Executive Producer, Let's Start a Ripple TV, Clayton, MO, United States
Letty Swank, CEO, Giftwrapperz, Los Gatos, CA, United States

Executive Awards Categories Final Judging Committee

Committee Chair
Marcie Allen, President
MAC Presents
New York, NY, United States

Husam Mahmoud Abdallah, Senior Advisor, Organization Development, Dubai Airport Freezone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dr. Selµuk Alimdar, HR Strategic Projects Manager, Avea Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S, Istanbul, Turkey
Chanel Auguste, Brand Partnerships & Commercial Licensing, Warner Brothers Records, New York, NY, United States
Kerri Bergman, Director of Marketing, Billboard, New York, NY, United States
Michele Bernstein, Tour Marketing Agent, William Morris Endeavor, Beverly Hills, CA, United States
Elizabeth Daniel, Luxury Advertising Sales Director, The Editorialist, New York, NY, United States
Andrea Dinunzio, CMO, Blingguard, New York, NY, United States
Rebecca Fagan, Managing Director, Portside Ventures, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Lori Feldman, SVP, Brand Partnerships & Commercial Licensing, Warner Brothers Records, New York, NY, United States
Kimberly Ford, Senior Marketing Manager, Samsung, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Heather Greenfeig, Artist Manager, Red Light Management, New York, NY, United States
Marjorie Hall, SVP Director of Marketing & Sales, ZenithOptimedia, New York, NY, United States
Natasha Hritzuk, Global Senior Insights Director, Microsoft, Redmond, WA, United States
Julie Jakopic, President/CEO, iLead Strategies, Alexandria, VA, United States
Nirva Milord, Director of Communications, NHL, New York, NY, United States
Stephen Moore, CEO/Managing Member, PetroChase, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
Wendy Morris, VP Team Marketing and Business Operations, NBA Entertainment, New York, NY, United States
Amber Williams, Public Relations Executive, Beck Media & Marketing, New York, New York, United States
Judee Anne Williams, Agent/Co-director, CAA/CAA Foundation, New York, NY, United States

Media Awards Categories Final Judging Committee

Committee Chair
Cynthia Good, Founder and CEO
Little PINK Book
Atlanta, GA, United States

Marta Aebischer,Global Marketing Director, Newell Rubbermaid, Huntersville, NC, United States
Suraya Bliss, Senior Director, Digital Communications, Walmart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, AR, United States
Patricia David, Head of Diversity, JPMorgan Chase, New York, NY, United States
Elana Drell Szyfer, CEO, Ahava, New York, NY, United States
Janna Ducich, Vice President, Consumer Insights & Targeted Marketing, AT&T Mobility, Atlanta, GA, United States
Kate Gutmann, President, Worldwide Sales, UPS, Atlanta, GA, United States
Meryl Macune, VP, Global Digital Marketing, Estee Lauder, West New York, NJ, United States
Ali Marano, Technology for Social Good, JPMorgan Chase, New York, NY, United States
Nicole Middendorf, CEO, Prosperwell Financial, Plymouth, MN, United States
Maya Mikhailov, EVP, Clear Strategy/CoFounder, GPShopper, New York, NY, United States
Caitlin Storhaug, Director, Corporate Marketing, Accenture, San Francisco, CA, United States
Chloé Taylor Brown, President & CEO, Chloé Taylor Brown Enterprises, LLC, Sandy Springs, GA, United States
Melanie Tinto, Vice President, Executive Leadership & Organization Development, Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, CA, United States
Erin Varano, Director, Brand Marketing, Rubbermaid Consumer Products, Newell Rubbermaid, Atlanta, GA, United States

We've just published a new video entitled "How to Enter the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.  Watch it now.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the first new Stevie Awards program to be launched in seven years.  This business awards program is open to all organizations operating in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region.  There are 18 categories to choose from, and entries may be submitted, and will be judged, in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay and Thai languages.

The early-bird deadline, with discounted entry fees, for the 2014 competition is November 6.  The final deadline is December 4, and late entries will be accepted through March 31.  Finalists will be announced on April 9, and celebrated at an awards event Seoul at the Lotte Hotel on May 30.

The new video provides a whirlwind tour of the awards' website and the category-selection and entry-submission processes.  The entry process for the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is a bit different from that of other Stevie Awards programs, as the website is built on an entirely new platform.  So even if you're a long-time entrant in Stevie Awards programs, we recommend that you watch this video.

Versions of the video in a number of other languages will be available soon.

Learn more about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards at http://Asia.StevieAwards.com.

Makovsky Integrated Communications received the first-ever Grand Stevie Award for Interactive Services Agency of the Year in The 2013 American Business Awards, the top business awards program in the U.S.A.  (Entry to The 2014 American Business Awards is now open. Find out more here.)  Here we look at what winning the Grand Stevie has meant to the company; and at Makovsky’s work for MediScripts, which earned them two Gold Stevies in the Marketing Awards categories of the 2013 ABAs for Online Marketing Campaign of the Year and for Business-to-Business Marketing Campaign of the Year.

When Timothy Kane, Makovsky’s Executive Vice President, Digital Branding, heard that his firm had received the 2013 Grand Stevie for Interactive Services Agency of the Year, he was both delighted and surprised.

 “It was especially gratifying because we’ve made a major effort to build our integrated and interactive capabilities,” said Tim. “In fact, I joined the firm specifically to establish a digital practice. This Grand Stevie is a wonderful acknowledgement that we are accomplishing our goal.”

MediScripts’ Marketing Challenge

Tim was the executive in charge of Makovsky’s multiple Stevie Award-winning MediScripts marketing campaign. “For nearly 20 years, MediScripts had enjoyed an almost effortless increase in sales and profits,” he explained.  “MediScripts’ personalized prescription pads were the perfect way for pharma companies to put their messages right in physicians’ hands at the exact point of prescription.”

But then everything changed.

A Shift to Digital Channels

In recent years, pharma marketers have been shifting an increasing percentage of their marketing dollars away from traditional marketing vehicles and into digital channels. Younger brand managers began to dismiss MediScripts as just another tchotchke.

Makovsky’s challenge was to find a way to move MediScripts out of that tchotchke graveyard and into the world of multichannel marketing.

Introducing a New Medium

The first step was to reposition MediScripts as an actual advertising medium:

MediScripts. The most engaging medium. The agency then redesigned MediScripts’ brand identity, with a modern proprietary font and an icon specifically designed for use in digital applications.

Next, Makovsky suggested a shift in targeting. Over the years, MediScripts had aimed the majority of its marketing efforts toward senior brand marketers at the major pharmaceutical companies. Makovsky suggested broadening their targeting strategy to include younger brand managers, agency media planners, and agency creative directors. Why? Because brand managers control the budget; media planners control the buy; and creative directors control the campaign idea.

The new MediScripts launched in September 2011:

• A new MediScripts website featured separate user interface pathways for its three targets: Brand Managers, Media Planners, and Creative Directors. (This award winning website won a Silver Stevie in the website awards categories of The 2013 American Business Awards.)

• A campaign of provocative digital ads confronted the conventional media wisdom. Headlines like "What ad is more effective than any ad on this site?" drove MediScripts’ targets to the new website in record numbers.

• Erez Lapsker, the young CEO of MediScripts, became the public face of the brand, authoring bylined articles, white papers, and podcasts, and hosting a Marketing Agency Happy Hour with representatives from key organizations.

• Feature articles in major pharma marketing publications such as Med Ad News, PM360, and PharmaVOICE repositioned the company and legitimized point-of-prescription advertising.

From Antiquated to Innovative

Makovsky’s work for the new MediScripts produced immediate results. In the first 90 days of the campaign:

• Website traffic shot up by 120%; unique visits increased over 80%;

• Six feature articles and a corporate announcement produced 65 million media impressions;

• The podcast was downloaded 765 times by key targets and the white paper 104 times;

• The advertising produced historic click-through rates—as high as 4,800% above industry norms.
  

But there was one final—and unexpected—result. MediScripts, once considered an antiquated company with an irrelevant value proposition, was named PM360’s Most Innovative Company of the Year, for its ability to show value within the digital space and convey measurable engagement.

Tim summarized it this way: “The hardest part of any digital campaign is how to measure its success.  Not only was MediScripts able to see an increase in meetings and sales, but also the campaign paid for itself almost immediately.”

About Timothy Kane
Timothy Kane is Executive Vice President, Digital Branding at Makovsky Integrated Communications.  In his thirty-year career as an award-winning writer, designer, and marketing strategist, Tim has developed a unique perspective on the value of branding. "The market always rewards strength," he says. "And strength is revealed through communications." 

About Makovsky Integrated Communications
Kenneth D. Makovsky launched the firm in 1979 with a simple philosophy: “There is no task so difficult that it can’t be accomplished by a team of smart people working in harmony.” That mantra holds true more than 30 years later. Though many of Makovsky’s people have big agency and big brand credentials on their résumés, everyone shares an entrepreneurial mindset, infusing everything the company does with a sense of urgency and total commitment to results. That fosters a culture of collaboration, bound by a shared dedication to exceed clients’ expectations.  For more information visit: http://www.makovsky.com/

Cynthia Good is the founder and CEO of Little PINK Book, and is chair of the final judging committee for the media awards categories in the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run. We asked Cynthia about her experience as a Stevie Award winner, the value of awards programs for women in business, and what inspires her.

Here’s what Cynthia had to say about being a Final Judging Committee Chair, and her own experience of winning a Stevie Award:

“I personally value the invitation to chair one of this year's final judging committees.   At PINK, we have found that whenever we contacted our friends - all senior level women, at Walmart, HP, Accenture, Estee Lauder, Ahava, JPMorgan Chase, and UPS - they were thrilled to join the committee to judge the Stevie Awards.  It speaks volumes about the Stevie Awards organization that some of the most prominent women at many of the world's top companies are willing to take the time to be part of this.  It also shows the commitment their own organizations have to helping women succeed.

“The Stevie Awards have a great reputation and many longtime partners of PINK also participate. We have been excited to share the work PINK has done and to be recognized for the hard work the team at PINK has put in over the years to tell the story about women, career, and advancement.

“At PINK we were especially pleased to have received the Gold Stevie Award in the website awards category for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012) from the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. I’m so proud of the PINK team. It is their hard work that resulted in this recognition. And we all appreciate the support given by the Stevie Awards to organizations working to promote women in business.” 

We asked Cynthia for some advice on what Corporate America can do to expand the roles of women and minorities in the workplace.  Here’s what she told us:

“In our work with corporations to advance women and minorities we’ve found that most companies rely primarily on mentoring, networking, affinity groups, and sponsorship programs as the means of advancing diversity; but this isn’t enough to change the metrics.

“At most companies, diversity engagement becomes the responsibility of the HR and Diversity departments in order to make sure a company is compliant and that minority employees have a sounding board. But this does not drive real change and may even contribute to a continuation of the status quo.

“How to fix it?  What we at PINK have found is often lacking is full endorsement from the top. Once the CEO of a company decides to measure and then increase diversity participation in leadership roles, then we can bring about real change.

“At PINK, we will only work with companies to increase diversity leadership when there is full support and direction from the top. This makes it far easier for Diversity and HR to set--and then achieve--specific goals.

“Advancement within a company or organization requires not just the full participation of the individual diversity candidate: it means finding out what each candidate is most passionate about; what the obstacles to advancement are; and what it will take to overcome those obstacles.”

When asked for her sources of inspiration, Cynthia told us:

“Eighty percent of those in PINK’s community say they advanced in their career because of Little PINK Book. It is those individual stories of inspiration that keep us motivated and excited to get up every morning.

“You can read one example in a recent feature story we ran on America’s Top 10 Female CFOs.  Another was the Facebook Contest we organized that gave one contestant a week at Canyon Ranch Spa for sharing how she had found the ‘courage to do what she loves.’ We also share the wisdom of women leaders every year at our signature events.  The next one, our 9^th Annual Fall Empowerment Event, is November 12 in Atlanta, and we will be live-streaming it free for women around the world to watch, learn, and be as inspired as we are by these leaders’ stories of triumph.”

2013 Judging and Awards Dinner and Ceremonies:

The final judging committees of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business are currently determining the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the winners. In addition to the media categories, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business final judging committees will also confer marketing awards, new product awards, management awards, company awards, and PR awards. The awards will be announced and presented, and the recipients and judges will be celebrated, at the 2013 (10th annual) awards dinner and ceremonies. The dinner will be held on Friday, November 8 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, New York City. Tickets are still available.

About Cynthia Good:
Cynthia Good is the founder and CEO of Little PINK Book, America's #1 digital platform for career women. PINK launched in 2005 as the only national women's business magazine, which under Cynthia’s leadership grew to a readership of 650,000. She then grew the digital version, LittlePINKBook.com, into America's top online resource for working women. Now she's bringing advancement directly to Fortune 500 companies with programs such as ITAP (Identify, Track, Advance, Promote), enabling corporate America to increase the diversity representation of women and minorities in leadership roles. "It's our legacy work," says AIG.

PINK has won numerous industry honors including the Ozzie Award for Best Feature, and the Gold Stevie for Best Website from the Stevie Awards for Women in Business for two consecutive years. Stories featuring top women in business on LittlePINKBook.com continue to inspire generations of ambitious women. Cynthia has written six books and appears regularly as a women's business expert on evening newscasts. She gives speeches to corporate and entrepreneurial groups alike, including The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, McKesson, Andrews Kurth, Hilton Worldwide, Deloitte, and KPMG.

A self-described Famillionaire, Cynthia knows riches are in family. She lives in Atlanta, GA, USA with her husband of more than 20 years and their two sons, Alden and Julien; two miniature horses; four chickens; and Lucy their giant orange cat.

About Little PINK Book:
Little PINK Book describes itself as:  “Your daily dose of encouragement and inspiration to follow your dreams and have the beautiful career and beautiful life you deserve.”  For more information, go to www.littlepinkbook.com.

We're expecting more than 300 executives from organizations in more than 25 nations to attend The 10th Annual International Business Awards banquet at the W Hotel in Barcelona, Spain on October 14. Tickets are still available.

The IBAs are the world's premier business awards program, with categories to recognize the achievements of professionals in every facet of the workplace.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Awards will be conferred.  The IBAs feature categories for management awards, marketing awards, overall business excellence, customer service awards, HR awards, IT awards, PR awards, app and website awards, new product awards, and more.

Our guest room block at the W Hotel in Barcelona has sold out.  Any rooms still available at the W for the night of the 14th and adjacent nights will be at market rates.  There are plenty of other fine hotels in Barcelona within a short taxi ride of the W. Among them are the AC Hotel Barcelona Forum and the Hotel Arts Barcelona. See this article for a list of other hotels in the area.

Here's the list of organizations that have already booked their places for The 2013 International Business Awards:

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
Accenture Chicago IL USA
ADCO  Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
ADTRAN Inc. Huntsville AL USA
AECOM New York NY USA
Ajman Police GHQ Ajman United Arab Emirates
Akbank TAS Istanbul Turkey
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller Dubai United Arab Emirates
AstraZeneca Middle East & Africa
Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd (Astro) Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
AVL Emission Test Systems GmbH Neuss Germany
AYGAZ Istanbul Turkey
Bahrain National Gas Company Manama Bahrain
Bakkavor Group Ltd Spalding Lincolnshire United Kingdom
Best Doctors Inc. Boston MA
CallidusCloud Pleasanton CA USA
CEZ Bulgaria EAD Sofia
Cisco Systems Inc. San Jose CA U.S.A.
Coca-Cola HBC Croatia Zagreb Croatia
Codan Insurance Copenhagen Denmark
Creative Virtual Ltd London United Kingdom
Daimler AG Stuttgart Germany
DANI Communications Seoul South Korea
Dell Bratislava Slovakia
Diamantis Masoutis S.A. Thessaloniki Greece
ECIJA Abogados Madrid Spain
Everything Everywhere London United Kingdom
Firmex Toronto ON Canada
Forests to Protect Lives Tohoku Association Miyagi Japan
Freelancer.com Sydney Australia
Garden Centre Dhaka Bangladesh
GDC Technology Limited Hong Kong
GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications Manila Philippines
GINGERS s.r.o. Bratislava Slovakia
GLOBAL EVENTS ID Corporation SL Madrid Spain
Global Leaders in Law Beaconsfield United Kingdom
Goyang City South Korea
GreenBulb PR Inc Metro Manila Philippines
GUBRETAS Istanbul Turkey
HANAROADCOM Seoul South Korea
Hanwoo Board Seoul South Korea
Heaven by Deborah Mitchell Shifnal Shropshire United Kingdom
Home Retail Group - Contact Centre (Model Office) Warfield United Kingdom
Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Limited
Hzo Inc. Draper UT USA
Implix sp. z o.o. Gdansk Poland
Inovex Inc. Oakville ON Canada
inspiria event service GmbH Salzburg Austria
International Armoring Corporation Centerville UT USA
Jeju Free International City Development Center Jeju City South Korea
Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Council Jeju City South Korea
KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Company Seoul South Korea
Koç Holding Istanbul Turkey
Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology Seoul South Korea
Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation Seoul South Korea
Korea Southern Power Co., Ltd Seoul South Korea
Korea Transportation Safety Authority Seoul South Korea
KOROAD Seoul South Korea
KW Digital Stockholm Sweden
LLORENTE & CUENCA Madrid Spain
Maras Group Adelaide Australia
Marketing Services Press Agency  Siegburg Germany
M-CAT Enterprises LLC Austin TX USA
McCain Foods London United Kingdom
Mediafon Vilnius Lithuania
Mercedes-Benz Istanbul Turkey
MetaMoJi Corporation Tokyo Japan
Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources of Singapore
Nu Skin Enterprises (China Hong Kong Taiwan)
Nunwood London United Kingdom
Ooredoo  Doha Qatar
OPET Istanbul Turkey
other London United Kingdom
OTTOGI Corporation Seoul South Korea
Partner of Promotion Sp. z o.o. Warsaw Poland
promio.net GmbH Bonn Germany
PT Adaro Energy Tbk Jakarta Indonesia
PT Bank Permata Tbk. Jakarta Indonesia
Quality Systems Inc. Irvine CA USA
Reading Room Singapore
REN Lisboa Portugal
Riverbed Technology Reston VA USA
RTR Rete Rinnovabile Rome Italy
Ryan LLC Dallas TX USA
Salalah Free Zone Company Dhofar Oman
SAS Paradise Rescued Cardan Bordeaux France
Seznam.cz Prague Czech Republic
Shell & Turcas Petrol A.S. Turkey
Siemens AG Healthcare Sector Erlangen Germany
Smart Cookie Guildford United Kingdom
SmartSite LLC La Plata USA
SNAS - DHL Express Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Strategic Public Relations Group Hong Kong
SUNGWOOADCOM Seoul South Korea
Telecom Development Company Afghanistan LTD [Roshan] Kabul Afghanistan
TELUS Burnaby BC Canada
TELUS Communications Edmonton AB Canada
The General Directorate of Residence and Foreigners Affairs Ras Al Khaimah United Arab Emirates
The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Seoul South Korea
The Korea Student Aid Foundation Seoul South Korea
Tmob Mobile Technology Istanbul Turkey
Torres y Carrera Consultores de Comunicación SL Madrid Spain
TRACCS Dubai United Arab Emirates
translate plus London England
TTNET Istanbul Turkey
Türk Ekonomi Bankasi AS Istanbul Turkey
Türkiye Is Bankasi A.S. Istanbul Turkey
Unilever Domestos Turkey
Uskudar Municipality Istanbul Turkey
Verne Global Falls Church VA USA
Virtusa Corporation Westborough MA USA
Weber Shandwick London United Kingdom
WebTalk and Live Warsaw Poland
Zyncro Tech Barcelona Spain

Join them in Barcelona on October 14 - reserve your tickets now!

In the leadup to tomorrow's final entry deadline for the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women in the workplace, we've been catching up with Stevie Award winners from the past decade.  They've told us about what it meant to them to win their Stevie Awards; how it's affected their lives and their businesses.

Today we catch up with 2008 Stevie winner Nina Simosko, then global chief operating officer of SAP Education, SAP America, Palo Alto, CA.  Simosko won her Stevie as Best Executive – Services Business (more than 2500 employees).

Since winning the Stevie Award in 2008, Simosko has been fortunate enough to land her dream job at Nike. In her role at Nike, she continues to work in a technology function, as head of strategy, planning & operations for Nike Global Technology.  Since fitness is such an important aspect of her life, having the chance to work for such an iconic brand as Nike is what she claims “a truly wonderful experience and amazing career move and opportunity.”

Back in 2008, the Stevie Awards competition was deep for Simosko, as in her category she was surrounded by a plethora of powerful, intelligent and driven women like herself, all of whom were leading their respective efforts at large corporations. She was honored to be part of the Stevie Awards program and to be associated with the award and group, especially considering all the amazing executives that participated across the board, both in years before she received her award as well as years following.  What makes the Stevie Awards for Women in Business distinctive is that it attracts strong, smart and tenacious women spanning many platforms – for profit and non-profit, large and small companies, and more.  The company one keeps when being part of this competition is really motivating and intriguing.

Today, Simosko continually reflects on her Stevie Award win, using it as a tool to help empower younger women, who also are chasing their dreams. She refers to it as a way for her to help them further their careers and prove that anything is possible.

The Stevie Award has been proudly featured on her personal blog (ninasimosko.com) as well as on her LinkedIn profile since she earned it, affording inspiration for others.

“My Stevie Award experience was an amazing one – first, from my initial surprise when I was declared as the winner, to proudly showcasing my Stevie ever since and sharing it with many younger colleagues seeking to enhance their own careers. I hope the Stevie Award and my career serve as examples and role models for these energetic young women who are learning that the sky is the limit for setting out to achieve whatever you set your mind to.  For me, the Stevie win was behind me all the way!”

Enter the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business now at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.   Need a brief extension past tomorrow's deadline?  Request one by writing to help@stevieawards.com.

In the leadup to tomorrow's final entry deadline for the 10th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women in the workplace, we've been catching up with Stevie Award winners from the past decade.  They've told us about what it meant to them to win their Stevie Awards; how it's affected their lives and their businesses.

Today we catch up with 2005 Stevie winner Marla Letizia, then president of Mobile Billboards of Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV.  Marla and her company won their Stevie for Most Innovative Company of the Year – Up to 100 Employees.

Marla R. Letizia was one of the first women to earn a Stevie Award for Women in Business. In 2005, the second year of the awards program.  At that time, Letizia was in the throes of getting her novel billboard business off the ground by bringing mobile advertisements to the exciting Las Vegas market.

At that time, her business was in its embryonic stages. Letizia was learning how to navigate her newfound entrepreneurial venture.  She was busy enjoying both building and operating her new enterprise.

The Stevie Award win helped solidify her firm’s position in the marketplace, expanding awareness beyond the Las Vegas market the company was serving, and exposing its successes to others outside the area looking in to find a billboards vendor.

Sometime after winning her Stevie Award, Letizia hit a crisis and while her business survived (and was renamed), she claims to have found the silver lining by learning a great deal about being a successful entrepreneur and running an innovative company.  According to Letizia, “I have the courage of a lion with regard to anything in business.”  There is an a old quote, “that which does not kill us makes us stronger," and while Letizia grew stronger personally and professionally, the confidence of a winning a Stevie stayed alongside her.

The press coverage that resulted from her Stevie Award win continues to show up in Google searches and brings instant credibility to her business when potential customers -- both inside and outside of the Las Vegas marketplace – search for businesses boasting her service offering.  The recognition she earned also continues to aid in recruitment as future employees discover the award win online when searching her firm and are very impressed with the remarkable achievement.

“When a solid organization finds you worthy of honoring, graciously smile and say thank you, then enjoy all it has to offer and then find ways to give back!”

It has been an honor to earn this award, and Letizia is constantly seeking ways to give back. The Stevie has helped propel her business to new levels.

Enter the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business now at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.   Need a brief extension past tomorrow's deadline?  Request one by writing to help@stevieawards.com.

September 25 is the final entry deadine for the 10th annual Stevie ® Awards for Women in Business (www.StevieAwards.com/Women), the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

You may be considering nominating yourself, your boss, your company... and are wondering whether the hassle of preparing an entry, and paying the entry fee, are worth it.

Over the past several weeks we've profiled in this blog a number of Stevies for Women winners over the past decade.  We thought you'd like to hear one more time what they said about what winning their Stevie has meant to them, and to the continued success of their organizations.

What Past Stevie Award Winners Have to Say

Winning a Stevie "shone a bright light on Signature HomeStyles’ mission to make a difference … one home at time. The Stevie Awards helped create more awareness about our company with articles appearing in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Daily Herald, and other news outlets."
--- Madolyn Johnson, founder and CEO of Signature HomeStyles

"It was a massive honour to be the first Australian woman to win a Stevie Award for Women in Business, and I’ve since gone on to win multiple Stevies.  I think back to the night I won my first Stevie and look at how much my business has expanded since, and feel honored to be recognized internationally for my achievements.”
--- Sandy Forster, founder and CEO of WildlyWealthy.com

“I encourage every woman in business to explore the Stevie Awards program and consider nominating yourself or another worthy advocate for the awards. The Stevie Awards staff and community are incredibly supportive and insightful. Going through the nomination process is fun and generates powerful self-discovery. Take that step – find your voice!”
--- Liz Ryan, founder of Human Workplace

"The town where I lived at the time I received the award -- Davie, Florida --  was so proud of and impressed with my Stevie Award that they named a day after me!  I never could have anticipated that this type of recognition would elicit such a response from my community, and I am grateful that the judges acknowledged the importance of supporting those with autism.  Winning the Lifetime Achievement Stevie Award was one of the high points of my career."
--- Valerie Herskowitz, president of the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists

“Winning the Stevie Award was an enormous achievement for me and my business and continues to prove beneficial to our operations every day. I had no idea of the impact that winning this award would have on our business until I checked my e-mail from my hotel room the next morning and online orders had flooded in from across the USA.  We now have a growing and loyal customer base in America via online and retail outlets.  The Stevie Awards have definitely helped elevate our U.S. presence.”
--- Niamh Barker, founder and managing director of The Travelwrap Company

"Since earning the Stevie Award, my business has grown. As the first Japanese woman to win, I am humbled and honored to have earned this award. It continues to positively impact the success of my business."
--- Atsuko Matsumura

“Outside of being recognized as a best-selling author on Amazon.com, the Stevie Award has been my most recognized accolade.”
--- Dr. Laureen Wishom

If you want the same platform for recognition that these women received through their Stevie Award wins, you need to enter the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.  Do that today at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie® Awards held one of its awards galas for its 11th annual American Business Awards competition last night, and announced the winners of its first-ever Grand Stevie Award trophies.

LifeLock received the Grand Stevie for organization of the year, for earning the most award points in The 2013 American Business Awards. Other top ABA Grand Stevie winners include Makovsky for interactive services agency of the year, Slack and Company for marketing agency of the year, and MWW for public relations agency of the year.

The Grand Stevie Awards were presented to the organizations that submitted the best body of entries to The American Business Awards this year, in their own name or in the names of one or more clients. The organizations with the most points won, with a Gold Stevie Award win counting for three points, a Silver Stevie win for two points, and a Bronze Stevie win for 1.5 points.

Besides LifeLock, Makovsky, MWW and Slack and Company, Grand Stevies were also awarded to the ten other organizations with the most points in the 2013 competition. They are:

10th place: EMKAY Inc.
9th place: Actiontec Electronics
8th place: VerticalResponse
7th place: CallidusCloud
6th place: USANA Health Sciences
5th place: Cisco Systems, Inc.
4th place: Accenture
3rd place: AT&T Inc.
2nd place: DRC    
1st place: Quality Systems, Inc.    

Last night’s gala, focused on new product awards, website awards, and other tech awards, was the second of two American Business Awards ceremonies this year. The first ceremony took place in Chicago on June 17 and honored winners in disciplines such as customer service, human resources, corporate communications, live events, publications, and selected categories for company/organization, management and marketing.

The American Business Awards honor an all-inclusive spectrum of American business people and organizations -- from non-profits, emerging start-ups, major public companies and government agencies, to corner-office executives, product developers, marketers and web development teams.

More than 250 executives attended last night’s awards banquet at San Francisco’s Julia Morgan Ballroom. Stevie Awards were conferred in three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze.

For a complete list of all 2013 American Business Awards’ Stevie Award winners visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

More than 3,200 entries were submitted to The 2012 American Business Awards and more than 320 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Entries for The 2014 American Business Awards will be accepted starting in October.

About the Stevie® Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. A fifth program, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, will debut later this month. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com and follow the Stevie Awards on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

Sponsors and partners of The 2013 American Business Awards include the Business TalkRadio Network, Callidus Software, Citrix Online, Dynamic Research Corporation, Experian Consumer Services, John Hancock Funds, LifeLock, PetRays, and SoftPro.