Winners of the 2019 People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service, a worldwide public vote, were announced today.  Voting was conducted from January 17 through February 8, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in 12 industry categories. More than 76,000 votes were cast this year.

All organizations honored in the Customer Service Department of the Year categories of this year’s Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service were eligible to be included in voting for the people’s choice awards.  The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, now in their 13^th year, are the world’s top honors for customer service, contact center, business development, and sales professionals.

More than 2,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes, in virtually every industry, in 45 nations were evaluated in this year’s competition. Finalists were determined by the average scores of more than 150 professionals worldwide in seven specialized judging committees and were announced last month.

This year’s people’s choice winners, who will each receive the coveted crystal People’s Choice Stevie Award, are:

• Computer Hardware: Dell Technologies | APJ Consumer - Premium Tech Support
• Computer Services: Linode
• Consumer Products/Services: Birevim
• Distribution & Transportation: DHL Express Bangladesh
• Financial Services: ReSource Pro
• Healthcare & Pharma: TSI Healthcare
• Other Industries: CubeSmart
• Public Services & Education: Curriculum Associates
• Retail: Qurate Retail Group
• Software < 100 Employees: Bonfire
• Software 100+ Employees: Periscope Data
• Telecommunications: Comcast
  
  Nicknamed the Stevie® for the Greek word “crowned,” the awards will be presented to winners at the 13^th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service awards banquet on Friday, February 22 at Caesar’s Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets for the event are now on sale. More than 600 executives from around the world are expected to attend.  The presentations will be broadcast live via Livestream

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

Sponsors of the 13th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include Sales Partnerships, Inc. and ValueSelling Associates, Inc.

After raising more than $40 million in January during a series D funding round led by Al Fahim Group, a Berlin, Germany-based, automotive and travel conglomerate, 2018 was going to be a make-or-break year for Blacklane GmbH as it continued its expansion.

Jens Wohltorf, CEO and co-founder of Blacklane, highlighted the high-end chauffeur service’s vision and ambitions, declaring that “this investment accelerates Blacklane’s ability to bring end-to-end peace of mind onto the road and into airports around the world.”

Blacklane GmbH is taking an alternative approach to capital-intensive transportation start-ups, such as Uber and Didi. While those companies target growth and demonstrate scant regard for losses, Blacklane aims to create a highly efficient back-end system for managing rides and customer care. The system is a proven success, winning a 2018 Gold Stevie® Award for Technology of the Year. The system will ultimately allow Blacklane to beat its competitors on utilization rates and, therefore, prices.

While its funding levels and recorded losses pale in comparison to larger rivals, frugality and efficiency are of great importance in its domestic German market. By emphasizing these characteristics, Blacklane offers an attractive alternative to investors who are eager to give money in the transport innovation sector but are wary of the all-or-nothing strategies of other start-ups.

With its emphasis on ensuring sustainable growth, investors expected tangible deals and value-adding investments from Blacklane. The company delivered on this while demonstrating its potential. It earned the aforementioned Gold Stevie Award for its back-end technology, as well as a Gold Stevie Award for Transportation Company of the Year and a Bronze Stevie Award for its carbon-offset program in the Corporate Social Responsibility category in April. The company, however, did not simply rest on its laurels. In May, Blacklane announced its integration with the SummitLink booking tool provided by SummitQwest. This put Blacklane at the disposal of the platform’s corporate clients, who even have the option to choose it as a preferred service provider.

The company’s official goal for 2018 was to expand its services to 300 cities worldwide. It achieved this in early September when 32 more cities were added to its roster. According to Blacklane representatives, Limerick, Ireland, became the 300th city the company served. The remaining 31 cities were located in countries all over the globe, including France, Germany, Switzerland, India, Japan, and Malaysia. The careful selection of targeted regions again speaks to the company’s discerning approach, underscoring that Blacklane enters markets suited to its service rather than entering them simply to boost growth rates.

An August announcement swiftly followed wherein Blacklane introduced a “Green Class” to its services. Tesla BEVs became available for booking in 20 cities the company covers, including locations in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

“We welcome battery-electric, chauffeur-quality vehicles from all premium automakers to our fleet,” Wohltorf says. “Supporting business and leisure travelers with green travel options is essential to a healthy planet.”

While unlikely to generate significant extra revenue alone, the availability of a green option is of great importance to the company’s reputation in its domestic market, as well as any other markets that value environmental sustainability. As more people and countries grow concerned about the impact of climate change, a green transition is inevitable. By considering environmental concerns early on, Blacklane puts itself in a prime position to take advantage once that tipping point is reached in any given market.

In November, Blacklane then reached an agreement with the Shangri-La, an Asian luxury hotel chain. The agreement stipulated that members of the hotel chain’s Golden Circle loyalty program would receive incentives, including fare discounts and extra loyalty points for using Blacklane. This news coincided with the announcement that Blacklane opened an office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Following the significant investment made by the Al Fahim Group in January, Blacklane then announced Emirates Airlines had selected Blacklane to provide its complimentary chauffeur service to first-class and business-class passengers in Bangalore, India; Bologna, Italy; Chennai, India; Delhi, India; Hyderabad, India; Milan, Italy; Mumbai, India; Rome, Italy; Stockholm, Sweden; and Venice, Italy. Both deals seem likely to give a significant boost to the company’s revenue.

In reflection, 2018 was a very successful year for the multiple-Stevie-Award-winning company. The funds raised at the beginning of the year were deployed gradually and strategically, and the company rigorously followed its strategy of sustainable growth. Investors are happy to see the funds allocated to Blacklane are being used to grow revenue and market presence, as well as to bolster the company’s green credentials. It remains to be seen whether Blacklane can manage to reduce its losses—or even to turn a profit—in 2018, let alone gain the upper hand over its larger competitors.

However, by seeking to differentiate itself from and to improve upon their rivals’ business models and by consistently pursuing its strategy of sustainable growth, day-one efficiency, and strategic partnerships, Blacklane certainly created an impressive foundation upon which it can build.

With the influx of electric car companies, automobile functionality and design are finally becoming smarter, but are car-related rules and regulations keeping up? Artificial intelligence capabilities are migrating from our phones and finding new ways to be helpful behind the steering wheel, but these advances in computers, sensors, and software mean legislation needs to address new problems and situations. Simply put, these laws must provide a more nuanced and modern take on what today’s drivers need.

Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) is a public institution dedicated to promoting and safeguarding the interests of Italian motorists. They carry out their mission to promote road safety, to act for a sustainable mobility, and to support and to develop motorsports by enhancing their positive attributes. The company also aims for all Italian citizens to have equal access to mobility-related services. To that end, they provide the necessary support to ensure social programs are never negatively affected by any kind of private profit.

Over 100 Years of Service

ACI and motorists want new measures aimed primarily at eliminating older and obsolete vehicles. This will contribute to decreased pollution, as well as less vehicular accidents (in number and severity).

Luckily, ACI is a governmental institution. Ludovico Fois, the external relations and institutional affairs advisor at ACI, speaks to that.

“It’s our duty to provide all citizens with proper, correct information and assistance concerning all mobility-related matters, regardless of the interests from various business players.”

ACI has been working for mobile Italian citizens for over 100 years, guiding and assisting Italian motorists, as well as supporting the development of a new mobility culture. As a result, Italian road users recognize ACI as their reference point for many mobility-connected matters.

“Public policy considerations clearly guide all our activities, and we commit ourselves to establishing a concept of mobility that’s smart, sustainable, accessible, and inclusive.”

Electric Challenges

Intelligent transport systems and services, digital applications, electric-powered engines, and a litany of unforeseen changes all look to contribute to future mobility challenges. Deep technological changes in the automotive sector will require more dynamic, rational, flexible, and environmentally friendly responses to sustain this new mobility culture.

ACI spent years creating a wide network of field offices, acting as a model for other companies looking to create concrete change through legislative bodies. They eventually covered the entire national territory and had a main office based in Rome, Italy. This led to widespread cooperation with governmental Italian institutions, trade associations, and European organizations, a critical synergy for progress.

ACI also organizes a wide range of activities, including road safety and driver education classes, roadside assistance, vehicle paperwork, traffic information services, and motorsport events. The breadth of offerings is indicative of the complex needs of the industry which will have to be monitored as the technologies evolve.

Just like ride-sharing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, and countless tech firms trying to eliminate or to mitigate driving-related annoyances with new technological advances, ACI is traversing this wild west of mobility. For their campaign to promote a new mobility culture, ACI won a Bronze Stevie for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year in The International Business Awards®.

“We’ve worked very hard to achieve a deep culture shift, and we’ve definitely learned it needs the generalized involvement of decision makers, designers, and technicians, as well as road users.”

The nomination window for the 2019 (13^th annual) Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service has closed, but one special category sponsored by Sales Partnerships will continue to accept nominations through February 1.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are recognized as the world’s top honors for business development, customer service, and sales professionals.  Sales Partnerships, Inc., which provides turnkey, outsourced selling solutions and is a sponsor of the awards for the fourth consecutive year, is sponsoring a category called the Sales Partnerships Award for Ethics in Sales. 

There is no entry fee for nominations to this category, which will be accepted through February 1.  The category recognizes organizations for best practices and achievements in demonstrating the highest ethical standards in the sales industry. Entrants can submit specific examples, case studies, practices, etc. that illustrate why the organization being nominated should be considered an excellent example of best practices in sales. This award is based on activities over the past five years (since July 2013). 

Sales Partnerships’ 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 which, like us, understand that being the best performing sales force also means having an uncompromising focus on selling ethically.”

Submission requirements for nominations to this category include a written essay of up to 650 words, plus any number of supporting materials to provide additional information to the judges.  To submit nominations to this category, nominees should first create an entry-submission account on the awards website, then email their nominations to help@stevieawards.com.

Nominations in the category will be judged the week of February 4 by members of the awards’ Sales Individual & Sales Team jury, and its Finalists announced the week of February 11.

Finalists in all other categories in the program were announced on January 17.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists in all categories will be revealed at the program’s 13^th annual awards gala on Friday, February 22 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Finalists are not required to attend in order to win.

Sponsors of the 13th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include Sales Partnerships, Inc. and ValueSelling Associates, Inc.

For older businesses that began in the pre-digital era, there’s a race to get up to speed technologically to meet new security and regulatory standards in a data-driven world. Regardless of the service offering, a company needs to design and implement innovation that helps that organization reach its full potential and profits.  

Accedia is a professional IT services company that specializes in technology consulting, software development outsourcing, and development of end-to-end IT solutions for businesses across the globe.   The company’s aspiration is to be a leading IT solutions company where technology experts are inspired to create.

Yana Doshkova, the marketing manager for Accedia, details how much growth the Bulgaria-based firm has seen since they started in 2015.   “Since its establishment, the company has grown to a team of more than 150 people, and it has achieved 388% revenue growth from 2015 to 2017. In August 2018, Accedia also moved into a new office, which has opened so many doors for us.

We’ve doubled the team’s size and implemented a number of new initiatives. The company’s vision for the future is to keep up the fast-paced development, expand in to new locations, and launch its own software solution to help businesses excel in the technology ecosystem.”   They also take part in interactive nature groups, which inspire various kinds of team growth, including developing advanced technology expertise, cultivating product-to-market knowledge, and unleashing analytical and leadership potential.  

What Does It Take?  

Regardless of the company, sector, or industry, maintaining a business focus that supports the organization's values can drive progress. Although Accedia is a relatively young company, its success speaks volumes about how professionally mature it is. Accedia shared six characteristics that they believe are the best predictors of how successful teams or individuals will be:  

1. Reaches for the stars. Strives for continuous personal and professional improvement.

2. Enjoys variety at work. Involves oneself in a sea of different tasks and      responsibilities.

3. Takes initiative. Brings game-changing ideas to the table.

4. Adapts quickly. Jumps headfirst into the unfamiliar without hesitation or fear.

5. Shares know-how willingly. Eagerly shares the exciting things learned.

6. Is always up for a beer. Prizes being friendly and making social connections, whatever the circumstance. Whichever sector you work in, building your career on these tenets will provide you with a solid foundation.

Striving for continuous personal and professional improvement, for example, can help employers notice you, as well as inspire fellow employees to work harder.   Driven by these ideals, Accedia won the Silver Stevie® Award for Company of the Year in Computer Software in The International Business Awards.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Winners to Be Announced in Las Vegas on February 22

Finalists in the 13th Annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, an international competition recognizing excellence in disciplines that are crucial to business success, were announced today.    

A diverse group of organizations and individuals around the world are among those recognized in the customer service awards, contact center awards, business development awards, and sales awards categories. Organizations with five or more Finalist nominations include Allianz Global Assistance (Richmond, VA USA), Birevim (Istanbul, Turkey), Chorus.ai (San Francisco, CA USA), Comcast (Philadelphia, PA USA), Cross Country Home Services (Fort Lauderdale, FL USA), Cvent Inc (McLean, VA USA), Dell Technologies (Roundrock, TX USA), Delta Vacations (Minot, ND USA), DHL Express Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) DHL Express Bangladesh (Dhaka, Bangladesh), DHL Express South Africa (Johannesburg, South Africa), DHL Express Kenya (Nairobi, Kenya), Druva Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA USA), EFG Companies (Irving, TX USA), Electronic Arts (Austin, TX USA), FIS (Jacksonville, FL USA), GoDaddy (Scottsdale, AZ USA), GuideWell Connect (Jacksonville, FL), Holiday Inn Club Vacations (Orlando, FL USA), HomeServe USA (Norwalk, CT USA), IBM (Armonk, NY USA), John Hancock Financial Services (Boston, MA USA), Offerpad (Gilbert, AZ USA), Response (Lindon, UT USA), Rimini Street, Inc. (Las Vegas, NV USA), Sales Partnerships, Inc. (Broomfield, CO USA), TCL USA (Corona, CA USA), TTEC (Englewood, CO USA), UPMC Health Plan (Pittsburgh, PA USA), ValueSelling Associates (Rancho Santa Fe, CA USA), Vivint Solar (Lehi, UT USA), VIZIO Inc. (Irvine, CA USA) Wells Fargo Merchant Services - Account Management (Concord, CA USA), WNS (Holdings) Limited (Mumbai, India), and Wyndham Destinations (Orlando, FL USA).

Visit www.StevieAwards.com/Sales for a full list of Finalists by category.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists will be revealed during a gala banquet on Friday, February 22 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets are now on sale.

The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business awards shows including the prestigious International Business Awards® and American Business Awards®.

More than 2,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes, in virtually every industry, in 45 nations were evaluated in this year’s competition. Finalists were determined by the average scores of more than 150 professionals worldwide in seven specialized judging committees.

Entries were considered in 93 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; 60 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Business Development Executive of the Year to Sales Department of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers.

Beginning today through February 8, the general public may vote for their favorite providers of customer service in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service. Voting is open at http://peopleschoice.stevieawards.com. Winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards in multiple industries will be determined in mid-February and honored at the awards gala in Las Vegas on February 22.

One category in the awards will continue to accept entries through February 1.  It’s called the Sales Partnerships Award for Ethics in Sales, and it will recognize organizations for best practices and achievements in demonstrating the highest ethical standards in the sales industry.  Entry requirements for this category are outlined at https://stevieawards.com/sales/categories-1#SalesAchievement.  Nominations in this category will be reviewed the week of February 4, and its Finalists announce the week of February 11.

Sponsors of the 13th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include Sales Partnerships, Inc. and ValueSelling Associates, Inc.

Even early in the development process, Irish inventor Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh believed she was onto something special: a moldable glue that sticks to virtually any surface and forms a strong, rubber-like material overnight.

With the help of entrepreneur Roger Ashby, she launched FormFormForm Ltd. (based in London, England) and started marketing her flexible new product, dubbed “Sugru,” to retailers in 2009. The challenge was convincing big-box stores they needed yet another glue product on their crowded shelves.

Ni Dhulchaointigh, though, had a compelling way to show just how versatile her product was: thousands of user-generated YouTube videos and pictures on the company’s website. The company even devised a Twitter hashtag (#MySugruFix) for customers to share their creative solutions.

There’s the homeowner who resealed his torn swimming pool liner, the guy who fixed his tattered laptop charger, and even an adventurer who used the silicone-based glue on his ski poles during a trek in the Arctic Circle. In one case, a motorcycle enthusiast used Sugru to stick a camera on his helmet, which he used to film his journey on the open road. To stimulate participation, the company provides discounts to the most impressive social media submissions.

The uniqueness of the product—a pliable glue that can withstand moisture and extreme temperatures and cling to any number of surfaces—was a powerful selling point, but the social media strategy helped showcase Sugru’s usefulness in tackling a broad range of everyday projects. What’s more, it created much-needed buzz around the adhesive during its start-up phase.

Over the past few years, the company’s customer base has swelled. To date, the company has sold more than 14 million single-use packs of Sugru to people in over 175 countries and territories worldwide. Time magazine went so far as to include it on their “50 Best Inventions of 2010” list (12 spots ahead of the iPad.)

“Start Small, and Make It Good”

The idea for Sugru dates back to 2003, when Ni Dhulchaointigh was working toward a master’s degree in product design at the Royal College of Art in London, England. Rather than attempting to develop a whole new product, she decided to work on something that could extend the lives of things people already owned.

Her first prototype for a moldable glue—a substance she describes as foul smelling and slimy—was well short of the mark. She was convinced, however, the idea itself was valuable.

“I knew that by tapping into people’s innate creativity, all kinds of products could be fixed and reimagined,” she writes.

In addition to hiring Ashby, she enlisted two former Dow Corning scientists who served as consultants on her project. Ni Dhulchaointigh set up a small lab to help refine the formula, and she relied on family and friends to provide real-world feedback.

“The company motto has always been to start small and to make it good,” she says.

In 2009, she offered samples to several journalists. When one of them gave the product a glowing review on a popular U.K. news site, it turned the company’s fortunes around immediately. The first product run sold out in a mere six hours. More importantly, she and her business partner, Ashby, started to gain interest from investors who could help them ramp up the operation.

Eventually, the company won over product buyers from national chains, such as Target and the Container Store, moving the entrepreneur closer to her lofty goal of getting Sugru into every kitchen drawer.

The company’s tinkering didn’t stop with its original product, though. FormFormForm Ltd., which now employs a team of 70 people, later introduced a family-safe formula that’s gentle enough for even younger users to try. This latest iteration also proved a winner, earning the 2018 Bronze Stevie® Award for New Consumer Product.

Ni Dhulchaointigh hopes the ability to get kids involved will lead to even more creative ideas for users to share on platforms like YouTube and Twitter.

“Repair inspires creativity," she says. "People are more creative than they think, especially when it comes to saving things they love—and potentially some money at the same time.”

In zwei Wochen ist es soweit. Die Jury der 5. German Stevie Awards nimmt seine Arbeit auf. Auch in diesem Jahr gibt es vier Fachgremien, die sich alle Bewerbungen genauestens anschauen und prüfen, wo die größten Innovationen stecken. Diese werden zum Abschluss auch die Gold-, Silber- und Bronze-Preisträger ermitteln. Jedem dieser vier Fachgremien steht ein Juryvorsitzender vor. Erstmalig sind in diesem Jahr die Frauen hier in der Mehrzahl. 

„Es ist uns gelungen, herausragende Frauen für den Juryvorsitz der German Stevie Awards 2019 zu gewinnen“, freut sich Michael Gallagher, Präsident und Gründer der Stevie Awards. Und so werden neben einem Top-Manager erstmals drei Top-Managerinnen Vorsitzende einer Jury beim umfassenden deutschen Wirtschaftspreises sein. 

Viel Erfahrung in Sachen German Stevie Awards bringt Margrit Schumacher mit, die Juryvorsitzende in der Kategorie „Unternehmenskommunikation, Marketing & Kreative“. Bereits zwei von ihr begleitete Kampagnen wurden mit dem Gold Stevie Award ausgezeichnet: 2017 die „Marketing-Kampagne des Jahres – Finanzprodukte & Finanzdienstleistungen und Finanz-Karten“ sowie 2018 die „Marketing-Kampagne des Jahres – Finanz-Karten“ - jeweils für den Kunden American Express.

Die Diplom-Betriebswirtin ist Mitglied der Geschäftsleitung und Consultant Director bei der Arts & Others Communication GmbH, die ihren Sitz in Bad Homburg hat, und seit 25 Jahren auf Kunden- und Agenturseite im Marketing tätig. Arts & Others ist eine inhabergeführte Agentur mit rund 30 Mitarbeitern, die Kunden aus der Finanzbranche und anderen Bereichen betreut, etwa American Express, Fresenius, Invesco, Mainova und die R+V Versicherung.

Margrit Schumachers Schwerpunkt liegt in der Beratung international tätiger Unternehmen und Marken sowie nationaler Kunden im B2B- und B2C-Bereich. Ihr Markenzeichen sind integrierte Kampagnen, die Online-Kommunikation mit Medienarbeit, Dialogmarketing, POS und Event verbinden. Zu den von ihr verantworteten Projekten gehören beispielsweise der Launch der American Express Centurion Card in den DACH-Märkten, der Aufbau einer E-Learning Akademie sowie komplexe Projekte vorrangig in den Bereichen Kommunikation, Dialog, PR, Bewegtbild und Event. 

Die Jury in der Kategorie „Unternehmen/Organisationen & Kundenservice/Support“ leitet Carolin Buchardt, CEO und Founder der CB Praxisberatung in Heidelberg. Die Diplom-Betriebswirtin war mit 28 Jahren die jüngste Geschäftsführerin in der Energieversorgung und erkannte schon sehr früh, dass man ein Unternehmen nicht nur über die Zahlen führen kann. Im Jahr 2008 machte sie sich mit der Unternehmensberatung „CB-Praxisberatung“ selbstständig. Seither begleitet und berät sie ihre Kunden bei der Gründung, bei Fragen rund um Qualitäts- und Changemanagement sowie den Bereich Human Resources. Ihre vielfältigen Coachingausbildungen und umfangreichen Erfahrungen kommen ihr dabei zu Gute. Als Qualitätsbeauftragte ist sie TÜV-zertifiziert.
Da es bei ihren Projekten immer häufiger Schnittstellen zum Arbeitsmarkt gab und aus ihrer Sicht alle althergebrachten Konzepte viel zu kurz greifen, gründete sie im August 2016 einen eigenen Bildungsträger. Das „CB-Institut“ hat zum Ziel, Unternehmen sowie Arbeitsuchende näher zusammenzubringen. 

Als beratende Expertin ist Carolin Buchardt bei verschiedenen Einrichtungen gelistet und durch zahlreiche Kontakte und Mitgliedschaften in einschlägigen Institutionen gut vernetzt. In der Datenbank der Spitzenfrauen Baden-Württemberg ist sie ebenfalls vertreten.

Vorsitzende der Jury in der Kategorie „HR & Management“ ist Julia Münster, Chief Human Resources Officer bei der diva-e Digital Value Excellence GmbH in München. Sie studierte Internationales Management an der Hochschule Karlsruhe - Technik und Wirtschaft sowie an der ISC Paris - School of Management. Sie spricht neben Deutsch, Englisch und Französisch auch Chinesisch. Ausgezeichnet wurde ihre Arbeit im Personalbereich bereits beim rexx Recruiting Award, bei Great Place to Work, beim Candidate Experience Award, den Human Resources Excellence Awards und dem Personalwirtschaftspreis.

Bevor Julia Münster die Funktion des CHROs bei der diva-e antrat, war sie Personalleiterin bei der Netpioneer GmbH und verantwortlich für die organisatorische und strategische Integration in die diva-e Unternehmensgruppe.

In der Wettbewerbskategorie „Neue Produkte & IT“ ist Marc-Oliver Link der Juryvorsitzende. Der Diplom-Ingenieur (FH) ist Head of Software Development bei der SCHUFA Holding AG in Wiesbaden, die als führender Informations- und Servicepartner für die kreditgebende Wirtschaft und Privatkunden über Daten zu 67,5 Millionen natürlichen Personen und 5,3 Millionen Unternehmen verfügt.

Marc-Oliver Link hat über 30 Jahre Erfahrung in der Softwareentwicklung und der Implementierung innovativer Informationstechnologien und umfassende Kenntnisse in den Bereichen Softwareentwicklung, Webdesign und Online-Marketing. Link ist Experte für viele verschiedene Programmiersprachen, den Einsatz diverser Software-Engineering-Tools und für die erfolgreiche Durchführung von innovativen Softwareentwicklungsprojekten in der Gesundheits-, Finanz- und Medienbranche. Er konnte speziell im Gesundheitswesen sowie in Bereichen der Medienindustrie viele nationale und auch internationale Softwareprojekte (USA, Malaysia, Türkei, Saudi-Arabien, Polen, Schweden, Frankreich, Italien, u.v.m.) erfolgreich umsetzen.

Marc-Oliver Link studierte Ingenieurinformatik in der Fachrichtung Software Engineering an der University of Applied Sciences in Bingen und hat auch den Abschluss „Black-Belt for Leadership“ vom Malik Management Centrum in St. Gallen.

Insgesamt werden wieder über 50 Top-Führungskräfte aus ganz Deutschland Jurymitglieder bei den German Stevie Awards sein. Wer noch Interesse hat, sich aktiv an der Jury der German Stevie Awards 2019 zu beteiligen, kann sich jetzt noch unter https://gsa.stevieawards.com/sa-judge/register bewerben. Die Juryarbeit startet am 28. Januar 2019.

Heute schon mal auf den Kalender geschaut? Welches Datum sehen Sie denn für heute? Und dann schauen Sie mal auf den 23. Januar 2019. Das ist ein Mittwoch - und vor allem aber der letzte Tag, an dem Sie Ihre Bewerbung für die 5. German Stevie Awards einreichen können. Und jetzt zählen Sie bitte die Tage zwischen heute und dem 23. Januar: So viel Zeit haben Sie noch, Ihre Bewerbungen zu perfektionieren …

Sollte Ihnen diese Zeitspanne sehr sportlich erscheinen, um Ihre Bewerbung(en) zu vollenden, hat Michael Gallagher, Präsident und Gründer der Stevie Awards, beruhigende und aufmunternde Worte für Sie: „Wir haben unzählige Beispiele dafür, dass es selbst in zehn Tagen gelingen kann, hervorragende und qualitativ hochwertige Bewerbungen zu erstellen, die die Jury überzeugen.“

Und noch eine gute Nachricht hat Gallagher: „Auch in diesem Jahr verzichten die Stevie Awards wieder darauf, allgemeine Teilnahmegebühren für die Teilnahme an den German Stevie Awards 2019 zu verlangen. Das ist nicht bei allen Wirtschaftspreisen so …“

Das heißt: Wer an den German Stevie Awards 2019 teilnimmt, darf unentgeltlich unbegrenzt viele Bewerbungen in beliebig vielen Kategorien einreichen. Sie zahlen erst, wenn Sie erfolgreich sind: Für jede Nominierung, die einen Gold, Silber oder Bronze Stevie Award gewinnt, wird eine Preisträgergebühr fällig.

Dafür erhalten die Gewinner aber auch eine Menge an Leistungen: Sie …

• dürfen den Stevie-Preisträgerstatus für die Nominierung(en) am oder nach dem 7. März 2019 öffentlich beanspruchen,
• werden in die am 7. März 2019 veröffentlichten offiziellen Preisträgerlisten aufgenommen,
• dürfen die Preisträgerzeichen oder -logos der German Stevie Awards 2019 verwenden,
• erhalten eine personalisierte Gold, Silber oder Bronze Stevie Award-Trophäe,
• haben Zugang zu sämtlichen Kommentaren der Jury in Bezug auf alle Ihre Bewerbungen,
• dürfen Tickets für die Preisverleihung am 3. Mai 2019 in München kaufen
• und bekommen dort die Awards auf der Bühne überreicht.

Übrigens: Die Preisverleihung wird live gestreamt und auch auf Video aufgezeichnet und auf dem Stevie Awards YouTube Kanal veröffentlicht. So erhalten die Stevie-Gewinner alleine durch die Übertragung deutschlandweite Aufmerksamkeit. 

Aber auch wenn Sie keinen Stevie Award gewinnen sollten, lohnt sich eine Teilnahme an den Awards. Denn wenn Sie eine Bewerbung erstellen, dann entwickeln Sie bereits überzeugende Erfolgsgeschichten und die können Sie auch an anderen Stellen Ihres Marketings einsetzen. Denken Sie doch einmal intensiv über Ihre Mitarbeiter und deren Leistungen intensiv nach, werfen Sie einen ganz eigenen Blick auf Ihr Unternehmen, schärfen Sie Ihr Profil und stärken Sie durch die Teilnahme an den Awards Ihre Beziehung zu und zwischen Ihren Mitarbeitern. Denn durch die Bewerbung zeigen Sie, dass Sie die Leistungen der Kollegen sehen und anerkennen …

Zusätzlich profitieren Sie durch die qualifizierte Rückmeldung der Jury. Als Teilnehmer haben Sie Zugriff auf alle Anmerkungen der Jury zu Ihren Bewerbungen. Diese Anmerkungen geben Ihnen Aufschluss über die Stärken und Schwächen Ihrer Bewerbung und/oder Ihres Unternehmens.

Die Jury, die schließlich die Sieger ermittelt, ist wie immer hochkarätig besetzt. Sie besteht aus über 50 Experten aus ganz Deutschland. Die Übersicht der Juryvorsitzenden in diesem Jahr finden Sie hier. 

Die Jurymitglieder dürfen sich auf viele Bewerbungen freuen. Denn die Bewerber dürfen aus über 100 Kategorien auswählen, die in die Bereiche Management Awards, Company of the Year Awards in 34 Branchengruppen, Public Relation Awards, Kundenservice Awards, Human Resources Awards, Informationstechnologie Awards, Marketing Awards, Neue Produkte Awards, Support Awards und Awards für Websites, Videos, Apps, Live-Events und Jahresberichte /Publikationen unterteilt sind. 

Noch dauert es ein wenig, bis die Jurys in Aktion treten. Bis zum 7. März 2019 herrscht dann Hochspannung. Denn erst an diesem Tag werden die Gewinner öffentlich bekanntgegeben.

Entspannt geht es hingegen ganz sicher bei der feierlichen Preisverleihung am 3. Mai 2019 im luxuriösen Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski in München zu, wo die Gewinner ihre Trophäen auf der großen Bühne überreicht bekommen.

Und wer jetzt noch Lust hat, zum illustren Kreis der Sieger bei den 5. German Stevie Awards zu gehören, der sollte sich beeilen. Denn der Blick auf den Kalender lügt nicht …

Die Teilnahmeunterlagen und alle Informationen zum Award finden Sie unter www.StevieAwards.com/Deutschland. 

There is a tech side to just about every industry, including fashion. It goes beyond purchasing a new favorite sweater on Amazon. Today, you can scroll through Instagram, click on a photo, zoom in to see a product, and buy it with one click.

AI technology is even finding its way into traditional store shopping. You can go to a store and take a picture of a shirt, pants, or a jacket—and using one of several apps, such as Kim Kardashian’s Screenshop app, you can upload the picture and find similar styles and products all over the world. There are even avatar-based apps, such as Dressing Room, that allow individuals to try on clothing virtually. When ready, you can pay for the item with Apple Pay, which is located in your smartphone’s digital wallet.

Like any industry, the bottom line drives fashion-related businesses, and technological advances are constantly challenging that bottom line. However, the data points collected from searches and purchases are narrowing the gap between product supply and demand, meaning product numbers are more accurate, and fewer materials are wasted. Data are also helping companies predict trends and provide products their customers actually like and want.

As with most business verticals, the fashion industry maintains wholesale production intermediaries. JOOR is one of those companies leading the digital wholesale charge, using analytics within the fashion vertical. Their digital platform connects buyers and sellers online, helping buyers save time and cut costs and leading sellers to better analyze the performance of their inventory.

The company’s model embraces the global shift to mobile-first access and capitalizes on the ease and convenience of streaming handheld devices. Digitizing streamlines the fashion buyer’s process, and as is typically the case when digital technology is implemented, this reduces errors and saves time. The success of JOOR was recognized with a Stevie® Award in Best New Software Product or Service Category.

JOOR was founded in 2010 and is based in New York City, New York, United States. CEO Kristin Savilia is at the helm. She came on board in March 2017 and brought with her 18 years of retail experience and over five years in e-commerce with XO Group (the parent company of popular websites The Bump, The Nest, and The Knot). Even in the hustle and bustle of a technology-driven fashion industry, Savilia—a proactive mother of four—strives for a positive work-life balance.

While she helped lead JOOR to the head of the fashion AI and VR app curve, more technological changes are on the horizon. NextWeb reports the world is ready for the Internet of Things (IoT).

“Apparel items will have digital capabilities that open communication between retailer and customer, such as NADI X, yoga pants with built-in sensors that guide users into alignment by vibrating as they move through the various yoga poses. This example and other IoT apparel items interact with the user to collect data that help retailers understand the needs and concerns of buyers, and then companies can implement solutions to create a more personalized experience.”

In this landscape, individuals will be able to interact with businesses through their yoga pants, informing the companies that made them what they liked best and least. This will allow the companies to make more of those kinds of pants or to offer improved versions, depending on feedback.

That is technology and fashion coming full circle. Try clothes on a virtual reality avatar, search AI apps for any and all styles you like, and then communicate with the product and company directly using the IoT. Companies analyze the data, and the technological personalization and product customization cycle evolves.

In the long run, this seems cost effective and efficient while reducing waste—but it remains to be seen if consumers want to wear yoga pants and other products with AI sensors. Many consumers, however, already talk to Siri (Apple) and Alexa (Amazon), so it might not be too long before this is the product norm.