Freelancer.com is the top winner in the 2015 People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Companies, a feature of The International Business Awards, the world's only international, all-encompassing business awards program which is now in its 12^th year.

The worldwide public vote was conducted this summer, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in a variety of company categories. More than 10,000 votes were cast. All Stevie Award winners in the Company of the Year categories of this year’s International Business Awards were eligible to be included in voting for the People’s Choice Stevie Awards.

Freelancer.com, the Sydney, Australia-based outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace for small businesses, won People’s Choice Awards in two categories, and also collected the most votes of any nominee.

The crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards will be presented to winners at The International Business Awards banquet on Friday, October 23 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Canada. Tickets for the event are now on sale. There, the winners of peer-adjudicated Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards will be presented with their awards along with the People’s Choice Stevie Awards. Stevie winners were selected from more than 3,700 nominations received from organizations and individuals in more than 60 nations.

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

-          Banking: Odeabank AS, Istanbul, Turkey

-          Business / Professional Services: Freelancer.com, Sydney, Australia

-          Computer Services: ScaleFocus, Sofia, Bulgaria

-          Computer Software: RheinBrücke IT Consulting GmbH, Cologne, Germany

-          Energy: Bahrain National Gas Company (B.S.C.), Manama

-          Financial Services / Insurance: USHEALTH Advisors, Grapevine, TX, USA

-          Health / Pharmaceuticals: OptumCare Operations, Phoenix, AZ, USA

-          Hospitality & Leisure: Creative Lodging Solutions, Lexington, KY, USA

-          Internet / New Media: Freelancer.com, Sydney, Australia

-          Non –Profit / Government: The National Archives (UAE) – Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

-          Transportation: Road & Transport Authority – Rail Agency, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Stevie® Awards held one of its awards galas for its 13th annual American Business Awards competition on Friday night, and announced the winners of its Grand Stevie Award trophies.

Fareportal of New York, NY received the Grand Stevie for organization of the year, for earning the most award points (54.5) in The 2015 American Business Awards. Other top ABA Grand Stevie winners include C-4 Analytics (Saugus, MA) for interactive services agency of the year (11 points), MSLGROUP (nationwide) for marketing agency of the year (21), and MWW (nationwide) for public relations agency of the year (30). This is the third year in a row that MWW has won this award.

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, with a Gold Stevie Award win counting for three points, a Silver Stevie win for two points, and a Bronze Stevie win counting for 1.5 points. The organizations with the most points won.

Besides Fareportal, C-4 Analytics, MSLGROUP, and MWW, Grand Stevies were also awarded to the 10 other organizations with the most points in the 2015 competition. There were a few ties this year which resulted in 11 members of the top 10. They are:

1. Tied at 23.5 points: AT&T (Dallas, TX) and Accenture (Chicago, IL)

3. Quality Systems, Inc. (Irvine, CA, 21.5)

4.   Tied at 19.5 points: Isagenix International (Chandler, AZ) and SoftPro (Raleigh, NC)

6.   Dell Inc., Round Rock, TX (19)

7.   Capital One Investing, Seattle, WA (18)

8.   Engility, Chantilly, VA (17.5)

9   Three-way tie at 17 points: Cisco Systems (nationwide), Davies Murphy Group (Burlington, MA), and Finn Partners (nationwide)

Friday’s gala was the second of two American Business Awards ceremonies this year. The first took place in Chicago on June 22 and honored winners in disciplines such as customer service, human resources, corporate communications, information technology, 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 200 executives attended Friday’s event at San Francisco’s Julia-Morgan Ballroom. Stevie Awards were conferred in five levels of distinction: Grand, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and People’s Choice. See the press release issued earlier today for a summary of the other Stevie Award winners.

For a complete list of all 2015 American Business Awards’ Stevie Award winners visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

More than 3,300 entries were submitted to The 2015 American Business Awards and more than 200 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Entries for The 2016 American Business Awards will be accepted starting in October.

The 13th Annual American Business Awards announced Stevie® Award winners on Friday at its event focused on outstanding new products and technology-industry categories, including technology organization management.

Friday’s gala was the second of two American Business Awards ceremonies this year. The first took place in Chicago on June 22 and honored winners in disciplines such as customer service, human resources, corporate communications, information technology, 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 200 executives attended Friday’s awards banquet at San Francisco’s Julia-Morgan Ballroom at the Merchants Exchange Building. Stevie Awards were conferred in five levels of distinction: Grand, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and People’s Choice.

The Grand Stevies were awarded to the organizations who received the most awards overall – Gold, Silver or Bronze – in the ABAs this year. Fareportal (New York, NY) was presented with the Grand Stevie for Organization of the Year. The winners of the other Grand Stevie Awards will be named in a followup press release today.

Prositions Inc. (Urbandale, IA) and Workplace Answers (Austin, TX) were the top Gold Stevie winners on Friday, with three each. Winners of two Gold Stevies include Agiliance, AT&T, Auto Integrate, Discovery Education, Fareportal, Five Elements Robotics, and TangoMe.

Other notable Gold Stevie Award Winners announced on Friday include, among others:

- New Financial Service: Azul Systems’ ReadyNow!
- Integrated Mobile Experience of the Year: Fidelity Mobile® for Apple Watch
- Telecommunications Service of the Year: Broadview Networks' MyOfficeSuite
- Technical Innovation of the Year - At Organizations With 1,000 or More Employees: Ernst & Young’s EY ACA COMPASS
- Tech Startup of the Year: SeedInvest
- Marketing App of the Year: FrontFlip’s Marketing App
- New Cloud Application/Service: Verifone Cloud PS
- New Business-to-Business Services: Language Line’s eLanguage Proficiency Test
- Company of the Year - Computer Software - 500 or More Employees: Epicor Software Solutions
- New Computer Hardware Product: Imation's IronKey Workspace W700
- Executive of the Year - Computer Software - Up to 500 Employees: Jordan Kretchmer, CEO and Founder, Livefyre

Winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, which were determined by more than 16,000 votes in July and August, were announced in August and presented their crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards on Friday.

More than 3,300 entries were submitted to The 2015 American Business Awards and more than 200 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Entries for The 2016 American Business Awards will be accepted starting next month.

This Friday, September 11, the new product and technology awards banquet of The 2015 American Business Awards, the top honors in business in the U.S.A., will be staged at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco's historic Merchants Exchange Building.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners in categories for apps, new products and services, and the management of technology-industry companies will be presented.

Also to be announced are the top overall honors in this year's ABAs: the Grand Stevie Award winners, for Organization of the Year, Interactive Agency of the Year, Marketing Agency of the Year, Public Relations Agency of the Year, and the Top 10.  Grand Stevie Award winners have been determined by the total number of awards won in the ABAs this year, including those to be announced this Friday and those announced in Chicago this past June.

The presentations will be taped for broadcast by BizTalkRadio at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, September 15.  Download the BizTalkRadio smartphone app to listen in!  Available for iOS and Android.

Also download your copy of the program book that will be distributed at Friday's banquet:

Here's a list of the organizations that have already reserved their tickets for Friday's awards gala.  Only a handful of tickets are still available.

ADTRAN Inc. Huntsville AL
Agiliance Sunnyvale CA
Articulate  New York  NY
AssetLock Centennial CO
AT&T Inc.  Dallas TX
Auto Integrate Itasca IL
BayPoint Benefits San Francisco CA
BDNA Mountain View CA
BioIQ Santa Barbara CA
Biscom Chelmsford MA
Bloomz Inc Redmond WA
BMO Capital Markets  Chicago  IL
Brainshark Inc. Waltham MA
Broadview Networks Long Island City NY
CallidusCloud  Dublin CA
Capsilon Corporation San Francisco CA
CCA and B LLC Atlanta GA
CD2 Learning  Overland Park  KS
Cisco Systems Inc. Research Triangle Park NC
Cision Chicago IL
CitiusTech Inc.  Princeton  NJ
Credit Sesame Mountain View VA
Darktrace Cambridge United Kingdom
Datapipe Inc. Jersey City NJ
DigiCert Inc. Lehi UT
Digital Air Strike Scottsdale AZ
DreamWare Inc.  Naples  FL
EffectiveUI Denver CO
Electric Cloud San Jose CA
Element Fleet Management Sparks MD
EMD Millipore  Billerica  MA
EMD Millipore Billerica MA
Engility  Reston VA
Exact Sciences Madison WI
Fareportal  New York NY
Five Elements Robotics Wall NJ
GE Software San Ramon CA
GTT Communications Inc. McLean VA
GuideWell Connect Jacksonville FL
Harbortouch Allentown PA
Ignite Sales Dallas TX
Imation Campbell CA
Infor  New York  NY
Infor New York NY
InMoment  Salt Lake City  UT
InsightSoftware.com Denver CO
Interactions Corporation Franklin MA
Internap Atlanta GA
IQMS Paso Robles CA
iText Software Corp. Cambridge MA
LanguageLine Solutions Monterey CA
Maximum Games Walnut Creek CA
Métier Healdsburg CA
Omnitracs LLC Dallas TX
Opmantek  Charlotte  NC
ORBCOMM Rochelle Park NJ
Prezi  San Francisco  CA
PROS Inc.  Houston  TX
Prositions Inc. Urbandale IA
QuickPivot  Boston  MA
ReachLocal Woodland Hills CA
RES Software  Radnor  PA
Shoutz Inc.  Austin  TX
Smith & Nephew Fort Worth TX
SoftPro Raleigh NC
SolidFire Boulder CO
SYSPRO Costa Mesa CA
TangoMe Mountain View CA
Tata Consultancy Services  Edison  NJ
Telerik  a Progress company  Boston  MA
The Control Group San Diego CA
Thomson Reuters New York NY
TouchCommerce Agoura Hills CA
Tracx New York NY
TriNet Group Inc San Leandro CA
UnitedHealthcare Minnetonka MN
Utopic Software Tampa FL
Virtela  Greenwood Village CO
Wheels Inc. Des Plaines IL
Workplace Answers Austin TX

Entries for the 2016 edition of The American Business Awards will open in October.

The 2016 (10th annual) Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service is open for entries. All customer service, contact center, business development, and sales departments, teams and professionals worldwide are eligible to be nominated, in addition to new products and services used by those professionals.

The 2016 awards will recognize achievements since July 1, 2014. The new Entry Kit Brochure lists all of the awards categories and provides further details on how to submit entries.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

October 21 is the early-bird entry deadline with discounted entry fees. The entry deadline is November 18, but late entries will be accepted through January 12 with payment of a late fee. Winners of the tenth annual competition will be announced at a gala awards banquet on March 4 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.

There are a number of new categories for 2016, including:

Sales Distinction Awards Categories: These categories have replaced the Sales Department categories. Rather than focus on the performance of a named sales department, these new categories recognize sales-related achievements across your entire company or organization. You choose the successes you wish to highligh t. They can be related to revenue growth, customer acquisition, lead development, training, enculturation of product knowledge, etc.

Customer Service Success Awards Categories: If your organization doesn't have a formal customer service function - if "everyone here works in customer service" is your motto - then these are the categories for you.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature more than 140 sales awards, customer service awards, business development awards, new product awards, and call center awards categories. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include:

•         Sales Individual categories such as Senior Sales Executive of the Year and Sales Operations Professional of the Year
•         Sales Team categories like Global Sales Team of the Year and Field Sales Team of the Year
•         Sales Achievement categories such as Sales Turnaround of the Year and Outbound Marketing Program of the Year
•         Customer Service and Contact Center Individual categories such as Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year and Customer Service Leader of the Year
•         Customer Service and Contact Center Team categories like Contact Center of the Year and Customer Service Management Team of the Year
•         Customer Service and Contact Center Achievement categories such as e-Commerce Customer Service Award and Award for Innovation in Customer Service
•         Customer Service Department categories in 11 industry groupings
•         New Product and Service categories like Best New Business Intelligence Solution and Best New Relationship Management Solution
•         Solution Provider categories such as Sales Consulting Practice of the Year and Incentive, Rewards, or Recognition Provider of the Year

2016 will see the return of a popular feature of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. In addition to the possibility of receiving a peer-reviewed honor in the Customer Service Department of the year categories, all nominated customer service departments that are chosen as Finalists also will be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service. Online voting will open to the public worldwide in mid-January and will continue through early February. We will provide Finalists in these categories with tools to help you encourage your fans, followers and customers to vote for you. The nominee with the most votes in each category will receive a special crystal People's Choice Stevie Award.

The Top 10 Awards are ten best-of-competition prizes that will be presented to the organizations that submit the best collection of entries to the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, in their own name or in the names of one or more clients.

Winners of the 2015 edition of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include DenizBank, DHL Express, Delta Air Lines, FedEx TechConnect, Informatica Corporation, John Hancock Signature Services, Kohl’s Deparment Stores – Credit Division, Revana, and Time Warner Cable, among others.

Learn more about how you can win a Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service:

The Stevie® Awards have announced the winners of the Best of the IBA Awards in The 2015 (12^th Annual) International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition.

Nominees in the 2015 IBAs were not able to apply for the Best of the IBA Awards directly. Winners were determined by a points system based on the total number of awards won in the IBAs with a Gold Stevie win counting for three points, a Silver Stevie for two points, and a Bronze Stevie win for one-and-a-half points. 

This year's Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners in The International Business Awards were announced on August 13. The winners of the Best of the IBA Awards will be presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies at The 12^th Annual International Business Awards banquet at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Canada on October 23. 

Winners of the Grand Stevie Awards are:

Organization of the Year: With a total of 72 award points earned by Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie-winning entries submitted by DHL offices in 22 nations, Deutsche Post DHL is the winner of the Grand Stevie Award trophy for Organization of the Year.

Public Relations Agency of the Year: With a total of 69 points earned by Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie-winning entries submitted by their agencies and offices in China, Europe, India and Singapore, Weber Shandwick is the winner of the Grand Stevie Award trophy for Public Relations Agency of the Year

Marketing Agency of the Year:  Will a total of 64.5 points earned by Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie-winning entries worldwide, MSLGROUP is the winner of the Grand Stevie Award trophy for Marketing Agency of the Year.

Interactive Services Agency of the Year:  With 39 points, Plasenta Conversation Agency, of Istanbul, Turkey, is the winner of the Grand Stevie Award trophy for Interactive Services Agency of the Year for the second year in a row.

Top 10: Among all other organizations honored in the 2015 IBAs, these are the top Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners and thus will also be presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies:

1. Ooredoo, Doha, Qatar (55.5 points)
2. LLORENTE & CUENCA, Madrid, Spain (48.5)
3. CallidusCloud, Pleasanton, CA, USA (45)
4. HANAROADCOM, Seoul, South Korea (37)
5. Fareportal, New York, NY, USA (35)
6. (Three-way tie at 29.5 points)
            -Accenture, Chicago, IL,  USA
            - iFinance Canada, Toronto, Canada
            - boogy the event company, Istanbul, Turkey

9. (two-way tie at 28 points)
            - Cisco Systems, worldwide
            - PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies, Manila, Philippines

“These 14 organizations have demonstrated that they understand the value of seeking public recognition for the achievements of their executive teams and their employees, by nominating them for Stevie Awards in a wide variety of categories,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. “Many of their nominations have been applauded and highly-rated by the judges, and we’re pleased to be able to honor them with Grand Stevie Award trophies.”

The International Business Awards feature a wide variety of categories to recognize achievement in every facet of work life, including management awards, new product awards, marketing awards, PR awards, customer service awards, website awards, and more.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements in the 2015 IBAs were determined by the average scores of more than 200 professionals worldwide in the three-month judging process.

For more information about The International Business Awards, including a complete list of all Stevie Award winners in the 2015 competition, visit www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

High-achieving organizations and executives around the world have been recognized as Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners in The 12th Annual International Business Awards, the world's only international, all-encompassing business awards program.

Nicknamed the Stevies from the Greek word "crowned," the awards will be presented at a gala event on Friday, 23 October at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Canada. Tickets for the event are on sale now at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners were selected from more than 3,700 nominations received from organizations and individuals in more than 60 nations. All organizations worldwide are eligible to compete in The International Business Awards, and can submit entries in a wide range of categories, including management awards, company of the year awards, marketing awards, public relations awards, customer service awards, human resources awards, new product awards, IT awards, web site awards, and more. 

More than 200 executives worldwide participated in the judging process this year to determine the Stevie winners.

The top Gold Stevie Award winners this year are MSLGROUP worldwide, with 10; Weber Shandwick worldwide with eight; Accenture (USA) and LLORENTE & CUENCA (Spain) with six; CallidusCloud (USA), DHL Express globally, Dubai Statistics Center (United Arab Emirates), Hanaroadcom (South Korea), and the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies (Philippines) with five; and boogy the event company (Turkey), Kale Group (Turkey), Plasenta Conversation Agency (Turkey), and Strategic Public Relations Group (Hong Kong) with four Gold Stevie wins each.

Winners of three Gold Stevie Awards include the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (United Arab Emirates), Agiliance Inc. (USA), Bahrain National Gas Company (Bahrain), Cisco Systems (USA), Dubai Police H.Q (United Arab Emirates), Ooredoo (Qatar), PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Indonesia), Roshan, (Afghanistan), RSA Insurance (Canada), the Seegene Medical Foundation (South Korea), TangoMe (USA), Thai Life Insurance Plc. (Thailand), Veeam (USA), and WNS Global Services Pvt. Ltd. (India).

A complete list of all 2015 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners by category is available on our website.

"We are pleased to once again honor many of the world’s best organizations, professionals, and their achievements," said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. "This year we’ve seen that organizations around the world, and especially in emerging markets, are becoming much more skilled at summarizing and evoking their achievements in award nominations. I know it has been a delight for the judges to read and comment on these stories of success, and we look forward to honoring on stage the Stevie winners who join us in Toronto on 23 October."

During the week of 24 August the winners of the Best of the IBA Awards, five best-of-competition prizes, will be announced. Winners will be determined by a tally of the total number of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevies won by organizations, and will be presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies in Toronto.

Floor Wijburg, Co-founder of Yes We Care, is a member of The 2015 International Business Awards Final Judging Committee for the Company/Organization Awards categories. We talked to her about her experience as a Stevie Awards judge, and about Yes We Care, which provides international labels for companies that are doing good for others.

Floor Wijburg believes in the power of doing good business in an economy where businesses will not only be measured based on their economic value, but also on the value they add to society.

She was able to spare some time from running the organization she co-founded, Yes We Care, based in The Netherlands and New York, to answer some questions about judging in The 2015 International Business Awards; how businesses can become more philanthropic; and what Yes We Care is doing to help add to the value of this.

An Inspirational Experience

“I very much enjoy being able to participate as a judge for The International Business Awards,” Floor told us. “It’s inspiring to learn in-depth about all the participating businesses, the work they do, and the passion they put in to it. Besides this, I focus in particular on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the sustainability of their endeavors.”

“It gives me great pleasure to see all the wonderful efforts businesses around the world are putting in to this process,” Floor continued. “If I can help in evaluating these businesses and rewarding good practices in this way, I’m more than happy to give my time as a Stevie Awards judge. My wish is that more businesses around the world will participate, and increase their contribution to CSR each year!”

Sharing Insights and Expertise

When asked if she had any advice to people who might be interested in being a Stevie Awards judge in the future, Floor said “My advice would be: go ahead and do it! It’s a highly rewarding process to be able to participate as a judge. Don’t underestimate the time you’ll need to put in, however. Thorough evaluation requires you to weigh a lot of factors when judging the entries. There’s no room for half work. But … is there ever in business? So my recommendation is: apply and share your insights and expertise as a judge.”

Not Just A Trend
Floor also has good advice for businesses about becoming more philanthropic. “Doing good deeds is not just a trend anymore: it’s a force that will shape the world of business in the future. On the other hand, 99% of businesses don’t have the time to set up a detailed structure for their philanthropic activities. What they want is to do good because they like to do so, because they feel it’s the right thing to do, or because they know it enhances their business. At Yes We Care, we understand this. That’s why we have designed an easy and effective system that gives businesses everything they need to maximize their doing good without having to lose focus on their core business.”

Maximizing Impact

The big question for most businesses is not how to do good, but how to sustain, grow, and maximize their impact. As Floor explains: “That’s why we want to make sure businesses get the tools and optics they need, so they can clearly see the structure of their good activities and optimize their impact. The Yes We Care license is a business tool designed to support businesses in their efforts to do good things. We quickly and easily identify the doing-good activities and convert these activities into numbers that anyone can instantly grasp. We provide businesses with optics to maximize their impact in society, and to highlight these good activities for their customers, employees, and stakeholders.”

Three Good Reasons To Care

The Yes We Care license leverages the power of doing good with three main features:

PROMOTION: 90% Of Consumers Switch Brands

A staggering 90% of consumers would switch brands to one that is associated with a good cause, given similar price or quality. Most companies lack time to show their good deeds actively, however, and thereby reduce their impact. The Yes We Care label provides businesses with a new dimension that will elevate a company’s reputation and its success.

RESULTS: When Businesses Know Better, They Can Do Better

Measuring and monitoring the impact of a business is essential to its long-term health. The people at Yes We Care know which ratios and calculations are most vital, and focus on those areas to provide direct insights. For most businesses, it is extremely rewarding to see their good activities translated to the value they add for society, stated in a value everyone can grasp.

CONNECTION: Connected By Doing Good

Yes We Care gives businesses the tools and services they need to meet personal philanthropy goals in their business and to connect with a professional community so they can share knowledge and build new relationships. It enables them to build a bigger professional network.

In summation, Floor tells us: “Candidly, we can say that Yes We Care will change the perceived value of businesses, as well as the total amount of value that will be added by businesses to society.”

About Floor Wijburg:

Floor Wijburg is co-founder and CEO of Yes We Care. Driven by the desire to create a better world, Floor is intent on making an impact. Through her theoretical knowledge and practical experience, she knows how to encourage people and businesses to be socially involved. She frequently appears in the media, where she is interviewed on topics such as corporate social responsibility and civil society. She gives international presentations on topics like CSR and Social Involvement. As a judge for The Sustainability Award in 28 cities, she and members of the specialized committee judge companies for the local impact, economic profitability, and the social change they establish.

About Yes We Care:

Yes We Care is the international label for companies who are doing good for others. Yes We Care offers consumers and businesses across the world insight into three important areas of doing good: Who, what, and where. As the only organization in the world with this mission, Yes We Care is a pioneer in the field of letting the best companies join forces worldwide in doing good and feeling good. It gives them the opportunity to show the world they really care. For more information, go to www.yeswecare.com.

CD2 Learning and Infor are the top winners in the 2015 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite New Products, a feature of The American Business Awards, the U.S.A.’s top business awards program, which are now in their 13th year.

The nationwide public vote was conducted this summer, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in a variety of product categories. More than 16,000 votes were cast. To win, a category’s leading vote-getter had to have received at least 100 votes.

CD2 Learning, the Overland Park, Kansas –based developer of a cloud-based learning architecture, and Infor, an industry-specific solution provider of UX designs in New York, won People’s Choice Stevie Awards in two categories. LanguageLine Solutions' eLanguage Proficiency Test collected the most votes of any nominee.

The crystal People’s Choice Stevie Awards will be presented to winners at The American Business Awards’ new product and tech awards banquet on Friday, September 11 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco. Tickets for the event are now on sale. There, the winners of peer-adjudicated Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards will also be announced and presented their awards. More than 250 nominees and their guests are expected to attend.

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

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

Business-to-Business Products: DMEautomotive's Driver Connect 3.0
Business-to-Business Services: LanguageLine Solutions' eLanguage Proficiency Test
Computer/Peripheral/Hardware: Votacall Viper
Content - Other Solutions: CD2 Learning's Content Driven Delivery
Content - Sales & Marketing: Digital Air Strike's Review Surge 4.0
Content - Search Technology: Thomson Reuters' Intuitive Search on Thomson Reuters Checkpoint®
Content Integration Solution: Brainshark Sales Accelerator
Education - Other: Bloomz App
Health & Pharmaceutical: Exact Sciences' Cologuard
Software - Big Data:  PROS Cameleon CPQ
Software - Biz Intelligence InsightSoftware.com's Hubble
Software - Cloud Application/Service: Infor CloudSuite
Software - Content Management: CD2 Learning's Content Management Solution
Software - Governance/Risk: RSA Archer GRC
Software - Human Capital Management: Infor Talent Science
Software - Lead Generation:  ReachLocal's ReachEdge Lead Conversion Software
Software - Learning/Workforce Development: Articulate Storyline 2
Software - Marketing/Public Relations: QuickPivot Program Palette
Software - Mobile: SYSPRO Espresso Mobile Solution
Software - Other: WaveMaker
Software - Project/Systems Management: Opmantek's Network Management and IT Audit Software
Software - Relationship Management: InMoment's Active Listening Suite
Software - Security/Data Protection: DigiCert's Certificate Monitoring
Software - Social Business: Infor Ming.le Mobile
Telecommunications – Service: Broadview Networks' MyOfficeSuite

The following professionals participated in first-round judging of The 12th Annual International Business Awards.  Their average scores helped to determine the nominations that were eligible to be included in second-round (final) judging, to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements.  We thank them for their time, interest and insights.

Husam Mahmoud Abdallah, Senior Advisor, Organization Development, Dubai Airport Freezone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dr. Mamdooh Abdelmottlep, Founder and Executive Chairman, IPSA - International Police Sciences Association, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Sumaya Abdulla, Head - Human Resource Development, Bahrain National Gas Compnay, Manama, Bahrain
Bora Aksoylu, Event Manager, NIKE Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey
Mohammad Al Dweiri, Training Specialist, Abu Dhabi Police, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Ahmed Alattas, Tam Development, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Ahmad Alhai, Drilling Services Automation Project Manager, ADCO, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Maryam Alhashmi, Deputy Representative of Quality, Fujairah police G.H.Q, AlFujairah, United Arab Emirates
Huda Al-Husaini, Industrial Engineer, Jordan Engineers Association, Amman, Jordan
Asma Almarzoqi, Human Resources Consultant, HRSolutions, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Samar Almashjeri, Strategic Planning and Project Mangment Unit Lead, National Archives, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Hussein Alsaied Ahmed, Strategy and Corporate Excellence Expert, Dubai Statistics Center, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Don Anderson, Partner, Janet LeBlanc + Associates, Ottawa, Canada
Juan Paolo Arao, Senior Specialist - Talent Development, Abu Dhabi Polymers Co. Ltd - Borouge, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Jenny Ashmore, Chief Marketing Officer, Jazz-Works, Perth, United Kingdom
Ani Atanasova, CEO, Pixelhunters, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Lizette Badando, Project Coordinator - Human Resources, Dubai First, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Judhajit Bagchi, Director, Yaanus Films, Mumbai, India
Dan Banks, Founder & Creative Director, Project Design Company, Washington, DC USA
Heather Barton, Head of Human Resources, American Institute for Foreign Study, London, United Kingdom
Maxim Behar, CEO, M3 Communications Group, Inc., Sofia, Bulgaria
Carolyn Belefski, Designer & Illustrator, Curls Studio, Fairfax, VA USA
Ranadeep Bhattacharyya, Director, Yaanus Films, Mumbai, India
Hugh Brown, Director, JeaterBROWN Creative Partners, London, United Kingdom
Jane Bryant, Director, Spire Communications, Potomac Falls, VA USA
Jorge Cachinero, Director Corporativo de Reputación e Innovación, Llorente y Cuenca, Madrid, Spain
Colin Campbell-Austin, Head of Talent and People Development, Telegraph Media Group, London, United Kingdom
Venkata Rajesh Cheerla, Group Senior Manager - HR Strategy, Policies & Compliance, Etisalat Group, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Boris Chow, Assistant Marketing Manager, Wealth Bond Precious Metals (Asia) Ltd, Kowloon, Hong Kong
David Clark, Marketing Manager, BJSS, London, United Kingdom
Sally Clubley, Senior Consultant, IHRDC, Stourton, United Kingdom
Shelly Coates, Graphic Designer, Shellville Design, Falls Church, VA USA
Zeki Engin Çolak, Group Corporate Communications Executive, Coca-Cola Icecek, Umraniye, Turkey
Kira Cole, Brand and Marketing Specialist, Accenture, Chicago, IL USA
Adriena Daunt, Public Relations Manager - The Americas, Tourism New Zealand, Los Angeles, CA USA
Karla Davis, General Manager, Plantation Resort, Surfside Beach, NC USA
Saraida De Marchena Kaluche, President and CEO, Markatel, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Lelanie de Wet, Web Content & Social Media Manager, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Annette Densham, CEO, Publicity Genie, Forest Lake, Australia
Rachel Deutsch, Creative Director, The Design Channel, Chevy Chase, MD USA
Richard Dixon, Owner/Administrator, Home Helpers and Direct Link of North Texas, Keller, TX USA
Jon Dobinson, Chief Executive, Other Creative Ltd, London, United Kingdom
Michal Dunin, Managing Director, WebTalk, Warsaw, Poland
Yavuz Duyar, HR Operations Specialist, Opet Petrolculuk A.S., Istanbul, Turkey
Stacey Edmonds, Founder and MD, Lively, Coogee, Australia
Nayomi Ekanayake, Director of Marketing, Ekanayake Associates, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Rochelle Ekanayake, Managing Director UK/SRI LANKA, MrPierce Studios International Asia (PVT) Ltd, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Gary Erskine, Art Director, Ford's Theatre, Washington, DC USA
Eaton Fallows, Program Director, British Telecom, Manchester, United Kingdom
Mohammed Fattoum, Management and Information Technology Expert, Fujairah Police General Head Quarter, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Julia Forsyth, Senior Global Marketing Manager GSMA, Atlanta, GA USA
Manoj Gautam, Managing Director, Om Shiva Shakti Herbal Company, Kathmandu, Nepal
George Georgallides, Managing Partner, Curious Ventures (Investment arm of Curious Pictures), Chula Vista, CA USA
Pinar Tuba Gocgun, Human Resources Director, MetLife, Istanbul, Turkey
Ashantha Goonetilleke, Professor Water/Infrastructure Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Lisa Gregovich, Manager, Vendor Operations, Prime Therapeutics, Coppell, CO USA
Danita Harn, VP of Operations, Harn & Associates, Bookkeeping Firm, Woodstock, CO USA
Peter Harrington, Senior HR Consultant, Harrington HR Services Ltd, Witham, United Kingdom
Robin Harris, Principal/Creative Director, Harris Design Inc., McLean, VA USA
Wayne Harris, Chairman, International Safety Quality Environment Management Association, Reading, United Kingdom
Steffen Hartmann, Senior Account Manager, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Frankfurt, Germany
Joanne Hizon, Vice President - Human Resources SM Investments Corp, Pasay City, Indonesia
Jamie K. Holt, MBA, President/CEO, JMK Notary And Services, Miami, FL USA
Yvonne Howie, CEO, NSW The CEO Institute, Neutral Bay, Australia
Hamad Ibrahim, Expert Innovation and IT DEMARS, Amman, Jordan
Echo Ilott, Director, Boost Marketing, Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Leo Indarwahono, Public Health & Educational Executive, The Indonesian Business Coalition on AIDS (IBCA), Jakarta, Indonesia
Franky Jamin, Independent Commissioner, PT Kamadjaja Logistics and PT Paramount Land Development, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia
Graham Jenkins, Chair, The Executive Connection, Balmain, Australia
Beverly Jensen, Ph.D., President, www.WomensMedicineBowl.com, Miami, FL USA
Kyle Johnson, Principal/Creative Director, BlkMrkt. Cr8tiv Labs, Houston, TX USA
Hakan Karamanli, Executive Vice President, TAM Faktoring A.S., Istanbul, Turkey
Shahnawaz Karim, Marketing Head, Bharti Airtel, New Delhi, India
Joe Kay, Senior Business Transformation Consultant, Alcatel-Lucent, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
Umu Kececioglu, Senior Associate Mobile Banking Management, Denizbank, Istanbul, Turkey
Ki-hak Kim, Chairman, Korea-China-Japan, Regional Economy and Culture Association, Seoul, South Korea
Jennifer Kozak, Principal Creative, J Kozak Creative Company, Baltimore, MD USA
Cat Leaver, Group Head of Strategy, We are AD Ltd, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Sally Ledger, Marketing Director, Dendron, Watford, United Kingdom
Andreea Leonte, Creative & Strategy Director, McCannPR, Bucharest, Romania
Katya Linossi, Managing Director, ClearPeople Ltd, London, United Kingdom
Chris Litherland, International Senior Director HR, Intermec by Honeywell, Heinsberg, Germany
Petr Lymar, Regional Business Development, Yandex, Odessa, Ukraine
Anil Machado, Managing Director, Tnell, Sieradz, Poland
Dr. Kanak Madrecha, Advisor-Corporate Excellence Division, Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Connie Maina Nkatha, Head of Resource Mobilization, Kenya Wildlife Service, Nairobi, Kenya
Morag Malloy, Managing Director, Fission Creative, Paisley, United Kingdom
Margaret Manning, CEO, Reading Room, Singapore, Singapore
Steven Marr, Operations Manager, TELUS, Edmonton, Canada
Maheshkumar Mathilakath, Head of Business Process Re-Engineering, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Chris McConnell, Senior Manager, Digital Marketing, Accenture, Chicago, IL USA
Jeremy McWilliams, Managing Director, Bang TV, London, United Kingdom
Eliza Misiecka, Director, GENESIS PR, Warsaw, Poland
Amanda Morales, Clinical Trial Administrative Assistant, WCCT Global, Cypress, TX USA
Ruth Moyte, Owner, Red Dandelion Creative, Temecula, CA USA
Motomasa Murayama, Professor, Tokiwa University, Tokyo, Japan
Özgür Mutlu, Director of Financial and Administrative Affairs, Ankara Netmon A.S., Ankara, Turkey
Rajendran Nair, VP Marketing, Estuate, San Francisco, CA USA
Therese Necio, VP Corporate Communications, SM Investments Corp, Pasay City, Indonesia
Rajiv Noronha, Head - Organizational Effectiveness, BPS Tata Consultancy Services, Bangalore, India
Irem Onal, HR Manager, Danone Early Life Nutrition Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey
Pierluigi, Orati, Head of Country Analysis, ENEL SPA, Rome, Italy
Mary Ortiz-Arzani, EDI/Sales Service Manager, Igloo Products Corp, Katy, TX USA
Egemen Ozcan, COO & Chief Storyteller, Boogy The Event Company, Istanbul, Turkey
Katarzyna Pawlikowska, Managing Partner, Garden of Words, Warsaw, Poland
Alexander Powell, Washington, DC USA
Nazia Qidwai, Planner, Kuwait Oil Company, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Rhiannon Rees, CEO, Love Living the dream PTY LTD, Murwillumbah, Australia
Pamela Robinson, CEO, Financial Voyages LLC, Atlanta, GA USA
Sharon Rudd, Organisational Development & Sales Consultant, TNT, Mascot, Australia
Linanne Sackett, Principal Investigator, Verizon Next Step Program, Albany, NY USA
Naya Saymon, Creative and Innovative Trainer, CIT, Palestine
Ron Sereg, Asst. Prof. Public Relations, Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Shreveport, LA USA
Dr. Shih-Wei Sheu, Centre of Excellence for Scientific & Research Journalism, Taipei, Taiwan
Sushrut Shrotri, Managing Partner, Novus Global Solutions, Singapore, Singapore
Tony Roland, Silitonga, Board of Trustees, Indonesian Institute for Corporate Directorship, Jakarta, Indonesia
Manu Singh, Manager - Contact Center, Dubai First, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Asuncion Soriano, CEO, Atrevia, Madrid, Spain
Julian Stubbs, Senior Lecturer, Marketing (retired), The University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
Malcolm Summerfield, Owner, MIS Consulting, Petersfield, United Kingdom
Begum Susar, Digital Marketing and Design Assistant Vice President, ING Bank Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey
Alicja Szalska, Education Coordinator, Vemma Services, Gdansk, Poland
Divya Tekchandani, Director, Airglow Aviation Service FZC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Josie Thomson, Lifestyle Coach, JosieThomson.com, Red Hill, Australia
Wailaya Tiningsih, Bravyanto Health, Wellbeing & Nutrition Manager, PT Unilever Indonesia, Tbk Jakarta, Indonesia
Nazim Torun, Business Applications Manager, Bayer Türk, Istanbul, Turkey
Aigerim Tulepbergenova, Business Analyst, Morgan Stanley, New York, NY USA
Aykut Ustun, Group Manager - HR and Management System, Opet Petrolculuk, Istanbul, Turkey
Katarina Valachovicova, Client Service Director, GINGERS, Bratislava, Slovakia
Vincent Verdi, Art Director, CUNY-TV, New York, NY USA
Gwen Wight, Senior Director, Inside Sales, ServiceSource, Sandyford, Ireland
Young Kuk Won, CEO/ECD, Solcom, Seoul, South Korea
Debra Woodfork, Production and Design Manager, Association of Corporate Counsel, Washington, DC USA

Interested in becoming a Stevie Awards judge? You're invited to apply to be a preliminary-round judge for The Stevie Awards for Women in Business. As a judge you'll see how many individuals and organizations around the world are innovating and achieving success, and you'll receive a certificate of appreciation suitable for framing. Judging begins in September.