Nominations for the 2020 (14^th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, considered the world’s top honors for customer service, business development, and sales professionals, will be accepted through January 9 at StevieAwards.com/Sales. Late fees will apply for nominations, but no entry fees or late fees will apply for nominations to a new category to recognize leadership in transforming consumer engagement models, sponsored by HCL Technologies.

The Leader in Transforming Consumer Engagement Models category will recognize outstanding examples of individual leadership and innovation in the field since July 1, 2018. As in all other categories in the competition, nominees may submit a written essay or case study of up to 650 words describing their ethical sales practices and achievements or a video of up to five minutes in length, illustrating the same.

Only those with a promotion code supplied by HCL Technologies may submit nominations to the category.  To inquire about getting the promotion code, email mohit_si@hcl.com.

HCL Technologies is a next-generation global technology company that helps enterprises reimagine their businesses for the digital age. Their technology products, services, and engineering are built on four decades of innovation, with a world-renowned management philosophy, a strong culture of invention and risk-taking, and a relentless focus on customer relationships. 

HCL Technologies is a long-time sponsor of two other Stevie Awards programs, The American Business Awards® and the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, but this is only the second time that the firm will sponsor the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Maggie Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards, is looking forward to having the longtime Stevie Awards sponsor present this award. “We are gratified that HCL Technologies has decided to use this Stevie Awards platform to recognize those individual executives who excel in using technology to transform how organizations delight their customers.”

Finalists in this and all other categories, based on the ratings of more than 150 professionals around the world in the judging process, will be announced on January 16. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the finalists will be revealed at a gala event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Friday, February 28.

The final entry deadline for the awards is January 9.

Newest Stevie Awards program recognizing innovation in 17 countries in Middle East and North Africa is now accepting entries through January 22

By popular demand, the Stevie Awards have announced a general entry deadline extension for its new Middle East Stevie Awards sponsored by RAK Chamber, UAE. The original final entry deadline was December 4. Entries will now be accepted through January 22.

All organizations operating in 17 nations in the Middle East and North Africa are eligible to submit nominations to the 2020 Middle East Stevie Awards. The awards will recognize innovative achievements since July 1, 2018. Complete information about the awards process is available at https://MENA.StevieAwards.com.

Nominations will be accepted and judged in Arabic and English from organizations of all types—large and small, for-profit and non-profit, publicly-held and privately-held—in more than 200 categories. Organizations may submit as many nominations as they’d like in these categories, at no cost. Categories are available across the following groups:

• Web Site, App, Annual Report & Other Publications, & Live Event Awards Categories
• Management Awards Categories
• Company / Organisation Awards Categories
• Corporate Communications & Public Relations Awards Categories
• Customer Service Awards Categories
• Human Resources Awards Categories
• Marketing Awards Categories
• New Product & Product Management Awards Categories
• Technology Awards Categories

Judging for the competition will be conducted by professionals around the world who will determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners in each category. Those winners will be announced the week of February 19. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie winners will be honored, and Grand Stevie Award winners announced, at a gala awards banquet at the Waldorf Astoria in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates on Saturday, March 21.

Instead of charging an entry fee for each nomination submitted, as many awards programs do, the competition will impose a winner’s fee on each Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie-winning nomination. Payment of the winner’s fee will unlock the many benefits of being a Stevie winner, including the right to publicly claim the recognition, a Stevie Award trophy, the right to use the winner’s seal, and more.

Hundreds of organizations across the MENA region have been recognized in Stevie Awards programs over the years, including ASDA'A BCW in United Arab Emirates, CarrefourSA in Turkey, DHL Express in Qatar, Gulf Bank in Kuwait, and Ooredoo in Oman, among many other prominent winners.

“With the Middle East Stevie Awards, we are able to recognize the innovation of many more organizations and executives in the MENA region,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. “This will mean that many more organizations around the MENA region will be able to benefit from the brand-building and employee-recognition benefits of winning the world’s premier business award, the Stevie Award.”

About the RAK Chamber of Commerce and Industry
RAK Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RAK Chamber) is the second chamber of commerce commissioned in the United Arab Emirates incorporated on 22 October 1967, RAK Chamber adopts the spirit of innovation and creativity, strong leadership and initiative to support and develop business sectors to achieve excellence and become pioneers, focusing on clients, investors and business by meeting their needs and offering them added value. The chamber is keen to create and develop a system of sustainable enterprise relations, and it also works to provide a business environment and practices that enhance the culture of group work by working in a spirit of a unified team – along with responding to internal and external changes by providing information, data, procedures and laws for all concerned categories. This is in order to achieve transparency and credibility and to create a business-motivating environment so as to promote the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah as an economic hub in the United Arab Emirates.

It’s essential in today’s world to try to be part of something bigger than yourself, and this applies not only to individuals but to institutions. If your specialty is helping clients solve financial issues, for example, then you are particularly well placed to help out by problem-solving in the wider community.

Many big companies have organized programs that encourage their employees to consider volunteering, and they facilitate these acts of service by giving their employees time to do so. Businesses find this experience of giving back continues outside of work hours as well, which creates an ongoing, committed relationship with the given charity or nonprofit. The relationship of the company to the community at large then often becomes an integral part of the corporate culture.

Volunteering Helps Company Culture

Some businesses tend start their volunteer work on a small scale. For example, some companies employ industry education, which helps other professionals excel in their respective fields. This sense of social responsibility often fosters a desire to do even more, which can lead staff members to give their time regularly to local charities.

Stevie-winner Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions, which is based in Houston, Texas, United States, is one business that describes their experience of volunteering as enlightening and something that has given them fulfillment and made their company feel like a real family with a shared purpose.

A Perfect Match

The Lighthouse, a charity that is a member of the United Way of Greater Houston, Texas, United States, helps over seven thousand blind and partially sighted people every year by giving members the tools they need to live independently. When Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions was looking for a place to volunteer, they came across this local charity, and it seemed like a perfect match. Both were looking for a long-term, meaningful relationship, and that has undoubtedly come to fruition.

Since 1939 the Lighthouse has provided social activities for the blind and visually impaired in the Houston, Texas, United States, area, and they love to welcome volunteers. By providing several volunteers to assist with craft sessions and reading activities during the working day, Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions proves an excellent fit with the Lighthouse. The partnership ensures the charity can provide sessions in the daytime, which is when their clients need them most.

Giving Back to the Community

Meeting new people and getting a unique perspective into the local community through the staff, volunteers, and service users at the Lighthouse is just one example of how Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions is committed to supporting its staff members’ communities. The work doesn’t stop with the Lighthouse, though. Employees have also volunteered at a wide range of other nonprofit organizations, such as Children of Military Members in Tampa, Florida, United States; the Nevada Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States; and the Tulane Health System in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

Raja Sengupta, executive vice-president and general manager at Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions, is proud of how his team embraces the volunteering mind-set.

“The employees are keen to deepen their relationships with the communities in which they live and to take part in projects where they can get to know and help others,” says Sengupta.

This can-do attitude earned Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions several Stevie Awards in 2019. For its iLien Motor Vehicle solution, the company earned a Silver Stevie®️ Award in the Financial Services category, as well as a Gold Stevie Award in the Legal Information Solution category at the American Business Awards®️.

Wolters Kluwer received three Silver Stevies for Female Executive of the Year - Business Services - More Than 2,500 Employees on behalf of Jennifer Cronin, VP of Customer Service; Female Executive of the Year - Business Services - 11 to 2,500 Employees on behalf of Alyza Tarmohamed, General Manager; and Most Innovative Woman of the Year - Technology on behalf of Karen Abramson, CEO at the 2019 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Interested in winning a Stevie Award in 2020?

Die weltweit renommierten Auszeichnungen für Unternehmerinnen, weibliche Führungskräfte, Mitarbeiterinnen und von Frauen geführte Unternehmen wurden vor über 500 Geschäftsfrauen aus aller Welt überreicht.

Spotlight an und Bühne frei für weibliche Führungskräfte, Unternehmerinnen und von Frauen geführte Unternehmen, hieß es am Freitag, den 15. November 2019, als die Preisträgerinnen der Stevie® Awards for Women in Business  2019 in New York City bekanntgegeben wurden.

Mehr als 500 Geschäftsfrauen und ihre Gäste waren dabei, als im Rahmen eines Galadinners im Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City die Preisträgerinnen bekannt gegeben wurden. Mit dabei waren unter anderem Gewinnerinnen aus Australien, Deutschland, Großbritannien, Indonesien, Israel, Kanada, Österreich, Singapur, der Schweiz und den USA.

Zu den Preisträgerinnen der diesjährigen Stevie Awards for Women in Business zählen auch drei Geschäftsfrauen und Unternehmen aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz.  

TourRadar aus Wien gewann den Gold Stevie Award in der Kategorie Employee of the Year für Melissa Lopez, Assistant Team Lead im Sales and Support Team in Nordamerika. Die Social Media Managerin des weltweit größten Online-Reisebüro für Mehrtagestouren Sama Abdi erhielt eine Bronze Stevie Medaille in der selben Kategorie. Die Freude war riesengroß, als Melissa Lopez ihren Gold Stevie Award live auf der Bühne entgegennehmen durfte.

Interview Melissa Lopez:

Interview mit Sama Abdi:

Ebenfalls persönlich entgegennehmen konnte ihre Silber und Bronze Stevies Rosemary Lokhorst. Für Digging Deep aus Cham in der Schweiz gewann die Schriftstellerin, Technologieunternehmerin und preisgekrönte Spieleproduzentin einen Silber und einen Bronze Stevie Award in den Kategorien Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit– 10 or Less Employees und Female Innovator of the Year – Government or Non-Profit –10 or Less Employees. Digging Deep ist eine gemeinnützige Organisation, die die heilende Kraft des Selbstausdrucks durch Spaß und die Nutzung digitaler Selbsthilfetools aktiviert.

Interview mit Rosemary Lokhorst: 

Leider nicht live dabei, aber trotzdem stolzer Gewinner von zwei Gold Stevie Awards war LabTwin aus Berlin. Das weltweit erste digitale Laborassistent mit Sprach- und KI-Unterstützung erhielt die jeweils höchsten Auszeichnung in den Kategorien Best New Product or Service of the Year - Business Products und Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Europe, the Middle East & Africa für Magdalena Paluch, Mitgründerin und Geschäftsführerin von LabTwin.

Die Preisverleihung wurde weltweit live übertragen.

Mehr als 1.500 Nominierungen von Organisationen und Einzelpersonen aus 25 Nationen wurden in diesem Jahr bei den Stevie Awards for Women in Business eingereicht, beispielsweise in den Kategorien Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, und Startup of the Year.

Eine Übersicht über alle Gewinner der Stevie Awards for Women in Business 2019 sowie die Fotos der Preisverleihungfinden Sie unter  https://stevieawards.com/women/2019-stevie-award-winners.

Während die Bewerbungsphase der nächsten Stevie Awards for Women in Business erst im Mai 2020 startet, haben alle Organisationen aus Deutschland, Österreich, der Schweiz, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg und Belgien bereits jetzt die Möglichkeit, ihre Nomminierungen für die German Stevie Awards 2020 einzureichen. Die reguläre Teilnahmefrist läuft bis zum 22. Januar 2020. Informationen zu den German Stevie Awards finden Sie unterwww.StevieAwards.com/GSA. 

Alle Videoclips der Preisverleihung und Interviews mit den Gewinnern und Juroren der Stevie Awards for Women in Business finden Sie auf dem YouTube Kanal „TheStevies“ unter: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheStevies/playlists.  

How have modern conveniences changed business and leisure travel in 2019? What are the most desirable destinations? How do travelers prefer booking flights and hotels?

Anyone who searches for travel deals now is met with an onslaught of recommendations about where to visit, where to stay, and exactly what to do.

As the mobile experience becomes more personalized, it’s easier than ever to book exactly what you want. Travel research, however, shows travel agents are doing more than just surviving. The overall US travel agency market is projected to reach $127 billion by 2021, which is up from $112.8 billion in 2017.

Despite having access to their next vacation right from their pockets, it seems customers are still eager to pay someone to take care of all their needs.

Stevie-winner Northstar Travel Group, based in Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, is one of the leading B2B marketing solutions companies serving all segments of the travel industry. Despite the tech boom in travel, Northstar continues to flourish as a connector of buyers and sellers in global travel and hospitality products.

It’s All about Building Relationships

Northstar firmly believes in the importance of helping professionals in the travel industry meet face to face at exciting events. 

“We’re dedicated to connecting the next generation of travel buyers and sellers. We want to get to know each other through unique, collaborative content sessions; outdoor activities, such as hiking, biking, and yoga; and social events full of local flavor.”

That’s Victoria Halpin, a marketing associate at Northstar. She asserts that having everyone come together helps professionals gain insight on how the current generation will influence the future of the travel industry. Halpin says this is also a great way to help everyone build relationships for life.

Competitors, such as Questex, WATT, and Adara, also make an effort to include career-building programs and social activities during retreats, but Northstar likes to differentiate itself by providing additional value through data and benchmarks.

“In addition to over eighty-four face-to-face events in more than eleven countries related to retail travel, hospitality and hotel investment, corporate travel, travel technology, and sports travel, we also provide research and business intelligence to serve the fastest-growing segment of the travel industry: online travel distribution.”

All these efforts result in engaging more than 1.4 million monthly website visitors and over 2.7 million content customers. No other content and marketing services provider serving the travel and meetings industry approaches this scale, reach, or market share.

Although the industry is strong, several challenges still lie ahead.

Digital innovation continues to create entirely new opportunities for the market. Companies are competing for your dollars and offering alternative “off-the-beaten-path” experiences. Airbnb has become a popular way to stay in foreign countries because of the authentic cultural experiences afforded by staying with locals.

This is forcing travel brands to ramp up cost-cutting strategies and to devise more efficient ways of doing business in order to improve revenue and to sustain market leadership.

Time will tell how this evolving workforce will attract tomorrow’s talent and dollars, but Northstar and similar companies look poised to continue to refine business practices and to support their customers.

Northstar Travel Group won three Stevie® Awards at the 2019 American Business Awards®: a Gold Stevie in the Brand & Experiences - Launch Event category, a Bronze Stevie in the Brand & Experiences - Interactive Outdoor Event category, and another Bronze Stevie in the Corporate & Community - B2B Event category.

Interested in winning a Stevie Award in 2020?

Women from around the world gathered for a two-day women's conference in New York City

The second-annual Women|Future Conference wrapped last week at the Marriott Marquis in New York City and brought women professionals from various industries together for two days of structured networking, panels, and case studies before the 16th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business ceremony. 

Click here to view photos and find out what you missed at the 2019 Women|Future Conference.

“I wasn’t born with the gift of foresight but I would tell you that all of you are Futurists too. Each and everyone one of you try to predict the future, for your personal life and for your company strategy.” 

The conference kicked off with Keynote Address by Sheryl Connelly, Futurist at Ford Motor Company: Confessions of a Corporate Futurist: Coming Trends That Will Revolutionize Your Business. 

Sheryl shared her background, choosing a degree in finance to be financially secure when she really wanted to study art, then going on to law school and never ended up practicing law. She started at an entry level job at Ford, even with a law degree, and was able to work her way up to the unique job of “Futurist.” She then shared what insights made her career goals come true and how she is able to help Ford predict what trends are coming next, and how we can too.

See what WomenFuture Conference attendees took away from the conference.

This conference empowers you to be your best self, to be in a space with like minded individuals, and to discover best practices being used around the world for different, relevant topics. I would happily recommend this to any person wanting to improve themselves and learn in the process. - Jessica Ney, Income Access

Women in business are creating an extraordinary impact on the world and the Future Women conference is an incredible opportunity to meet leading-edge game-changers and to discover what you could be achieving in your own role. - Lauren Clemett - Audacious Agency 

“Be strategic. Lead easier. Because you’re always leading.”

One of the first panels on Day One was The Significance and Simplification of Being Strategic, moderated by Erin Joy, CEO of Black Dress Circle. The panelists included Debra Kunz, Founder of the Center for Deliberate Growth, Julie Ockerby, CEO of Meli Studio Australia, Chessa Eskandanian-Yee, CEO & Co-Founder of LeaderEQ, and Andrea Arco-Mastromichalis, CEO and Founder of Arco + Associates. Each speaker offered their approach to thinking more strategically in the workplace. Tips about prioritizing, anticipating problems, and simplifying the steps to get from point A to B were brought to light, which encouraged some thought-provoking questions at the end of the session.

“61% of women look at the gender diversity of a leadership team when deciding where to work.”

After a lunch break that featured tables for structured networking sessions with other goal-oriented professional women discussing issues in today’s business environment, the day continued with The Art of Inclusion: How to Craft Your Company’s Diversity Mosaic. Tara Wilson, SVP and General Manager of Income Access, A Paysafe Group, moderated the panel. Joining her were speakers Ashley Brundage, Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion at PNC, Tonia Morris, HR Executive of The Generational Connector, Ashira Prossack, Founder and CEO of The Generational Factor, and Vanessa Subramaniam, Manager of Sales and Support for TourRadar. Their session revolved around the comparisons between different generations in the workplace, the advantages of age diversity, and how to embrace diversity and develop a generational inclusive workforce.

“A paradox of opportunity & unintended consequences.”

Day one of the conference wrapped with the panel, How AI Is Transforming Industries, led by Brigitta Rubin, Chief Innovation Officer of Dragonfish, Inc. Attendees learned how AI will affect our everyday lives, the world of business, and job prospects. Speakers Jagathi Gururajan, Director of the Financial Services Advisory for PwC, Shimona Chadha, Associate Vice President of Marketing for HCL, and Louvere Walker-Hannon, Application Engineer for Mathworks, Inc. provided their expertise and advice regarding how marketers can unlock the potential of AI and adapt to discover new opportunities.

“When it comes to creating a future that’s gender-equal…there are things our society needs to do. There are things our country needs to do.”

The second day of sessions began with a morning Keynote by Selena Rezvani, Author of Pushback. In her talk, The Future of Work Is Female, she discussed creating a future that is gender equal. Attendees learned about the clues that reveal a company’s culture and how they could be proactive in advocating for a “women-forward culture.” Rezvani provided examples of gender bias within companies like Nike and suggested how women can strengthen their participation in decisions that affect them.

Rezvani’s Keynote was followed shortly by several breakout sessions, which covered topics such as The Power of Influence, Customer Experience, Building Communities, and Cross-Cultural Communication. 

“I wanted to help impact people’s lives the way mine was impacted.”

The conference concluded with a closing panel of three case studies conducted by Sherry Smith, VP, Media, Mobile & Marketing, of Clarity PR. Each case study featured a finalist from the 2019 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The awards honoring women in the workplace was to be held later that evening. Finalists and speakers included Gail Becker, Founder and CEO of CAULIPOWER, Alex Coren, Co-Founder & CINO of Wambi, and Rosemary Lokhorst, Executive Director and Producer of The Digging Deep Project. Each of them gave attendees a microscopic view of how these women leaders started their companies and grew to influence the larger community.

The Women|Future Conference was a jam-packed two days of networking with incredible insight from just a fraction of leading women in the professional sphere. We look forward to an even bigger and more exciting event next year during the third annual conference, which will be held November 12-13, 2020 in Las Vegas presented in conjunction with the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. For more information visit www.womenfutureconference.com 

With every passing year, it seems more and more people spend an increasing amount of time staring at screens. From cell phones to tablets to smart watches, there’s no shortage of screened devices to amuse, to delight, and to distract people.

Given that, it would stand to reason that marketing agencies should ramp up their online campaigns. Find people where they live, right? According to the research, though, not necessarily.

Photo by Richard Clyborne of Music Strive

With instant access to a nearly unlimited amount of information and a glut of available content, one major sacrifice in the consuming population has been attention span. It’s harder than ever not only to grab but to maintain the interest of consumers. This makes it incredibly challenging for marketing agencies to devise ways to stand out. Enter the rise of live brand storytelling.

What Is Live Brand Storytelling?

Live brand storytelling is a marketing technique wherein a company crafts a compelling story related to its brand or product and then delivers that story via a live experiential event.

Because consumers aren’t distanced from the brand through a screen or a printed page, they are able to connect with that brand and to truly immerse in the crafted brand lifestyle. Depending on the event, consumers can learn about the brand or the company ethos through the senses, seeing, hearing, or even tasting the kinds of real-world experiences the brand wants to associate themselves.

Live Brand Storytelling—By the Numbers

For any sceptics who believe live brand storytelling is a fad or a trend, the numbers paint a very different picture. Event Marketer released a 2018 report stating 85 percent of consumers were likely to make a purchase from a brand after attending one of their live events, and an impressive 91 percent asserted they felt more favorably about the brand after engagement in a company-sponsored live experience.

It’s not just consumers who appreciate the tactic either. C-suite executives are fully on board as well. According to a Bizzabo report, 87 percent of C-level executives believe these kinds of live experiential marketing events will become increasingly important to their brands.

Why Is Live Brand Storytelling Effective Today?

The idea of conveying a brand’s message or promoting a product through storytelling is nothing new in the marketing world, but the increasing popularity of live brand storytelling speaks to the changing demographics and buying mentality of today’s consuming population.

“In recent years, we’ve seen the strategic relevance of live events increase dramatically. Marketers are reaping the rewards of engaging with their audiences in face-to-face environments,” says Scott Cullather, CEO of INVNT, a global live brand storytelling agency based in New York, New York, United States. “Marketers have also realized that Millennials and Gen Zs, who favor experiences over material objects, are gaining greater spending power as they enter the workforce and move their way up corporate ladders.”

For marketing agencies to continue to enjoy success, however, it’s important they think of live brand marketing not as the final solution to connecting with an audience but simply as the next step in an always-progressing chain of marketing evolution.

“The marketing industry is constantly changing, and we’ve found that truly integrated marketing campaigns are now key,” says Cullather. “We look to create holistic campaigns that encompass both live events and branded content and ensure a brand remains top of mind long after an event ends.”

INVNT recently won a Silver Stevie Awards at the 2019 Stevie Awards for Women in Business for Female Entrepreneur of the Year in the Business Services category (11 to 2,500 Employees) on behalf of Kristina McCoobery, Co-Founder and COO.

They also won two Gold Stevies at the 2019 American Business Awards: One for Company of the Year in the Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations category and one for Founding Team of the Year - Business Services Industries. Other awards include a Silver Stevie for Marketing or Advertising Agency of the Year in the Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations category.

Interested in winning a Stevie Award in 2020?

World's Top Honors for Women Entrepreneurs, Executives, Employees, and the Organizations They Run Were Presented in New York

Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations run by women, winners in the 2019 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business were announced on Friday, November 15.

With more than 500 businesswomen and their guests in attendance, the awards were announced at a gala dinner at the New York Marriott Marquis. Nations represented at the event included Australia, Canada, Finland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Switzerland, Singapore, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the U.S.A., among others.

The presentations were broadcast live worldwide. Photos from the event are available here.

More than 1,500 nominations from organizations and individuals around the world were submitted to the awards this year for consideration in categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, and Startup of the Year, among others. More than 160 business professionals working in eight specialized judging committees determined the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

Grand Stevie Award trophies were presented to six organizations that submitted the best body of entries to the competition, in their own names or in the names of one or more clients. Winners were determined by the number of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Awards won in the competition. The Grand Stevie Award winners are:

• The Audacious Agency, Coombabah, QLD, Australia (#1)
• Melissa Sones Consulting, New York, NY, U.S.A. (#2)
• DP DHL, worldwide (#3)
• WDS Marketing & Public Relations, Overland Parks, KS, U.S.A. (#4)
• Harman International, Stamford, CT, U.S.A. (#5 TIE)
• Jeunesse Global, Lake Mary, FL, U.S.A. (#5 TIE)

The 2019 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflect a diverse group of large and small organizations from around the globe. Notable Gold Stevie Award winners in this year’s competition include:

• Berna Tan, COO, Arvato CRM Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey — Female Executive of the Year in Europe, the Middle East & Africa
• Brenda Dennis, Vice President, Cisco Systems, Inc., San Jose, CA, U.S.A.— Female Executive of the Year – Business Products – More Than 2,500 Employees
• Oanh Phuong, Regional Head of Customer Support, Asia Pacific and Japan, HP Inc., Singapore — Female Executive of the Year in Asia, Australia, or New Zealand
• Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Brand Marketing Peloton, New York, NY, U.S.A. — Most Innovative Woman of the Year – Technology
• Siti Choiriana, Consumer Service Director, PT. Telkom Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia — Female Executive of the Year – Consumer Services – More Than 2,500 Employees
• Sarah Konowal, Co-Founder and CEO, Ripshot Enterprises, Toronto, ON, Canada — Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Canada
• Ann DeAngelo, Associate Director, Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC), Fairway, KS, U.S.A. — Women Helping Women – Government or Non-Profit
• Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO, Zum, Redwood City, CA, U.S.A. — Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Services – 11 to 2,500 Employees
• Rachael Ferguson, CEO/Podiatrist, Synxsole, Brisbane, QLD, Australia — Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Asia, Australia or New Zealand
• National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Washington, D.C., U.S.A. — Event of the Year
• Solv by Concentrix, Belfast, United Kingdom — Best New Product or Service of the Year – Business Services; Most Innovative Company of the Year – More Than 10 Employees
• Thomson Reuters, New York, NY, U.S.A. — Communications or PR Campaign of the Year – Multicultural

Organizations that won more than one Gold Stevie Award include CAULIPOWER, Dubai Health Authority, Harman International, INKAS® Armored Vehicle Manufacturing, Jeunesse Global, LabTwin, Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers, Pennsylvania’s Department of Banking and Securities, Solv by Concentrix, The Audacious Agency, and Turkish Airlines.

HCL Technologies, the multinational information technology service and consulting company, sponsored awards in six Red Ladder Women in Technology categories. Among other notable Stevie winners in those categories are

• Jo Abernathy, Chief Information Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina — Leader in Operational Excellence
• Rachel Barber, SVP & CTO, Gaming and Lottery, IGT — Transformational Sourcing Relations Leader
• Kirsten Davies, SVP and Chief Information Security Advisor, Estee Lauder Companies Inc. — Leader in Operational Excellence
• Kimberly Green-Kerr, Senior Vice President, Sprint Business, Sprint — Leader in Transforming Customer Engagement
• Laura Miller, Chief Information Officer, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) — Leadership in NexGen Technology
• Shalaka Prabhune, Head of Corporate IT, TiVo — Digital Transformer of the Year
• Carol Rohl, Executive Director, Global Research IT, Merck & Co. Inc. — Excellence in Transforming Business

For a complete list of Stevie Award winners and more information, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie Awards staged the second edition of its Women|Future Conference in New York on November 14-15 in conjunction with the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. More than 150 women shared two days of programming highlighted by keynote speeches by Sheryl Connelly of the Ford Motor Company and Selena Rezvani of Be Leaderly.

Entries for the 2020 (17^th) edition of the awards will open in May. The 2020 awards ceremony will be at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada U.S.A. on Friday, November 13, with the Women|Future Conference sharing the same venue on November 12-13.

Entries for the 2020 edition of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business will open in May.

Im Mai 2019 gewann Xuan Tinh Herfort, Geschäftsführerin und Gründerin des Reiseveranstalters Indochina Travels bei den German Stevie Awards den Gold Award in der Kategorie Unternehmerin des Jahres im Bereich Freizeit- und Gaststättengewerbe. Für ihr Unternehmen, einem auf geführte Rundreisen in Asien, mit Schwerpunkt auf die Region Indochina, spezialisierten Reiseveranstalter, gab es zusätzlich einen Bronze Stevie.  

Doch was brachte die erfolgreiche Unternehmerin mit vietnamesischen Wurzeln nach Frankfurt am Main und wie lautet ihr Erfolgsrezept in der vom Wandel gezeichneten Reisebranche?

„Liebe auf den ersten Blick“

Ihre erste Begegnung mit Deutschland hatte Xuan Tinh Herfort im Jahr 2002. Nach Abschluss ihres Wirtschaftsstudiums an der Universität von Hanoi und ersten beruflichen Erfahrungen packte die junge Vietnamesin ihren Rucksack für eine Europatour, in deren Verlauf sie auch in Deutschland Station machte. Es war „Liebe auf den ersten Blick“ wie sie noch heute glaubhaft unterstreicht. 

Das Land der Dichter und Denker hatte ihr seinerzeit so imponiert, dass sie sich – gerade nach Hanoi zurückgekehrt – um ein Stipendium des Bundesministeriums für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit bewarb und schon wenig später die Zusage für ein 14-monatiges „Scholarship“ mit Stationen in München, Berlin und Frankfurt erhielt. 

Und ausgerechnet die Mainmetropole sollte sie gefangen halten. Hier gründete sie 2004 mit der Euvibus GmbH eine Consulting-Firma, die sich um den Wirtschaftsdialog zwischen deutschen und vietnamesischen Unternehmen kümmerte und im Auftrag der Regierung in Hanoi entsprechende Events auf deutschem Boden durchführte. Hierzu gehörte auch die Organisation der notwendigen Reisen, womit der Grundstein für das nächste Business-Konzept gelegt war: Indochina Travels. 

Seit 2008 erstellt und vertreibt Herfort von Frankfurts City aus Veranstalterreisen nach Südostasien und bringt so deutsche Urlauber in Kontakt mit ihrer Heimat. Inzwischen gehört der Veranstalter zu den führenden Anbietern in Deutschland, wenn es um Reisen nach Indochina geht.  

Reisebranche im Wandel

Der Reisemarkt ist von ständigen und teilweise rasanten Veränderungen geprägt. Um hier erfolgreich zu sein, müssen sich mittelständische Unternehmen wie Indochina Travels der Konkurrenz großer Online-Buchungsplattformen sowie den steigenden Ansprüchen der Reisenden stellen. In den vergangenen zwei Jahren hat Indochina Travels deshalb zahlreiche Innovationen entwickelt, um sowohl für Direktkunden aber auch im B2B-Bereich kundenfreundlicher zu werden.

„Das Verhalten und die Ansprüche der Reisenden verändern sich ständig und sind oft sehr heterogen. Wer heute beispielsweise einen Aktivurlaub in den Alpen bucht, unternimmt im kommenden Jahr vielleicht einen Luxusstrandurlaub in der Karibik,“ erklärt Herfort. Ein überaus wichtiger Trend sei jedoch die zunehmende Digitalisierung der Branche, der sich vor allem vor allem kleinere Reiseveranstalter stellen müssen, um im Wettbewerb mit den großen Veranstaltern bestehen zu können. „Diesen Trend sehen wir als Herausforderung aber auch als große Chance für unser Unternehmen und haben in den vergangenen zwei Jahren einige Anstrengungen unternommen. Dazu zählen unter anderem der Relaunch unserer Webseite und die Einführung eines Veranstaltersystems um den Buchungsprozess zu automatisieren und gerade im B2B-bereich kundenfreundlicher zu werden,“ führt Herfort aus.

Mit dem Relaunch des neuen Internetauftritts www.indochinatravels.com sei es gelungen, die vielfältigen Reiseangebote übersichtlich und attraktiv zu präsentieren und mit wenigen Klicks buchbar zu machen. So können Kunden die Verfügbarkeit und Preise der über 300 verschiedenen Rundreisen abrufen und in wenigen Schritten buchen. Die innovative Konzeption und Darstellung der Internetseite wurde im September 2018 vom Hessischen Website Award mit dem 2. Platz ausgezeichnet.

Authentische Reisen mit besonderem Service

„Uns ist sehr wichtig, dass die Reisen in einem besonders authentischen Rahmen ablaufen,“ sagt Herfort. Deshalb wähle das Unternehmen alle Unterkünfte persönlich aus und arbeite akribisch an den Reiserouten.

Unterstützt wird der Reiseveranstalter von Indochina Pearl, eine im Jahr 2010 eigens von Herfort gegründete Incoming-Agentur in Hanoi mit Büros in Kambodscha, Myanmar und Laos. Auch das zeichne Indochina Travels aus: „Als einer der wenigen Veranstalter in Deutschland hat Indochina Travels seine Wurzeln in der Region und arbeitet für Einkauf und Durchführung der Reisen mit eigenen örtlichen Tochterfirmen zusammen.“

Darüber hinaus ist der Unternehmerin der persönliche Bezug ihrer Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter zu den angebotenen Reiseregionen besonders wichtig. „Jeder von unseren ausgebildeten Beratern hat Indochina bereits mehrfach bereist oder dort gelebt!“ so Herfort weiter.

Dass das unternehmerische Konzept Herforts aufgeht, zeigt das anhaltende Wachstum des Unternehmens. Im November 2018 bezog Indochina Travels seine neuen größeren Büroräume direkt gegenüber des berühmten Goethehauses; ein notwendig gewordener Schritt nachdem das Unternehmen in den vergangenen Jahren kontinuierlich auf aktuell 17 Mitarbeiter gewachsen ist und in den kommenden Jahren weiter wachsen möchte. 

Unternehmerin mit Herz

Über ihre Arbeit für die eigene Reisemarke hinaus engagiert sich Herfort als Director Indochina im Diplomatic Council, eine von der UN anerkannte NGO, die sich durch den Einsatz erfolgreicher Wirtschaftsdiplomatie für die internationale Völkerverständigung einsetzt. 

In dieser Funktion setzt sich Herfort für eine bessere Bildung benachteiligter Kinder in Vietnam ein. Ihr Unternehmen spendet regelmäßig für caritative Zwecke in der Region Indochina. „Wir verstehen uns als Förderer der Region: Wir engagieren uns für einkommensschwache Familien und machen uns stark für die Weiterbildung von Kindern in ärmeren Ländern. Wir sind ständig auf der Suche nach Partnern, die mit uns gemeinsam diese Ziele verwirklichen. Zudem setzen wir uns intensiv für den Schutz und Erhalt der Halong Bucht ein.“

2016 wurde Herfort von der Stadt Frankfurt als „Herausragende Persönlichkeit mit Migrationshintergrund“ ausgezeichnet. Branchenintern war die 40-jährige u.a. als Ausschussvorsitzende für Reiseveranstalter beim asr (Allianz selbständiger Reiseunternehmen) tätig und wirkt heute als Beiratsmitglied des Branchenverbandes Travel Industry Club (TIC) mit.

Nominations are open for honors to be presented in Las Vegas on February 28

Nominations for the 2020 (14^th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, considered the world’s top honors for customer service, business development, and sales professionals, will be accepted through January 9 at StevieAwards.com/Sales. Late fees will apply for nominations, but no entry fees or late fees will apply for nominations to a new category to recognize ethical sales practices, sponsored by Sales Partnerships.

The Sales Partnerships Award for Ethics in Sales will recognize outstanding examples of ethical sales practices since July 1, 2018. As in all other categories in the competition, nominees may submit a written essay or case study of up to 650 words describing their ethical sales practices and achievements or a video of up to five minutes in length, illustrating the same.

Sales Partnerships, Inc., which provides turnkey, outsourced selling solutions, is a sponsor of the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service program for the fourth consecutive year. Founder and CEO Fred Kessler says, “The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service has grown to be the premier honor for sales professionals worldwide, and it’s proven to be an outstanding platform on which Sales Partnerships can interact with sales leaders in a wide variety of industries. When we were approached about sponsoring an award for ethics in sales, we immediately accepted. The Sales Partnerships’ Award for Ethics in Sales recognizes companies who, like us, understand that being the best performing sales force also means having an uncompromising focus on selling ethically.”

Interested in entering the 2020 Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service?

Maggie Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards, is looking forward to having the longtime Stevie Awards sponsor present this award. “We are thrilled that Sales Partnerships has decided to recognize those not only who succeed in sales at their organization, but who do so in a particularly ethical manner. The judges are eager to read through these Ethics in Sales nominations.”

Finalists in this and all other categories, based on the ratings of more than 150 professionals around the world in the judging process, will be announced on January 16. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the finalists will be revealed at a gala event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Friday, February 28.

Complete details on the competition, including how to participate, are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.