The following professionals participated in the preliminary round of judging for the 10th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business during September-October 2013. Their average scores determined the 2013 Award Finalists. The awards judging process is now moving into the final judging phase. We thank the preliminary round judges for their interest, time, and insights. For more information about the program, including a complete list of all award categories, visit www.StevieAwards.com/women.

2013 STEVIE AWARDS FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS PRELIMINARY ROUND JUDGES:

Husam Mahmoud Abdallah, Sr. Specialist Strategy & Business Excellence, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates             
Amal Al-Najjar, Human Resources Supervisor, Fluor Corporation, Ahmadi, Kuwait            
Eline Altenburg-van den Broek, Director, Quid Novi Foundation, The Hague, Netherlands            
Amy Anda, Director, Credence Management Solutions LLC, Washington, DC, United States         
Kausar Asif, Sr. Manager Mktg. Services, Cupola Pakistan Limited, Karachi, Pakistan        
Ani Atanasova, CEO, Pixelhunters, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tyrone Bachus, Sr. Director, Communications and Quality, Trowbridge & Trowbridge, McLean, VA, United States             
Rashi Bajaj, Founder, Carpet Couture by Rashi, Delhi, India         
Ishrat Bano, Doctor, Harvard University, Brookline, MA, United States   
Victoria Barnett, Senior Marketing Director, Royal College of Nursing, London, United Kingdom
Michelle Bart, President, CEO, National Women's Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation (NWCAVE), Vancouver, Canada               
Deepa Barve, Sr. Recruitment Leader, SSOE, Portland, OR, United States             
Janet Beale, Managing Director, Sytor Enterprises Pty Ltd, East Lindfield, NSW, Australia               
Maxim Behar, CEO, M3 Communications Group, Inc., Sofia, Bulgaria       
Sherry Bellamy, Website Designer, JZ Consulting, Centreville, VA, United States               
Sheri Benjamin, Silicon Valley Chair, Vistage International, Saratoga, CA, United States  
Denise Blasevick, CEO, The S3 Agency, Boonton, NJ, United States          
Erin Bolton, VP, Pivot Communications, Salt Lake City, UT, United States               
Tya Bolton, CEO / Business & Event Strategist, Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC, Waldorf, MD, United States 
Jennifer Braun, Owner & CEO, Type A Events | Festivities, Medina, MN, United States  
Emily Brown, Journalist Blogger, The Career Pioneer, Washington, DC, United States      
Jane Bryant, Director, Spire Communications, Potomac Falls, VA, United States 
Estee Buaron, MBA, Previous RBC, Ontario, Canada        
Peter Bush, Chief Executive, New Swansea Bay, Port Talbot, United States         
Bev Campbell, Employee Advocate, Western Wireless, Eastport, ID, United States          
Annie  Castellano, Chief Creative Officer, Switch: Liberate Your Brand, St. Louis, MO, United States       
Etta Cohen, Founder, Forward Ladies, Leeds, United Kingdom  
Camilla Colegrave, Independent Consultant, New York, NY, United States        
Kimberly Cooley, Communications Director, Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough, Chattanooga, TN, United States       
Churchill Dass Prince, Founder & CEO, Sales Intellect Company, Chennai, India  
Robyn Davis, Owner, When I Need Help, Columbia, SC, United States    
Danielle Di-Masi, Business Etiquette Expert, Click! Training & Consulting, Sydney, Australia          
Gail D'Silva, President & COO, JAUST Consulting Partners, San Jose, CA, United States   
Christine Dunn, Founder, Savoir Media, Belmont, MA, United States     
Diane Emo, VP Marketing, Coverall North America Inc., Boca Raton, FL, United States    
Lori Ericson, Product Planning and Development, Epicor Software, Denver, CO, United States    
Joy Lynn Fields, President, Joy Lynn, Inc., Atlanta, GA, United States      
Kharma Finley-Wallace, Business Operations Manager, AAA Mid-Atlantic, Washington, DC, United States            
Rachel Fishman Fedderson, Editorial Director, Parenting.com, New York, NY, United States         
Julia Forsyth, Senior Global Marketing Manager, GSMA, Atlanta, GA, United States        
Allison Freeland, PR Director, iAcquire, Minneapolis, MN, United States               
Heisha Freeman, Executive Vice President, The Move Management Center, Dallas, TX, United States    
Jaclyn Frenzel, Vice President, AFM, Inc., Stockton, CA, United States   
Patricia Garcia, Experience Architect, Critical Mass, Aurora, IL, United States       
Lorretta Gasper, Owner/Principal, Wind Rose Communications, Atlanta, GA, United States         
Dale Gerstenslager, GM PR & Communications, Doosan, Quang Ngai, Vietnam  
Pamela Gharaibeh, Child and Family Therapist, Main Street Therapy for Children and Families, Livonia, MI, United States               
Barb Girson, President, My Sales Tactics, New Albany, OH, United States             
Marilyn Glazier, Social Media Director, Helen Doron Ltd., Misgav, Israel 
Regina Glick, Director of Marketing, Summit Business Media, New York, NY, United States          
Marina Go, Publishing Director, Private Media, Surry Hills, NSW, Australia            
Audrey Godwin, Fearless Financial Mastery Expert, The Godwin Group, Bellevue, WA, United States     
Keith Goggin, Partner, Integral Derivatives LLC, New York, NY, United States      
Suzanne Harrison, Director, Strategy, Planning & Analysis, Allstream, Toronto, Canada   
Leslie Harstad, Director of Marketing, Optum, St. Paul, MN, United States           
Renda Hawwa, Corporate Communications, IntelligentMDx, Boston, MA, United States               
Barb Hendrickson, President, Visible Communication.com, Livonia, MI, United States    
Deborah Herman, President, Fabric Innovations, Miami, FL, United States           
Jill Heron, Director, Marketing & Client Relations, AMAXRA, Seattle, WA, United States 
Robyne Highsmith, Founder, Teen Dare To Dream Program, Zionsville, IN, United States              
Yvonne Howie, Chief Executive, The CEO Institute, Sydney, Australia     
Jennifer  Hrycyszyn, VP, Greenough Communications, Boston, MA, United States           
Clara HY Wang, Founder & President, KAI Communications, Beijing, China          
Nicol Jameson, Director of Marketing & PR, Lisa Hoffman Beauty, Los Angeles, CA, United States             
Anne Jefferies, Vendor Compliance Manager, AT&T Global Vendor Management, Biggar, United Kingdom         
JP Jones, Owner, Paige1Media, Lawerenceburg, TN, United States         
Rebecca Jones, Owner, bScene Marketing Solutions, Miami, FL, United States  
Sheryl Jones, Managing Director, Ozuro Fine Fewelry, New York, NY, United States        
Rose Jurczewski, Owner, Funxion Fuzion, Roselle, IL, United States        
Kathryn Kavicky, Owner/Director, Parachute Communications, Stamford, CT, United States        
Jennifer Keller, Director of Client Services, The James Agency, Scottsdale, AZ, United States       
Patricia Marie Kelly, Owner, Marie Kelly Unlimited, Algonquin, IL, United States
Laura Kerr, Principal Business Analyst - Interact, Sabre Airline Solutions, Dallas, TX, United States              
Lesley Kirchman, Senior Director of Corporate Marketing, Actiontec Electronice, San Francisco, CA, United States            
Roja Kolachina, CEO, Synerteq, Inc., Washington, DC, United States        
Shamina Krishna, Manager, Training Department, Smart Reader® Worldwide Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia              
Iwona Kubicz, President of the Board, Procontent, Warsaw, Poland       
Mary Anne Lanier, Trustee, Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Marietta, GA, United States  
Jill Liberman, Founder, Videoglobetrotter, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, United States    
Sarah Lippincott, PR Executive, zcomm, Washington, DC, United States 
Amy Lurier, CEO, TechFind, Inc., Natick, MA, United States         
Anil Machado, Managing Director, Tnell, Sieradz, Poland              
Morag Malloy, Managing Director, Fission Creative, Paisley, United Kingdom     
Jessica  Manna, VP & Chief Marketing Officer, Residential Finance, Columbus, OH, United States             
Margaret Manning, CEO, Reading Room, London, United Kingdom          
Lynne Marcus, President, Marcus + Company, Albuquerque, NM, United States              
Carol Marx, Past President, American Agri-Women, Rickreall, OR, United States               
Karen McFadzen, VP Technical Services, Cisco Systems, Chatswood, Australia    
Laura McIntosh, President, M Entertainment, Lodi, CA, United States    
Colin  McKillop, CEO, Butcher Enteprises, Brownstown, MI, United States          
Elaine Metlin, Senior Partner, Dickstein Shapiro, Washington, DC, United States               
Jon Michail, CEO, Image Group International, South Yarra, Victoria, Australia      
Stephen Moore, CEO, Petrochase, Scottsdale, AZ, United States              
Sarah Musgrove, Owner, Musgrove Productions, Playa Del Rey, CA, United States          
Patricia Neal, President, Heartland Inc., Minneapolis, MN, United States              
Karen Nicholas, Director, Learning Options, Manuka, Australia   
Elizabeth Ojeda, Manager of Strategic Partnerships, City and County of Denver, Denver, CO, United States         
Erica Olsen, COO/Co-Founder, M3 Planning, Reno, NV, United States    
Lorraine O'Neill, Director, The EPI Centre Pty Ltd, Parrearra, QLD, Australia         
Jill Osur, President, Save Your Do LLC, Walnut Creek, CA, United States 
Donna Oulton, Managing Director, Planet Heaven PR, Liverpool, United Kingdom            
Kaan Özsoken, Owner, K-Tex Sourcing & Buying Agency, Istanbul, Turkey            
Nikki Parker, Regional Director, North America and Oceania, Freelancer, Sydney, Australia          
Christine Pietryla, Senior Vice President of Public Relations, Walker Sands Communications, Chicago, IL, United States   
Harish Pillai, COO, Indus Health Plus Pvt. Ltd., Pune, India            
Jacqueline Plair-Rushin, Director, Global Customer Care, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Alpharetta, GA, United States 
Julie Pond, CEO, Sage Environmental Services, Inc., Seattle, WA, United States 
Lauren Prisco, Executive Vice President, Navis Learning Corporation, Canton, MA, United States              
Jesintha Rajaratnam, Managing Partner, Joje India Consultants - Finance and HR, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates               
Ariadna Randall, Independent Beauty Consultant, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Burlington, Ontario, Canada       
Sonu Ratra, President, Akraya, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, United States            
Shenan Reed, Chief Media Officer / Founder, Morpheus Media, New York, NY, United States   
Maria Reitan, Senior Principal, Carmichael Lynch Spong, Minneapolis, MN, United States              
Christina Robinson, Patient Care Representative, Group Health Coop, Seattle, WA, United States            
Jessica Rovello, Founder, Arkadium, Las Vegas, NV, United States           
Gyan Saxena, Member of Board of Advisor, DatamanUSA, LLC, Centennial, CO, United States   
Amy Scarlino, President & CEO, Catchpole Corporation, Boston, MA, United States         
Katja Schroeder, President, Expedition PR, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Mark Schroeder, Senior Vice President, M Booth & Associates, New York, NY, United States     
Bae Seog Bong, Managing Director, KCU, Seoul, South Korea     
Keira Shein, Partner, WilkinsonShein Communications, Stevenson, MD, United States   
Julie Sheppard, General Counsel, Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), Pensacola, FL, United States               
Ravinder Singh, Director - Strategy and Online Marketing, Kulwant Advisory, Kenya      
Michelle Smith, VP, Digital Networks, Inc., San Francisco, CA, United States        
Carla Spain, Communications Specialist, Patelco Credit Union, San Francisco, CA, United States  
Carolyn Sparano, Vice President, Client Services, Bronto Software, Durham, NC, United States  
Michael Spink, Communications Manager, LGFCU, Raleigh, NC, United States    
Mindy Statz, Director, Aravo, Irving, TX, United States   
David Stein, President & General Manager, Inman News, Alameda, CA, United States   
Kim Stiglitz, Director of Lifecycle Marketing, VerticalResponse Inc., San Francisco, CA, United States        
Natalie Sudina, Chief Executive, Best4Kid LTD, United Kingdom              
Heena Sunil Bulchandani, Specialist-Training & Development, HR Training, DEWA, Dubai, United Arab Emirates  
Letty Swank, Founder, Giftwrapperz, Los Gatos, CA, United States         
Deborah Sweeney, CEO, MyCorporation.com, Calabasas, CA, United States       
Veronique Topping, Owner and Web Developer, WomanOwnedNewYork.com, Rockville Centre, NY, United States       
Susan Tripathi, Change Champion, SimFrost Consulting, Mumbai, India 
Linda Varrell, President, Broadreach Public Relations, Portland, ME, United States           
Anne Walker, Founder & CEO, International Dance Supplies Ltd, Newton Abbot, United Kingdom            
Ann Wead Kimbrough, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL, United States   
Joyce Weiland, President, SoftPro, Raleigh, NC, United States   
Charlene Weisler, CEO, Weisler Media, LLC, New York, NY, United States             
Kelly Wels, CEO, GreenTeamDistribution.com, South Paris, ME, United States   
Floor Wijburg, Co-founder, Yes We Care, Rotterdam, Netherlands          
Polly Willson, Director of Digital Engagement, Reading Room, London, United Kingdom 
Becky Wilson, President, WDS Marketing and Public Relations, Overland Park, KS, United States              
Mark Wilson, President, ARIIX, Bountiful, UT, United States       
Shunee Yee, President & CEO, CSoft, Beijing, China        
Nicole Yelland, Director of Marketing & Communications, Livio, Ferndale, MI, United States        
Gwendolyn Young, Executive Director, Seed of Hope Foundation, Oak Brook, IL, United States 
Joseph Zitzelberger, Director of Manufacturing Development, PACCAR Inc, Chillicothe, OH, United States 

Final judging, to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists, will begin next week. Five distinguished women are chairing the 2013 final judging committees. Stevie winners will then be announced and recognized at the 10th annual awards dinner in New York City on Friday, November 8. Tickets are still available.

 About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. 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, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards.   

Finalists were announced today in the 10th Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world’s top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards.  The Stevies are widely considered to be the world’s premier business awards.

This year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced at an awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Friday, November 8.  A new feature at this year’s event will be the Top 5 Awards, featuring the presentation of new Grand Stevie Award trophies to the five organizations that submitted the best collection of entries to this year’s competition.

More than 1,200 entries were submitted this year by organizations and individuals around the world for consideration in more than 90 award categories including Executive of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Women Helping Women, and Communications Campaign of the Year. 

Among the leading contenders with multiple Finalists are Accenture, Chicago, IL USA; Acxiom Corporation, Foster City, CA USA; Child's Play Communications, New York, NY USA; Deborah Mitchell Heaven Health & Beauty Ltd, Shifnal, Shropshire, United Kingdom; Marketing Maven, Camarillo, CA USA; NEI Global Relocation, Omaha, NE USA; One Legacy Pty Ltd, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia; Pivot Communications, Salt Lake City, UT USA; The Thomas Collective, New York, NY USA; and VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA USA.  For a complete list of Finalists by category, visit www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Award finalists were chosen by more than 150 business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging.  Members of five final judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging that begins next week.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and a new program, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.  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.

 

 

With the preliminary judging of this year’s Stevie® Awards for Women in Business about to wrap on October 6, the Stevie Awards are delighted to announce the names of the five distinguished women who will chair the final judging committees of the 2013 (10th annual) competition.

The Individual Awards categories, which recognize the achievements of individual women entrepreneurs, executives and employees, form the biggest category group in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, so two committees have been formed:

Marcie Allen, president of New York City-based sponsorship and fulfillment agency MAC Presents, will chair the committee for the Best Executives Awards categories.

“As a woman in the music industry, recognition in the Stevie Awards has proved an effective tool for me to encourage more women to enter this industry,” stated Marcie recently. “As someone who has been in the music industry for 18 years, I want to inspire women and show them that anything is possible.  All power to the Stevie Awards for Women on its 10^th Anniversary!”

Marcie is a seven-time nominee and two-time winner of Billboard Magazine's Concert Marketing and Promotion Award. She was named to Billboard’s Women in Music in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and to Billboard’s 40 under 40 in 2013. Earlier this year, The White House honored Marcie as one of their Hurricane Sandy "Champions of Change." The event highlighted people and organizations directly involved in response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy. Marcie directed a documentary short, “Beach 119,” about her efforts in the Rockaways, New York, after the storm. Marcie leverages her eighteen years of music industry experience to negotiate high profile sponsorships between the world’s leading brands and artists. Recent clients include Jeep, Microsoft, Samsung, CITI, AT&T, and Nokia. 

Prior to starting MAC, Marcie owned and operated MAD Booking & Events, which booked and produced music festivals across the country including On the Bricks in Atlanta, Georgia. Allen is on the board of directors for Musicians on Call and the TJ Martell Foundation.

 

The final judging committee for the Best Entrepreneur Awards categories will be chaired by Kristen White, CEO of Creative Catapult, LLC/Instant Celebrity Academy in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, and host of “Let’s Start A Ripple” TV. Kristen is a media expert who helps entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, life coaches, and businesses become more powerful messengers through content creation and on-camera coaching. Kristen works with clients to create media-based marketing platforms including television, radio, iPad magazines, and multi-media books. Her company, Creative Catapult, LLC, is a media coaching and video production company for the wellness and personal development marketplace.

Kristen has more than a decade of experience as a television journalist and anchor. Her new show, Let’s start a Ripple, which debuted in January 2013, is a news-style talk show that features experts in personal development, wellness and spirituality. The show is broadcast on The Wisdom Channel on Google TV, HULU, and on mainstream media. It is produced in the ABC TV studio in St. Louis, Missouri, and on location in Sedona, Arizona, in California, and in New York.

In addition to a Gold Stevie Awards for Video of the Year and for Mentor/Coach of the Year, Kristen received the Bronze Stevie Award for Female Entrepreneur of the Year in the 2012 Women in Business Awards. Her industry awards include the Platinum “Best in Show” Award for Video and a Gold Award for Video in the 2012 Aurora Awards.

 

Chair of the final judging committee for both the Company/Organization Awards and the New Product Awards categories is Jessica Eaves Mathews, CEO of Leverage a Lawyer LLC in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Jessica describes herself as America’s Advocate for Women in Business™.  She is an award-winning entrepreneur and intellectual property and business lawyer; a published author and speaker; and an authority on helping women entrepreneurs and women business owners step into their power and, as she says, “create a brilliant business and a brilliant life on their own terms.”

Jessica has spent her legal career representing all types of businesses, from solopreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. Before launching her own firm, she was the head of litigation and compliance for Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft.  Jessica is the founder of Leverage Legal Group, a global intellectual property and business law firm for the new economy. Jessica's team of experienced attorneys provides world-class, flat-fee legal services, virtual general and outside counsel, and in-sourced legal services.  The firm’s entry-level program, Leverage-a-Lawyer, provides budget-friendly, flat-fee legal services, information, and education for first-time business owners or startups who don’t yet have the budget for full-blown legal counsel.  Jessica also has experience "on the other side of the conference table" as founder and CEO of Grace & Game, a lifestyle brand both for golf and for the sophisticated, feminine, modern women. Grace & Game designs are made in the USA with sustainable fabrics and are designed to perform beautifully both on and off the course.  She is also founder and CEO of Untoxicating Beauty, a new subscription beauty experience for women who care as much about what goes into their bodies as what they put on them.

Jessica is an adjunct professor at University of New Mexico Law School; an appointee on the New Mexico Economic Development Council; co-founder and Chief Legal Officer for The Virtual Accelerator, a virtual business accelerator for startups, and is the co-founder of Hautepreneurs, a new networking organization for women entrepreneurs based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has been featured on MSNBC, Oprah, Forbes.com, NBC, Oxygen, and in Allure Magazine.

 

The chair of the final judging committee for the Communications & Marketing Awards categories is Ruwena Healy, CEO and president of Marketing 24/7, Inc., a full-service marketing, branding, and public relations firm in Trussville, Alabama, USA, which she founded eight years ago. Marketing 24/7 has a diverse client list and is one of Birmingham, Alabama’s Top 10 PR firms. Ruwena gave some useful advice on the importance of winning business awards in an earlier blog post.

Marketing 24/7 and Ruwena have garnered numerous international, national, state, and local awards, including a Gold Stevie for Communications/PR Campaign of the Year in the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women In Business. Ruwena was recently named first runner up in the Birmingham Business Journal’s Social Madness competition that showcased a company’s social media savvy by gaining new followers and encouraging follower engagement. Just this week, Ruwena was honored as one of three finalists in the Birmingham Business Alliance's 2013 Awards in the category of Small Business of the Year (1 to 50 employees) and was awarded three Lantern Awards from the Southern Public Relations Federation. She has also received an “Honorable Mention” in the international Enterprising Women of the Year Award by Enterprising Women magazine,

Ruwena is a LinkedIn expert and trainer (her LinkedIn profile was among the Top 1% of the Most Viewed profiles in 2012). She is a sought-after speaker, trainer, and lecturer, and has also presented numerous programs on branding, social media, public relations, and how to successfully get the word out about a business. Ruwena maintains a blog at MasterMarketing247.com and her articles have appeared in PR News’ 2011 Crisis Management Guidebook, Birmingham Business Journal, The Birmingham News, Alabama Business News, and al.com. Ruwena is an active member of the Birmingham, Alabama community:  she is a member of The Women’s Network; a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Relations Council of Alabama’s Birmingham Chapter; a former Board member and currently a member of the Public Relations Society of America Alabama Chapter; and a current member of Alabama Women In Business.

Ruwena has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Florida and a Masters in Business Administration from Florida State University. Today, with twin boys that are seven years old, Ruwena gives her time to fundraisers for their school and as a leader in the Cub Scouts.

 

Chair of the final judging committee for the Media Awards categories (covering websites, apps, live events, and film/video) is Cynthia Good, founder and CEO of Little PINK Book, a digital platform for career women, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Commenting on her appointment as Chair, Cynthia said: “The Stevie Awards is an organization that inspires companies to do the right thing to help advance women in business. It’s great to see those supporting women’s advancement be acknowledged for their good work.”

Supporting women’s advancement and entrepreneurship is something with which Cynthia is familiar. Her Little PINK Book is the online evolution of PINK magazine, founded by Good in 2005. In addition to the daily e-notes, proven to help career women advance, Little PINK Book’s ventures include two highly successful national conference series: their Spring Into Ownership event for entrepreneurs; and the Fall Empowerment series, featuring top women from Corporate America.

Cynthia appears regularly as a speaker at seminars and women-centric events with companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, McKesson, Turknett Leadership Group, Andrews Kurth, Hilton Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group, and more. She has written six books and has a weekly TV segment on CBS Atlanta, where she discusses news pertinent to women. You can follow her on Twitter and via Facebook.

Finalists in the 2013 competition will be announced next week.  Final judging, to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists, will begin the week of October 14.  Stevie winners will then be announced and recognized at the 10th annual awards dinner in New York City on Friday, November 8.

Fairfax, VA – October 11, 2012 – Finalists were announced today in the 9th Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the international competition recognizing the accomplishments of outstanding women executives, business owners, and the organizations they run.  

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards.  The Stevies are widely considered to be the world’s premier business awards.

This year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced at an awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Friday, November 9. 

More than 1,200 entries were submitted this year by organizations and individuals around the world for consideration in more than 90 categories including Executive of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Women Helping Women, and Communications Campaign of the Year. 

Among the leading contenders with multiple Finalists are Accenture, Chicago, IL USA; Aegis Media, South Africa; ClientAttraction.com, Stamford, CT, USA; DHL Global Forwarding, Miami, FL, USA; Fresh  Easy Neighborhood Market, El Segundo, CA, USA; Friends of the Global Fund Africa, Lagos, Nigeria; iolo technologies, LLC, Los Angeles, CA, USA; McKinsey Development, Inc., Warrenton, VA, USA; Medicard Finance Inc., Toronto, Canada; MWW, East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Pivot Communications, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Reading Room, London, United Kingdom; Sentis Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Vaco Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA, USA; and Vodafone Istanbul, Turkey.

For a complete list of Finalists by category, visit www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Finalists were chosen by more than 130 business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging.  Members of five final judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  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.

Entry Deadline Is August 29, 2012; All Female Entrepreneurs, Executives and Employees Worldwide Are Eligible to Be Nominated 

The Stevie® Awards for Women in Business today issued the Call for Entries for its ninth annual competition.  Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature over 80 categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Employee of the Year, Best Overall Company of the Year, PR Campaign of the Year, Website of the Year, and New Product or Service of the Year, among others.  The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards. 

All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated.   The 2012 awards will recognize achievements since the beginning of July 2011.

The entry deadline is August 29.  Late entries will be accepted through September 28 with payment of a late fee.  Winners of the ninth annual competition will be announced at a gala awards dinner in New York on November 9.  

New this year, Stevie Awards will be conferred in three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze.  To date, only overall category winners have been recognized as Stevie winners.

Winners of the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business included, among others: Charly Leetham of Ask Charly Leetham, Canberra, Australia (Entrepreneur of the Year), Sarah Yansura of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR (Employee of the Year), Melissa Burton of FTF Sweets Ltd, Heysham, United Kingdom (Entrepreneur of the Year in EMEA), Ann Kaplan of iFinance Canada (Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year), Lynn Agnello of the Phoenix Suns NBA team (Executive of the Year), The University of Southern Mississippi (Community Relations Campaign of the Year), and Wipro Limited, Bangalore, India (Women Helping Women Award).  A complete list of 2011 honorees is available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged by many leading women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries in business.  More than 200 professionals worldwide will participate in the judging process this year.

“2012 marks the tenth anniversary of the start of the Stevie Awards movement, and we’re looking forward to finishing the year with our honors for women of achievement worldwide,” said Michael Gallagher, Stevie Awards founder and president.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.  Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.stevieawards.com/, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards.   

Gwen Rhys is the Founder & CEO of Women in the City, London, United Kingdom, and winner of the Women Helping Women Award in the 2011 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The 2012 edition will open for entries in May - join the mailing list to get the entry kit as soon as it's available.

In 2003 Gwen Rhys invited a few women working in the City of London to bring some of their female colleagues to lunch.  The idea gathered momentum and within three months 200 women gathered to hear an inspirational speaker, share experiences, and network. This simple concept became Women in the City (WIC). Led by Gwen, and supported by a small team, WIC has evolved into an organization that promotes, recognizes, and rewards female talent and creates opportunities for women to achieve their career goals.

We asked Gwen’s advice on what she thought were the three most important ways women can help other women in the business environment today.  Here are her suggestions.

1. Recommend other women—it reflects well on you.

 Men “get” the power of recommendation. Let’s say Peter recommends John for a job in Bob’s team and the recommendation works out well. This reflects well on Peter, and Bob says: “That guy Peter’s great, he really knows how to spot talent.”

For some reason women rarely do this.  Are we nervous in case our recommendation won’t work out?  Go ahead: Make that recommendation. This is one of the unwritten rules of the game!

2. Support other women—don’t be a bitch!

Men close ranks and support one another.  How often have you seen that in meetings?  Aren’t you amazed at the way men cover for each other?

Women need to do that for one another, too.  Far too many women are bitches! They’re just waiting for the moment to show up someone else’s faults and weaknesses.

Learn from the boys. Support your female colleagues. Make sure they know you’re doing this … and make sure you get their support when you need it!

3. Speak up—celebrate your successes.

 Men are forever “bigging themselves up.” They are always the fastest, richest, most intelligent; they’ve traveled further, climbed higher, dug deeper … they haven’t really, but they just can’t help speaking in superlatives.  

Women—who have usually achieved MUCH more—say things like: “Oh, it was nothing really.”

Speak up for your female colleagues and friends. More important, find your own voice.  Learn to big yourself up.  Say: “Yes, I did really well on that project!”

A Signature Event
The annual Women in the City Celebration Lunch is a sell-out each year and has become one of the City of London’s signature events. Like all WIC gatherings, the lunch has a motivating and inspiring atmosphere, created in large part by Gwen’s energy and passion, and supported by the meticulous event management of WIC’s Program Manager, Marianne Bosak.

This annual luncheon includes an awards presentation, a keynote speaker, and in 2007 Gwen created the Woman of Achievement Award.  This award, presented after the lunch, recognizes senior women who, in addition to fulfilling a demanding job, are actively supporting the progress of women. Winning this award enables highly successful women to raise their profile internally and externally, with many gaining promotion to the very highest of levels.  The overall winner of this award is offered a complimentary place on the Accelerated Development Program held on the London campus of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

In 2010, WIC added a second award: The Future Leaders Award, presented at a breakfast event each July.  The award identifies high-potential women leaders and includes a place on the Cranfield School of Management Accelerated Talent Development Program.

In 2012, WIC will host its 10^th Anniversary Women in the City Celebration Lunch. Gwen plans to add one special award for this occasion: International Businesswoman of the Decade.

Key to Success
Gwen’s ability to build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships is key to WIC’s success.   This year she has secured award sponsorship from global brands such as Google, Barclays Capital, Barclays Wealth, Bluefin, Heidrick & Struggles, niche City of London caterers Lusso, and the growing software business Patients Know Best.  WIC has partnered with leading academic institutions including the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Cranfield School of Management, and has gained backing from major professional institutions in the U.K., including the Chartered Institute of Insurance, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Facilities Management Association, and the British Bankers’ Association. Leading women’s organizations such as The Association of Women in Property, the Medical Women’s Federation, and the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists all endorse the WIC awards program and help judge the candidates.  Gwen has gained support for her activities from numerous organizations and companies, including accessories brand knomo, Charles Worthington hair products, and The Museum of London Docklands.

Internship Program
Through WIC’s Internship Program, female students are able to network beyond their usual circles, gain confidence from hosting at events, speak with enthusiasm about WIC at interviews, acquire valuable business and life skills, and secure jobs.

WIC Foundation
In 2011 Gwen set up the WIC Foundation. Says Gwen: “The aim of the WIC Foundation is to enable individuals to make better-informed and more aspirational career choices.”  She is partnering with The Capital Community Foundation to run a pilot program in 2012, and she has already secured funding from AXA Commercial, Bradshaw Property Associates, MITIE Client Services, and Ryland House Galleries, as well as from Major Rowena Patrick (in memory of her mother, who was named after Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the British suffragette movement). She plans to launch a major fundraising campaign to further the Foundation’s development in the first quarter of 2013. 

About Gwen Rhys
Gwen Rhys set up her first business in 1979 and sold it in 1987. She has initiated UK-wide projects that have forged links between business and education.  In 1995 she started ew-network to support female entrepreneurs. Gwen continued to run this network while setting up the talent and leadership development organization Networking Culture Limited. She launched Women in the City in 2003.

Gwen is a Liveryman and Court Assistant in the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers; was named Management Champion by the CMI City Branch in 2009; is a Town Councillor; and is a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).

About Women in the City
Launched in 2003, Women in the City has developed a strong brand presence in London's business hubs. It promotes, recognizes, and rewards female talent; runs a highly successful annual lunch and an awards program; and offers other products and services to support professional businesswomen.  For more information go to www.citywomen.co.uk.