Angela Hughes was the first employee of the Wales Air Ambulance Charity (WAAC) in 2002. She was previously Finance Director and then European HR and Quality
Manager in the construction and technology industry. As a cancer survivor, at the age of 34, Angela embarked on a new career in fundraising using the transferable business
skills of finance, quality and HR. There was no business plan, no office, no staff, and limited funds. In 2019 WAAC now has 4 offices, 4 airbases, 18 shops, a café, and a heliport. This busy heliport in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, was a pioneering opportunity for WAAC to take on a new venture to generate funds for the lifesaving cause.
WAAC is the largest air ambulance charity in the UK. Through a creative, community-
focused strategy, Angela has led the charity in raising more than £101 million to keep
the 4 air ambulances flying for Wales. This has transformed pre-hospital care in Wales.
’The Welsh Model’ is becoming a familiar term as organisations worldwide engage with
WAAC to replicate its model, including the USA, New Zealand and Ireland. Angela has
been recognised nationally and internationally through winning 17 awards, including 2
lifetime achievements, 4 Silver, and a Gold Stevie Award. Angela states “Although I do
not normally seek recognition for my role, these awards have been poignant moments
to reflect on how far we’ve come and they drive me to be the best I can, serving Wales,
saving lives.”
New Product and Service Categories:
Natalia Michael, Founder
Natalia Michael is a multi-award-winning Australian entrepreneur. She is the owner of No Nasties Kids and SLiCK KiDS natural children's brands, and the co-owner of Roar Success, a platform for women in business. No Nasties Kids and SLiCK KiDS products are sold across the globe with distribution and licensee partners in nine countries and growing.
Communications & Marketing Categories:
Hai Yen Le, General Director
Hai Yen Le, General Director of Newday Media JSC, is the Leader of Hanoi Young
Women Entrepreneurs Club (HYWE), Vice-chairwoman of Vietnam Media &Tourism Club, and Vice-chairwoman of Hanoi Network of Women Entrepreneurs. After 4 years working in PR at FPT, the largest corporation in technology & science in Vietnam, she started her own business in event management at the age of 27. Within 8 years, from a small business with only 1 employee and $1,000 of operating capital, Newday Media JSC has grown to become an expert in the field with 37 full-time employees and a turnover of over $1 million per annum. The company has a healthy growth rate of 20% every year and has created and directed many successful national festivals working with a number of established businesses and organisations.
Newday Media JSC under Hai Yen’s direction has received multiple certificates and
accolades from local governments and clients and the business goes from strength to
strength. In addition to running her own company Hai Yen believes it’s important to
share her knowledge and experience and is now a senior member of Business Network
International.
Hai Yen was born and raised in Hanoi. Finishing her studies at Hanoi College of Art,
she obtained a degree in Music & Culture Management from the University of Culture Studies.
Media Categories:
Natalie Runyon, Director, Enterprise Content
Natalie Runyon has over 20 years of experience working and volunteering for multinational corporations, non profits, and the US Government–Thomson Reuters, Goldman Sachs, and the Central Intelligence Agency.
Currently, she is the director of enterprise content for talent, inclusion, and culture within the brand marketing function of Thomson Reuters. Before her current role, she ran the strategy and operations team supporting key account programs within the Legal business. Before that, she ran global security in the Americas for 3 years. As a volunteer leader, she has led strategic leadership and change initiatives on the global and local levels for business resource groups at Thomson Reuters.
Natalie is a conference speaker and an author of articles for the Legal Executive
Institute , The Glass Hammer , Security magazine , and CSO Online . Natalie was
named one of top 20 under 40 in Security Director News in 2013. She also serves on
the board of She Should Run , a non partisan nonprofit focused on building the pipeline
of women to run for elected public office in the US; and the board of Middle Church , a
faith institution in the East Village dedicated to nurturing souls, advocating for social
justice, and standing up for those within marginalized communities.
She earned her MBA from The George Washington University and her BS Degree in
International Trade and Finance from Louisiana State University. She completed an
Organization Development & Leadership certificate from NYU in April 2016 and is a Certified Leadership Coach and Certified Protection Professional. She currently resides in New York City with her husband and two sons.
Achievement Categories:
Vicky Marrack, Co-Founder & CFO
Vicky is Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of Tangible Words, a Sales & Marketing Growth Agency. Under Vicky's leadership, the company has grown into a 10-person agency. Tangible Words helps organizations who need to grow their revenue by $1 million or more by increasing customer lifetime value, getting net new profitable leads, and building repeatable, predictable sales processes.
Vicky's determination to help her staff achieve greatness for their clients while living their best life led to Tangible Words winning the Gold Stevie Award for Achievement in Promoting Work-Life Balance in 2018. In the same year, and in recognition of the results Tangible Words gets for their clients, Tangible Words also won The Hubspot Integrations Innovation Award and a Gold Quill Award of Merit for Communication Management.
On being asked to Chair this year’s Achievement Awards Committee, Vicky told us:
“These Awards are an important recognition for women all over the world. It was a
highlight of our company’s year winning a Gold Stevie Award for Achievement in the
2018 Women in Business Awards. I am very happy to contribute in 2019 as a participant in recognizing the achievements of other women in business.”