The International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organizations in more than 60 nations and territories each year, is currently accepting entries through the extended entry deadline of Wednesday, July 13.

All individuals and organizations worldwide -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to The International Business Awards.

Today we will highlight the Company/Organization Awards categories, recognizing the achievements of entire organizations. A bonus perk of entering the Company of the Year awards categories is also being included in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies voting. 

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

How to Win Twice the Recognition for Your Organization

Every organization that is honored with a Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award in the following Company of the Year categories (categories B01 - B34) will automatically be included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies.  Voting will be conducted by the general public worldwide in August - September, and the winners will be honored at the IBA awards banquet in Rome, Italy in October 2016.  When the results of the IBAs' peer-conducted judging are announced in August, honorees in the Company of the Year categories will receive instructions on how to promote People's Choice voting to their own customers and stakeholders.  Note that only nominees that receive at least 100 public votes are eligible to win a People's Choice Stevie Award.

Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories in the 2016 competition include

a. An essay of up to 650 words describing the nominated organization's achievements since 1 January 2015

b. In bullet-list form (up to 150 words), a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the nominated organization's chief achievements since 1 January 2015

c. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges

Company of the Year 
May be for-profit or non-profit, public or private, large or small.  New for 2016, each of these industry categories now has three sub-categories:

• Small (≤ 50 employees and turnover ≤ €10 m / $11 million)
• Medium-size (≤ 250 employees and turnover ≤ €50 m / $55 million)
• Large (> 250 employees and turnover > €50 m / $55 million)

B01.    Accounting
B02.    Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations
B03.    Aerospace & Defense
B04.    Automotive & Transport Equipment
B05.    Banking
B06.    Business or Professional Services
B07.    Chemicals
B08.    Computer Hardware
B09.    Computer Software
B10.    Computer Services
B11.    Conglomerates
B12.    Consumer Products - Durables
B13.    Consumer Products - Non-Durables
B14.    Diversified Services
B15.    Electronics
B16.    Energy
B17.    Financial Services
B18.    Food & Beverage
B19.    Health Products & Services
B20.    Hospitality & Leisure
B21.    Insurance
B22.    Internet/New Media
B23.    Legal
B24.    Manufacturing
B25.    Materials & Construction
B26.    Media & Entertainment
B27.    Metals & Mining
B28.    Non-Profit or Government Organizations
B29.    Pharmaceuticals
B30.    Real Estate
B31.    Retail
B32.    Telecommunications
B33.    Transportation
B34.    Utilities

B35. Startup of the Year (for companies that began operations since 1 January 2014).  There are no entry fees for the Startup of the Year categories.
a. Business Product Industries
b. Business Service Industries
c. Consumer Product Industries
d. Consumer Service Industries

B36. Most Innovative Company of the Year (recognizing product and/or marketing, sales, manufacturing, management, etc. innovation in the past year)
a. in Asia, Australia and New Zealand
b. in Asia (China, Japan and Korea)
c. in Europe
d. in the Middle East and Africa
e. in Canada and the U.S.A.
f. In Mexico, Central and South America

B37. Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year (recognizing organizations' contributions to society)
a. in Asia, Australia and New Zealand
b. in Asia (China, Japan and Korea)
c. in Europe
d. in the Middle East and Africa
e. in Canada and the U.S.A.
f. In Mexico, Central and South America

B38. Fastest-Growing Company of the Year (recognizing outstanding revenue growth since the start of 2015 over 2014)
a. in Asia, Australia and New Zealand
b. in Asia (China, Japan and Korea)
c. in Europe
d. in the Middle East and Africa
e. in Canada and the U.S.A.
f. In Mexico, Central and South America

B39. Health, Safety & Environment Program of the Year  (recognizing organizations' successful implemention of policies to prevent workplace accidents and injuries, increase safety awareness, and meet the requirements of environmental and occupational health and safety laws and requirements)
a. in Asia, Australia and New Zealand
b. in Asia (China, Japan and Korea)
c. in Europe
d. in the Middle East and Africa
e. in Canada and the U.S.A.
f. In Mexico, Central and South America

B40. Energy Industry Innovation of the Year: This category recognizes singular innovations in energy-related technology, production, conservation, storage or delivery, by an organization or an individual anywhere in the world, since 1 January 2015. There is no entry fee for this category.

Past winners in the Company/Organization awards categories include:

Reading Room Pte Ltd, Singapore

Elixirr Partners LLP, London, United Kingdom

M-CAT Enterprises, LLC, Austin, TX USA

Geosoft, Toronto, ON Canada

Amira Nature Foods Ltd., Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Hoteles City Express, Mexico City, Mexico

Today Newspaper, Seoul, South Korea

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Beraca Ingredientes Naturais S/A, São Paulo, Brazil

Monkey tie, Paris, France: Premier site de recrutement affinitaire

Coca-Cola Icecek, Istanbul, Turkey: 3.2.1 Move!

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

•     Banking: Odeabank AS, Istanbul, Turkey
•     Business / Professional Services: Freelancer.com, Sydney, Australia
•     Computer Services: ScaleFocus, Sofia, Bulgaria
•     Computer Software: RheinBrücke IT Consulting GmbH, Cologne, Germany
•     Energy: Bahrain National Gas Company (B.S.C.), Manama
•     Financial Services / Insurance: USHEALTH Advisors, Grapevine, TX, USA
•     Health / Pharmaceuticals: OptumCare Operations, Phoenix, AZ, USA
•     Hospitality & Leisure: Creative Lodging Solutions, Lexington, KY, USA
•     Internet / New Media: Freelancer.com, Sydney, Australia
•     Non –Profit / Government: The National Archives (UAE) – Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
•     Transportation: Road & Transport Authority – Rail Agency, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Did you know The 2016 American Business Awards extended the final entry deadline through Tuesday, April 19? There is still plenty of time to submit your nominations. Learn a bit more about who is judging the Company / Organization submissions in The ABA's this year.

The American Business Awards are widely considered to be the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small.  The 2016 awards  honor achievements since the beginning of 2015.  Entry details are available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Judging Chair:

Robert Frost, Vice President, Customer Care
Carbonite, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Rob Frost is Vice President, Customer Care for Carbonite, a leading provider of hybrid backup (cloud and local) and recovery solutions for home users and businesses. Rob is hyper-focused on customer satisfaction and sets the highest standards for customer service. As VP of Customer Care, Rob and his award-winning, global customer care team continually strive to make sure every customer interaction is a positive experience. 

Prior to joining Carbonite, Rob was Director of Client Services and Technical Support at Intronis. Rob also served as Senior Director of Support and Global Client Relations at Acronis, where he spent three years in Moscow, Russia, delivering global support in nine languages.

Committee:

Ilene Adler, CEO
Vantage Communications, San Francisco, California, USA
As an executive in the tech world since the 80s, Im always learning. My experience ranges from international marketing director to president of RAD Data Communications in the US; founding Vantage PR in 1990 to acquisition by PAN Communications in 2015. The best part is connecting with amazing people.

Jennifer Cherry Foster, Senior Vice President
Marx Layne, Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA
Cherry Foster is Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer. She oversees media and social relations for clients in a broad range of industry sectors including retail, restaurant, real estate and emerging technologies, and directs the agencys social media practice. With extensive experience in the retail sector, Cherry Foster also counsels clients on retail theory as well as sales and communications strategies.

Dave Craig, Vice President, Human Resources
Fazoli’s Restaurants System Management, LLC, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Dave Craig is Vice President, Human Resources for the 220-unit, Lexington, KY-based Fazoli's Restaurant chain. A native of Akron, Ohio and graduate of Ohio University, Dave has been in the restaurant industry for over 30 years, including 20 years with Fazoli's as the Company's senior HR leader and 10 years in various HR roles with the Long John Silver's Seafood chain. Dave and family reside in Lexington, KY.

Dennis Gallagher, Director of Customer Service and Payments
Golden Nugget’s Online Gaming, New York, New York, USA|
Dennis Gallagher is a Customer Service professional with 20 years of experience managing Customer Service based organizations in the Telecom, E-Commerce, Media, and Hotel / Casino industries. Dennis feels that customer satisfaction is directly proportional to his employees' satisfaction, and so he has approached his Management positions with this in mind. His strategy of taking care of the folks who take care of customers has proven invaluable in building world class service organizations. Dennis focuses on creating enjoyable working environments to build loyal, hard-working and successful teams.

Eric Halvorson, Senior Vice President, National Services Group
Wells Fargo, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Eric Halvorson is a Senior Vice President in the Treasury Management Group. Based in Minneapolis, he is responsible for Operations, Implementation and Client Support for the newly created, enterprise-wide Banking as a Service Channel. Eric has a wide range of experience in consumer finance, treasury/cash management, mortgage and banking spanning more than 20 years. Prior to moving to Treasury Management, Eric managed operations for Wells Fargos Joint Venture mortgage companies.

Fatih Hidirligil, President
It's Always Christmas in NY, Inc., New York, New York, USA
Fatih Hidirligil, born in Turkey 1977, has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics and Business Administration, with expertise in import and export. He is CFO running his wife’s Christmas businesses with acclaimed success, and they have a precious son. He serves on the board of a non-profit organization.

Neslihan Hidirligil, Founder
N&F Global Corp, New York, New York, USA
Born in Turkey in 1978, Neslihan came to U.S. in 2002. In 2004, she found that her passion is to spread Christmas spirit year-round, and her ornaments now hang worldwide. She is the largest Christmas retailer on the East Coast, and designs the ornaments and displays at her stores.

Jaimon Jacob, Associate Director - Customer Service & Business Excellence
UAE Exchange Centre LLC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Jaimon Jacob, a Master of International Business, has over a decade of experience in addressing operations management and organisational excellence. He has been instrumental at work on designing, developing and establishing systems for critical elements of Business Excellence such as Strategy Deployment, Performance Management, Continual Improvement, Break-through and Daily Work Management, among others.

Anila Kalleshi, President
Kalleshi Centre, Tirane, Albania
My name is Anila Kalleshi. I'm 44 years old and I am from Albania. I am a nutrionist and I run the most successful Weight loss center in Tirana. I've written 5 books: "How to loose weight", " Diet?! Not only", "Challenges Diet", "28 Day Diet" and "Live Healthy".

Jennifer Maldonado, Senior Business Analyst
Activision Blizzard, Santa Monica, California, USA
Jennifer has served in customer advocacy roles for over 20 years. She was recently one of six customer experience practitioners globally to be recognized with the 2015 Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) Impact Award. Jennifer currently runs Activisions Voice of the Gamer program and manages its Customer Service Analytics team.

Greg Merril, CEO
YOST Labs, Inc., Portsmouth, Ohio, USA
Greg Merril served as CEO for four VC-backed companies. He led HTMedical through a $42M merger with Immersion Corp. He delivered fifty+ lectures/keynotes covering VR, medical, and consumer electronics. An inventor with nineteen patents, he is recognized as a TEDMED Innovation Scholar. Greg Merril is a regional Ernst&Young Entrepreneur-of-the-Year winner.

Vaughn Mootoo, Global Category Analyst
Chevron, Houston, Texas, USA
Vaughn Mootoo is the Production Operations Category Manager for the Chevron San Joaquin Valley Business Unit. He is responsible for developing contracting strategies, leading strategic sourcing events, managing supplier relationships, and leading category management initiatives that lower the total cost of ownership while maintaining operational excellence. Previous roles at Chevron include global category business analyst and supplier diversity coordinator.

Don Pearce, Owner
Pearce Advisory Services, Dallas, Texas, USA
Don Pearce is currently the Owner of Pearce Advisory Services, a Company specializing in helping companies increase sales. Before then he served as Vice President for the Texas division of Alliance Technology Group and before then he held Executive Sales Management positions with Sun Microsystems, STK, Amdahl, and IBM. He has serves the Advisory Board for the Computer Science Engineering Department at Southern Methodist University and holds a B.S. in mathematics from SMU. He earned a M.S. in mathematics from Louisiana State University, where he also taught Mathematics for two years. Mr. Pearce is also a recognized leader in business management with a significant track record of success including 32 years achieving over 100% of his team's revenue quotas.

Churchill Dass Prince, Founder & CEO
Sales Intellect Company, Chennai, India
Churchill Dass Prince is a well-known Research person and an Industry Thought Leader, in multiple industries. He founded a Sales Intelligence Company named "Sales Intelligence Services, Inc" and "Sales Intellect Company" with his trademark "Sales Intelligence(tm)", based on his award winning software innovation during 2003. Churchill Dass Prince has presented 100+ research papers in International and national conferences and honoured as "Chief Guest" in 100+ International and National Conferences.

Noah Rowles, CEO
Rowles Holdings, LLC, Pasadena, California, USA
Noah Rowles is the founder of iolo technologies, a worldwide leader in the performance optimization software market. As CEO he led the business through 15 years of autonomous growth, profitability, and market leadership that ultimately culminated in a successful acquisition. As a self-taught technology architect, inventor, strategist, and multiple patent-holder, Mr. Rowles enjoys fostering high-growth business environments that produce game-changing results though a contagious spirit of innovation, quality of design, and collaborative efficiency.

The Categories:

The Company / Organization categories are one of the largest award category groups in The ABAs, with more than 34 categories for Company of the Year, including:

Company of the Year (may be for-profit or non-profit, public or private, large or small)
B01.    Accounting
B02.    Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations
B03.    Aerospace & Defense
B04.    Automotive & Transport Equipment
B05.    Banking
B06.    Business Services
B07.    Chemicals
B08.    Computer Hardware
B09.    Computer Software
...and many more.

There are no entry fees in the Startup of the Year categories:

B35. Startup of the Year (for companies that began operations since January 1 2014). 
a. Business Product Industries
b. Business Service Industries
c. Consumer Product Industries
d. Consumer Service Industries

B36. Tech Startup of the Year (for companies that began operations since January 1 2014).

New categories for 2016 include:

B45.  Minority-Owned Business of the Year: A new category for 2016.  This category will recognize the achievements since January 1 2015 of businesses in the U.S.A. that are majority owned by members of an ethnic minority

B46. Veteran-Owned Business of the Year: A new category for 2016.  This category will recognize the achievements since January 1 2015 of businesses in the U.S.A. that are owned by veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

See all of the Company / Organization categories here.

I Change Her Life, a social business enterprise that is creating phenomenal changes in the lives of women in conflict-ridden regions of Pakistan and among the refugees in Turkey, won the Stevie Award for Community Involvement Program of the Year in the Company/Organization Awards categories of the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Dr. Ambreen Zaman Riaz, the founder of I Change Her Life, was in New York for the gala awards presentations at the Marriott Marquis on November 13, 2015. Just before the presentation, however, she gave a talk at TEDxKinnaird, Lahore, Pakistan, outlining her beliefs and motivations.   She has shared the official link to this presentation with us, and you can view it at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYb2TtEmSdc

The objective of I Change Her Life is to create positive change in the lives of disadvantaged women by employing and training them. The induction program has been updated over the past year to include a breakthrough “Life Coach” training manual that helps women overcome their suffering and enables them to become productive contributors to their communities.

In Pakistan, the outreach and visibility of I Change Her Life increased tremendously thanks to a collaboration with local non-profits and sister organizations. As a result of relentless efforts to improve the socio-economic conditions of vulnerable and weak women, the organization was able to increase the scope of positive social impact from 20 to 85,849 women in Pakistan.

Dr. Ambreen Zaman Riaz, the founder of I Change Her Life, tells us that this expansion was the direct result of collaboration with many organizations already working in the region such as Nida Pakistan, Blue Veins, and Sawera Pakistan.

“We are also in the process of initiating a joint program with the prestigious Agha Khan Foundation to work alongside their organization CIQAM to increase the scope of social impact,” added Dr. Zaman.   “In Pakistan, we have increased our presence and visibility, and managed to penetrate into the heart of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) region in the Northwest, by establishing close ties and creating relationships based on mutual trust and a strong belief in the process of positive social change.”  

Continued Dr. Zaman: “In Turkey, we have formed key alliances with Women Entrepreneurship group Kadiger Turkey, and with Macka and Flying Bloom. The vision and goals of these organizations are closely aligned with our own values and beliefs.”  

I Change Her Life is using these platforms to fight against gender violence in Pakistan. “We are actively involved in the process of drafting a legislature to modify the bill against honor killings and Sharia law in Pakistan that demeans the status of women in society and constricts their rights and civil liberties,” Dr. Zaman told us. “We are now actively involved in the process of social and legal change to create a positive atmosphere for women to flourish. Through our cooperation with WEF (Women Empowerment Forum) in Pakistan, we have been able to bring about subtle changes in the network of Pakistani society and institutions. The subject of gender violence is our priority, but it must be handled very delicately so as to not offend certain segments of society.”

“We have learned to create small but meaningful changes through our workshops, to create awareness against gender violence, and to focus on gender development,” concluded Dr. Zaman. “Our unique approach has helped us win over critics as well as conservative members of the institutions that we want to change. This is an unprecedented accomplishment: most other organizations have failed because they could not negotiate and ended up being attacked or abolished by fundamental groups. By combining good negotiation skills with open dialog, rather than pushing our agenda in the face of rigid opposition, we have managed to dissolve the boundaries of gender discrimination, leading to an overall change in the perception of the general population.”

I Change Her Life is also using its platform to voice concerns about the violation of the rights of minorities living in Pakistan.

About Dr. Ambreen Zaman Riaz:

Dr Ambreen Zaman Riaz is a medical doctor, social entrepreneur, renaissance scholar, and polymath. She left her successful career as a cosmetic dermatologist to help disadvantaged women because she firmly believed that educated people needed to get actively involved in the social-service sector. Dr Zaman has worked as a volunteer for non-profits both in Pakistan and Turkey. This has further enhanced her enthusiasm to serve vulnerable and weak women.

Dr Zaman is an active advocate of women's rights and participates in highlighting the rights of Christian, Agha Khani, and non-Muslim minorities in Pakistan. Her commitment to change the lives of underprivileged women has enabled her to achieve the status of "change maker" in international circles.

About I Change Her Life:

I Change Her Life is a Social Business Enterprise committed to changing the lives of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Pakistan and refugees in Turkey. The organization creates positive social impact in the lives of the vulnerable and weak. Its aim is to create awareness about issues such as gender violence and the rights of minorities. To find out more, go to: www.ichangeherlife.com

Mireille Gillings, Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Chairman of HUYA Bioscience International in San Diego, California, USA, won a Gold Stevie Award in the Management Awards categories of The 2015 American Business Awards. HUYA Bioscience International also won the Bronze in the Company/Organization Awards categories of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

We asked Mireille what winning her Stevie Awards has meant to her and her company.

“Winning a Stevie Award was a resounding endorsement of HUYA’s business model,” Mireille told us. “Our aim is to enable and accelerate global development of innovative biopharmaceuticals originating in China.”

“This prestigious award, with its recognition of outstanding performance in the workplace, came at a pivotal point in HUYA’s evolution,” added Mireille. “Our novel anticancer therapy, HBI-8000, had entered clinical trials in Japan, plus it had been approved as Epidaza^® by the Chinese FDA. HUYA’s drug has immunomodulatory properties, which are important to the clinical development of immuno-oncology therapeutics. The Stevie award was a much-appreciated affirmation for our team, and represented another stepping stone towards HUYA’s future success.”

The 2016 American Business Awards will be accepting entries through February 18 and late entries (with payment of a late fee) through March 16. Find out how to enter here.

The 2016 Asia-Pacific Awards is now open and will be accepting entries through March 23. Find out how to enter here.

The Benefits of Additional Exposure

Mireille was also appreciative of the broader awareness a Stevie Award can provide. “As we continue to build our presence in the Asia-Pacific region, the additional exposure that the Stevie award has given HUYA continues to be extremely helpful,” she told us. “Since receiving the award, HUYA has opened new offices in South Korea, taking our proven business model to that country. The recent agreement between HUYA and the Korean Drug Development Fund (KDDF) will facilitate partnerships with local companies and research institutions to accelerate the development and commercialization of Korean pharmaceutical discoveries for global markets.”

“This expansion into South Korea adds to our presence in the U.S., Japan, and eight strategic locations throughout China,” continued Mireille. “This builds on HUYA’s overall strategy to be the partner-of-choice for innovative pharmaceutical companies in emerging centers of excellence worldwide.“

Wellspring of Innovation

We asked Mireille what new areas of biopharma innovation her company would be working on in the coming year. “Looking ahead, we see China and other Asia-Pacific countries as a wellspring of innovation. In the coming year, HUYA will continue to implement its uniquely cost-efficient, reduced-risk model for drug development to advance promising molecules from this region,” she explained. “This model includes using preclinical and clinical results from tests carried out in China to create the most time, cost, and risk efficient therapies to be brought to the United States and other major markets. We will also continue to expand our activities in other Asian centers of biopharma research excellence, including South Korea and Japan, to source and add value to promising molecules.”

Continuing Success

In addition to her successes at the beginning of the year, Mireille went on to win two Silver and one Bronze Stevie Award in the 2015 International Business Awards, presented in Toronto, Canada, in October; and two Silver and one Bronze Stevie Award at the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women in Business in November.

“Warmest congratulations to Mireille on this well-deserved recognition," said Clem Gingras, HUYA’s Chief Technology Officer & Chief Operating Officer Asia. “As the first person to identify China’s potential to meet global demand for innovative medicines, Mireille founded HUYA to increase the speed of development and value creation for China sourced innovations in worldwide markets. These awards acknowledge several major recent milestones that have been achieved by HUYA.”

Accelerating & Streamlining Global Development

Mireille founded HUYA to accelerate development and value creation for China-sourced innovations worldwide. Many such compounds have been validated through a rigorous discovery, selection and development process in China, so this model streamlines and accelerates development globally, while lowering risk. HUYA has:

• A database of ~14,000 China-sourced compounds–the world’s largest;
• 110 agreements with Chinese academic & commercial organizations;
• 80 scouts in China, more than top 5 global biopharma firms combined;
• Access to 55% of the biopharma innovation in China;
• Eight strategically located offices across China (Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, China Medical City [Taizhou], Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Wuhan);
• Joint headquarters in Shanghai and San Diego, California.

HUYA opened an office in Japan in September 2014 to support future expansion in that country.

The Value of Cooperation

Looking ahead, Mireille will lead HUYA’s efforts to continue building relationships to make candidate compounds more accessible internationally, bringing value for both innovators and developers. Mireille and HUYA aim to be recognized as a main driving force that brings out the value of the Tripartite Cooperation between China, Japan, and South Korea in developing novel therapeutics to benefit patients in the three countries and worldwide.

Building Momentum in the Asia-Pacific Region

“I am inspired every day by the talented people who surround me, including HUYA’s dedicated employees and the world-class advisory boards who share their passion and talents,” explained Mireille. “In future, it will be exciting to watch as biopharma R&D continues to build momentum in the Asia-Pacific region. The HUYA teams in San Diego, Tokyo, Seoul and our eight China offices remain committed to globalizing Asian innovation.”

Concluded Mireille: “By building relationships and employing approaches such as in-licensing, alliances, co-development, research funding, and creative financial partnerships, HUYA is poised to bring pharmaceutical discoveries to benefit patients around the world.”

About Mireille Gillings:

Mireille Gillings, Ph.D., a visionary leader with 22 years of scientific and operational experience in the biotech sector, has been the driving force in establishing HUYA Bioscience International. At Quintiles, a Fortune 500 company, she was the first woman to be appointed to the Board of Directors since the company’s privatization and subsequent IPO. Mireille is Co-founder of GHO Capital, a private equity fund specializing in global health opportunities. She serves on the Board of Senté Inc., a science-based skincare company, and is a member of the U.S. Pasteur Foundation Board. Mireille has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and has held post-doctoral fellowships at Bordeaux University and Scripps Research Institute. She speaks fluent English, Dutch, French and Spanish.

About HUYA Bioscience International:

HUYA Bioscience International is a leader in enabling and accelerating the global development of novel biopharmaceutical product opportunities originating in China. HUYA has established extensive collaborations with Chinese biopharmaceutical, academic and commercial organizations to speed development and value creation in worldwide markets for China-sourced product candidates. With the largest Chinese compound portfolio covering all therapeutic areas, HUYA has emerged as the partner of choice for building and maximizing the value of biopharmaceutical innovation in China. HUYA has offices in the U.S., Japan, and eight strategic locations across China, with joint headquarters in San Diego and Shanghai. With the largest team of scientists working with Chinese innovators, HUYA identifies and advances promising drug candidates globally. For more information, go to www.huyabio.com.

TORII HALL in Osaka, Japan, won the Silver Stevie Award for Services Company of the Year–Japan in the Company/Organization Awards categories of the 2014 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

The 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is now open for entries.  Find out more here.

We talked with Torii Kosho, the Founder of Torii Hall, about winning a Silver Stevie, his views on the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards; and what plans the management of Torii Hall had for improving awareness of Japan’s traditional culture in 2016.

As Torii Kosho explained to us: “Our ‘Kamigata Culture Revitalization Forum,’ which received the 2014 Stevie Award, has been promoting traditional Japanese cultures of the Osaka region, both domestically and internationally, for some time, and will continue to delve deeply into this culture until the end of this year.”

Editor’s Note: Kamigata is a region of Japan including the cities of Kyoto and Osaka; it is also the term used to describe a prolific period of urban culture in that region from the 17th-19th centuries.

Kosho further explained: “The Forum is a cooperation between enterprises, the government, and the people of Osaka; and includes Waseda University in Tokyo, which has the largest theater museum in the East. The aim is to revitalize and preserve the cultural power of Kamigata, which in the past has originated several forms of traditional Japanese entertainment, such as kabuki theater.”

Introducing Traditional Japanese Culture to Paris

We asked Kosho what benefits his organization had experienced through its efforts to heighten international awareness of these traditional cultures.

Kosho explained that members of Torii Hall were invited to a jazz concert in Paris, France, in March 2014, shortly before the Asian-Pacific Stevie Awards ceremony the following month in Seoul, South Korea. “I have been thinking since then that Montmartre in Paris and Minami in Osaka have a lot in common: they are both downtown areas and cradles of culture and art,” he explained. Following the trip to Paris, an exchange of video letters started between elementary school children in Paris and Minami, Osaka. Consequently, Kosho told us, “We are planning a special performance of Bunraku (a traditional form of Japanese puppet theater, which also originated in Osaka) for the schoolchildren in Paris in 2016 to commemorate this interaction.” This gesture takes on even more significance in light of recent events.

Kosho feels that the Kamigata Culture Revitalization Forum has been successful in raising awareness of such art forms as Bunraku and Kabuki theater, both of which are now registered as a cultural heritage by UNESCO.

Editor’s Note: UNESCO established its lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring the better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.

International Friendship

Osaka Minami, which is where Torii Hall is located, is an international area, and 42% of students at the South Elementary School nearby are foreign, coming from 15 different countries. The country with the largest number of students is the Philippines, with more than 30 students.   2016 marks the 60th anniversary of friendship between Japan and the Philippines. On March 30, 2016, in cooperation with the consulate of the Philippines, the children will travel to an elementary school on the Philippines’ Bataan Peninsula.

“I met some people from the Philippines who were attending the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards ceremony in Seoul, and when I mentioned to them that I support Filipinos, especially single mothers, in Osaka, I received a lot of praise,” said Kosho. “The feeling that this gave me at the time made me realize the value that this friendship event in March 2016 will have for our two countries. I would now like to plan a Bunraku performance in Manila to commemorate the anniversary.”

Continued Kosho: “The people who live or work in Osaka are largely unaware of the fact that the popular tourist destination of Dotonbori is the place where Kabuki and Bunraku first started. I think that winning our Stevie Award has been effective in letting those people know that.”

Another Anniversary

2015 is also the 400th anniversary of one of the main attractions for visitors to Osaka, the Dotonbori Canal, that was completed in November 1615. This November, Torii Hall held a special multi-religious memorial service to commemorate the event.

“We forget the differences between Shinto, Buddhism, and Christianity,” Kosho commented. “We ride together on a boat and pray for those who sacrificed their lives during open-cut construction of the Dotonbori canal, yet some of them might have been workers who had apostatized Christianity. I believe that we stand today upon foundations that were built by those who lived here during the past 400 years, including both Japanese and Europeans, and upon the traditional cultures such as Bunraku and Kabuki that flourished here. We should give thanks for that.”

Heightening Awareness of a Rare Disease

“Torii Hall will continue its role as a traditional cultural platform in 2016,” Kosho concluded. “At the same time, we also have plans to reach out to the community. We will launch a Kansai Branch of the Sakura Association to support the patients and families of an incurable form of porphyria that has recently been discovered. There is, as yet, no known treatment for this rare disease, but we can express our deep compassion for those who suffer from it–and help them avoid becoming isolated–by encouraging people with this disease to come and talk about their experiences.”

About Torii Kosho:

Torii Kosho was born in Osaka. He grew up as an heir to the traditional ryokan hotel Kamigata in Sennichimae, Osaka. After graduating from Konan University, he worked for a department store before starting work on the Torii building in 1989. With the completion of the Kamigata building in 1991, he opened TORII HALL, of which he is now the director. Kosho entered the Buddhist priesthood in 1994. He founded the Sennichizan Kosho temple of the Shingon Yamashina group in 2012 and became a chief priest.

About TORII HALL:

TORII HALL is a theater with 100 seats on the fourth floor of the Kamigata building. It retains the atmosphere of yose (a Japanese style of comedy theater), and is designed like a traditional storyteller's house so that microphones aren’t needed during performances. ‘TORII yose’ is a showcase held on the first day of every month. It provides a place to train young rakugo (a traditional Japanese sit-down comedy) artists. It is also used as a venue for seminars, plays, and music events. To find out more, go to www.toriihall.com/.

Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations run by women, the Stevie® Awards for Women in Business announced the results of its 2015 competition on Friday, November 13.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an international competition produced by the creators of the prestigious International Business Awards and American Business Awards. The Stevie is widely considered to be the world’s premier business award.

With more than 400 businesswomen and their guests in attendance, the awards were announced at a gala dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Nations represented at the event include Afghanistan, Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the U.S.A. and Venezuela. The presentations were broadcast via Livestream.

Find the event photos here.

More than 1,300 nominations from organizations and individuals in 26 nations 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 professionals around the world participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and then the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements.

Grand Stevie Award trophies were presented to the five 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:

•             DP DHL, Worldwide (#1)
•             Digital Risk, Orlando, FL U.S.A. (#2)
•             iFinance Canada, Toronto, ON Canada (#3)
•             Accenture, New York, NY U.S.A. (#4)
•             Pink Elephant, Burlington, ON Canada (#5)

Notable Gold Stevie Award winners from this year’s competition include:

•     Virtual Legal Pty Ltd, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Startup of the Year - Consumer Services    
•     Sunshine Farzan, Head of Marketing and Communications, MetLife Hong Kong, Female Executive of the Year in Asia, Australia or New Zealand    
•     Stephanie Mitelman, President, Founder and Inventor, Senseez Pillows, Montreal, QC, Canada, Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Products
•     Kate Barton, Vice Chair EY, New York, NY U.S.A., Woman of the Year - Business Services    
•     Axonify, Waterloo, ON Canada, Management Team of the Year – Business Services    
•     I Change Her Life, Lahore, Pakistan & Istanbul, Turkey, Community Involvement Program of the Year
•     Pivot Point Marketing, Larkspur, CA U.S.A., Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Marketing - Consumer Services
•     Ooredoo, Doha, Qatar    , Smartphone or Tablet App of the Year
•     Kanchan Naikawadi, Director, Indus Health Plus Pvt Ltd., Pune, Maharashtra, India, Female Executive of the Year – Health Products and Services
•     Owl's Brew, New York, NY USA, Company of the Year – Consumer Products

The 2015 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflect a diverse group of large and small organizations from around the globe. Organizations that won more than one Gold Stevie Award include AMN Healthcare Services, Inc., AT&T, Cisco Systems, ClearPeople, Collectively, Creative Lodging Solutions, DHL Express, Digital Risk, Just for Pets Pty Ltd, Kim Flynn Consulting, Luvo, Inc., Lynn University, Roshan, Stride, and Synchrony Financial. For a complete list of Stevie Award winners and more information, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Entries for the 2016 edition of the awards will open next May.

About the Stevie Awards
The Stevie Awards are conferred in six programs: The American Business Awards, the German Stevie 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 http://www.StevieAwards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards.