Tore Claesson, a Director of U.S.-based creative agency TIO, has been sharing his time between the US and China since October 2013.  Tore was a judge for The 2014 International Business Awards, covering the Communications Awards, PR Awards, and Creative Awards categories.

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We talked to Tore about his experience of judging for the Stevie Awards and were gratified by his enthusiasm. “I think I’ve learned more from judging the Stevie Awards than from any book on creativity!” he told us.

Tore sees judging as an opportunity to peek into other professionals’ brains. As he puts it: “To see how others have solved certain business and creative problems is invaluable. It’s like a secret peek behind the curtain.”

Why China?

Tore had a pithy response to why he has been in China for the past year. “To fill a void.”

Tore explained: “There are simply no agencies focused on small and medium-sized businesses and brands that can bridge the culture gap between the U.S. and China, or Europe and China. And that applies whether a Chinese brand is going west or a Western company is trying to penetrate China.

“You either get an agency that finds a ‘partner’ in China for adaptation work, or—if you’re a Chinese company—you may go to a Chinese agency, which most likely has no experience in the nuances of US communications.

“Nuance is key to all communication. Being on the ground in China, with a mixed Western and domestic team, means we master those nuances. With an agency in New York as well as an agency in China, both cultures are a daily part of our work.”

The Importance of Social Media

Tore stressed the importance of social media in China. “One has to immerse oneself in all social media in China such as Wechat, QQ, Weibo, Youku, etc.  China may have a long way to go before it is on a par with the US and Europe on branding and marketing communications—the industry is still young in China—but in social media, which is a much newer business, they are way ahead. The West can learn from China when it comes to using social media.”

Future Judging

The Stevie Awards recently introduced the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, and the 2015 competition opens this month. (For more information on how to participate, sign up to receive an Entry Kit.)   Tore is intrigued by the possibilities of this competition and has expressed interest in judging the newly revamped and expanded entry categories.

Life in China

Since October 2013, Tore has been working in China and is based in Chengdu, Sichuan.  Tore told us, “Chengdu is China’s fourth biggest city with 14 million people, a fantastic kitchen if you like spicy food, a world famous Panda park, and Geely, which makes Volvo cars.

“Chengdu is known as the Silicon Valley of China—a real tech-hub—and Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone (CDHT) is home to 33,237 hi-tech companies, of which 1,115 companies are foreign-invested enterprises, including over 120 Fortune 500 and world-renowned companies.”

When we asked Tore what kept him inspired or excited about the future, his apt response was: “In my case it’s a curiosity to see where the road leads. I can’t stand still. Petrification is for statues!”

You can read and see more of Tore’s adventures in China on his blog or view some of the work being done in China on his LinkedIn site. His profile page links to a showcase for a Swedish company, Sveba-Dahlen, that needed a Chinese name and more.

About Tore Claesson

Tore’s background at agencies such as Ogilvy and Anderson & Lembke McCann, based in Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong in Asia, and Amsterdam in Europe, in addition to his many years in New York, means that TIO has a leader that knows the ins and out of cross culture communication better than just about anybody on this small planet.

About TIO Agency

TIO is a creative agency specializing in brand strategy, market communication, advertising, and design. TIO helps businesses communicate to their stakeholders with a unique, clear, and consistent voice. To be heard in today’s over-saturated media landscape, efficient brand communication must be designed holistically to convey a unified message to internal and external stakeholders, then transmitted via multiple media.By aligning to each client’s strategic vision, TIO ensures that its work is focused on concrete marketing objectives, rather than dictated by simple creative whims or technological indulgences.

TIO was founded in 2009 by designer Norman Rabinovich and brand strategist Michael Raisanen. Its team consists of 20 creative professionals across design, strategy, communication, technology advertising, public relations, and new media. The agency is headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut, USA, with an office in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The Stevie® Awards have announced the ten executives who are chairing the specialized final judging committees for its 11th Annual International Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the world.

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

The ten committee selections are based on the categories that will be judged

COMPANY/ORGANIZATION AWARDS CHAIR
Chair: Kim Dong-soo, Ph.D., Director
KOBACO (Korea Broadcast Advertising Corp.), Seoul, South Korea

Dr. Kim joined the Korean Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) in1979 and served as vice minister from 2007-2008.  During his 30 years at the MIC, he designed and implemented Korean policy for information and communications technology (ICT), and is especially credited with developing ICT services in Korea. Dr. Kim is one of the world’s pioneers in ICT services.

More recently, Dr. Kim has worked as a senior adviser at the law firm of Gwang-jang in Seoul, providing policy and legal consulting services in ICT, Media, and Broadcasting for governments and private enterprises. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors at the KOBACO (Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation).

Dr. Kim was awarded the Hongjo-geunjeong Order (2003) and the Geun-jeong Merit Medal (1988) from the Korean nation for his successful leadership and development of the national informatization policy. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from Cheong-ju University and a Master’s Degree in public administration at Seoul National University. He also earned a Master’s Degree in policy science at the University of Wisconsin (Madison). In 2008, Dr. Kim received a Doctorate in public administration at Sungkyunkwan University’s College of Information and Communication Engineering.

MANAGEMENT/INDIVIDUAL AWARDS CHAIR
Chair: Sinta Kaniawati, Director, Unilever Indonesia Foundation
PT. Unilever Indonesia Tbk., Jakarta, Indonesia

Sinta Kaniawati started her career in the corporate world in 1990 when she joined Unilever Indonesia as a management trainee. She built tremendous skills in market research, marketing for national and international brands, and customer development, and was assigned a senior position at Unilever Indonesia Foundation in 2007. Unilever Indonesia Foundation focuses on improving health, hygiene, and nutrition; reducing environmental impact; and improving livelihood through sustainable socio-economic programs with the community.

Since 2009, Sinta has served as a Board Member of Indonesian Business Links and is a former executive team member of the Indonesian National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. She was named Secretary General of the Indonesian Global Compact Network in 2010, and again in 2014; and she is a member of The International Society of Sustainability Professionals.

Sinta Kaniawati was born in Bandung, Indonesia. She completed her degree at Bogor Agriculture Institute. Despite a busy professional career, Sinta has a wide range of interests.  She loves music and is active in a variety of social organizations such as Bina Antarbudaya (the Indonesian Foundation for Intercultural Learning), and Toastmasters International.  She is also an enthusiastic leadership and communications trainer. Sinta is a LEAD Indonesia Fellow (cohort 15) and has been a presenter at The Climate Reality Project.

She is married with a young son and daughter.

IT/NEW PRODUCT & PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AWARDS CHAIR
Chair: Christine K. Buck, Global Brand Manager
Accenture, Chicago, USA

As Global Brand Manager for Accenture, Christine is responsible for developing and executing Accenture’s global brand strategy, developing brand programs, and overseeing key initiatives related to strengthening and protecting the Accenture brand.

Christine brings over 17 years of sales and marketing expertise in the financial services and software industries to Accenture, along with deep international expertise. Prior to joining Accenture in 2012, she was the International Marketing Director for Morningstar, Inc., a global investment research and technology firm. In this leadership role, she successfully developed and led global marketing and sales operations across 26 countries in EMEA, Latin America, Canada, and Asia-Pacific. She was appointed to serve on several corporate committees, including the corporate social media steering committee, which was responsible for establishing Morningstar’s global strategy and policies.

Before joining Morningstar in 2005, she served as a regional Sales Program Manager at Bank of America Global Finance managing key technology client accounts such as Oracle, Netscape, and Software AG. Christine began her career in Dublin, Ireland, working for Microsoft Corporation as a Software License Analyst for the Benelux market.

Passionate about giving back to the community, Christine is involved in many civic and charitable organizations. She is the Vice President of the A.N. and Pearl G. Barnett Family Foundation of Chicago. She launched a pilot research program in 2011, in coordination with the Anschutz Medical School in Denver, to develop a vaccine for Multiple Sclerosis. She is a Luminary Circle member of StepUp, the national women’s organization, and served as a Director for the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education from 2003 to 2011. 

Christine graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in French Studies and in Anthropology.

MARKETING AWARDS CHAIR
Chair: Luke D'Arcy, Chief Marketing Officer
Momentum WW, New York, NY

Luke D’Arcy joined Momentum as Marketing Director in 2003, helping the agency grow its profile and new business performance nationally and internationally with wins like Bacardi, BMW MINI, Kraft, and Intel.

A marketing professional for the past 18 years, Luke began his agency career as New Business Director for network agency Euro RSCG, twice seeing the shop win Marketing Week’s Agency of the Year award, and picking up wins like Microsoft, Diageo, and PepsiCo with assignments across 40 countries.

In 2006, Luke became a Partner of leading global independent agency Iris Worldwide with 14 offices around the world. He led the global new business, PR, and marketing of the agency, culminating with international account wins like Hertz, Volkswagen, Shell, and ING. This period also saw the agency twice voted UK agency of the Year, APAC Agency of the Year, and one of The Sunday Times Top 10 places to work.

A call from Virgin proved too good to pass up and Luke moved client side as Partnership Director for Virgin, helping Sir Richard Branson and the team raise £40 million in six months to launch the Virgin Racing team and build the brand in the competitive world of Formula 1.

Luke rejoined Momentum in 2010 as a member of its European Board. He was promoted to the global role of Chief Growth Officer in 2011, and to the global board as Chief Marketing Officer in 2013. Recent agency wins include Diageo, US Postal Service, Unilever, GoDaddy, United Airlines, and Porsche.

Luke sits on the 4A’s New Business Committee, is an IPG business mentor, and is also an international industry speaker on topics like sport, shopper, and agency growth strategies.

HUMAN RESOURCES AWARDS CHAIR
Chair: Adrian Harvey, CEO
Elephants Don't Forget Ltd, London, United Kingdom.

On Independence Day (July 4^th) 2011, Adrian Harvey and the former Eon Finance Director, Dan Gray, formed Green Giraffe Energy Bankers, a specialist advisory boutique focused on the renewable energy section, as a vehicle that would allow them to pursue their passion for doing great business. They also found the time to write and publish their first business self-help book: The Elephant in the Boardroom.

The fact that employees forget as much as 80% of what they learn in training within the first 30 days has cost businesses in the UK hundreds of millions of pounds every year. Adrian and Dan saw that what was needed was a low-cost tool that continually assessed actual employee knowledge levels, identified knowledge gaps, and automatically retrained what had been forgotten, thereby ensuring employees had the knowledge they needed to excel.

On March 4, 2013—after 18 months of R&D and testing—Adrian and Dan launched the knowledge-retention company Elephants don't forget. The star of the business is an intelligent employee knowledge-retention App called “Nelly.” Companies utilize Nelly to optimize the effectiveness of their L&D spend.

Recently, the pair set up Panama Green Fuels (PGF), based in Panama, Central America, as a Social Enterprise. PGF is destined to transform the lives of thousands of rural Panamanians. Part funded by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Dan and Adrian are creating the bio-infrastructure necessary for Panama to 'grow its own diesel' and at the same time regenerate thousands of hectares of degraded land. The Panamanian-based management runs the day-to-day business operations leaving Dan and Adrian free to concentrate on Elephants don’t forget and a niche contact center optimization software, Motiv8 Solutions.

On being appointed Chair of the Human Resources Awards Final Judging Committee in The 2014 international Business Awards, Adrian commented: “This is a relevant and much-needed recognition forum. I would recommend it to any organization that believes they have best-in-class capability in any of the judging criteria.”

CREATIVE/CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS & PR AWARDS CHAIR
Chair: Jon Dobinson, Chief Executive
Other Creative Limited, London, United Kingdom

Jon Dobinson founded other in 1997 and it has grown to become one of the UK’s most exciting and innovative creative companies: working on important international campaigns for multinationals like Unilever; helping charities and not-for-profit organizations raise over £65m in funds by effective creative communication; and developing innovative new services like the creative research tool PreProven.

While developing other’s capabilities in interactive TV advertising through its subsidiary Phosphorus, Jon chaired conferences on the future of television in New York and London, and contributed to the development of the European Union’s Television Without Frontiers directive, which controls the regulation of TV across the EU and EFTA.

Prior to founding other, Jon was a Creative Director at major UK agencies. In 1989-1993, during a period freelancing, he was Secretary General of the International Society for Human Rights in the UK. In this capacity, he helped to bring the issue of human rights abuses in the former Yugoslav republics to global attention, making front page news around the world and contributing to the early deployment of UN peacekeepers in Kosovo—a move now recognized as having saved countless lives.

Jon is an awarded member of D&AD. He has won a number of Gold Stevies in the Creative and Communications categories of The International Business Awards, most recently in 2014. His work has achieved similar recognition from other international awards organizations including the New York Festivals, the Rev Awards, the Telly Awards, AFDESI, and the Digital Awards. Last year, other also won in several categories of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, including a Gold Stevie with Unilever for Best Global Campaign, and a Bronze Stevie for Most Innovative Company.

Jon lives just outside London while at work, and at Dinan in France when he can slip away. He has two children, Lucie and William, and Lucie recently joined other as a writer.

On being asked to Chair the Creative/Corporate Communications & PR Final Judging Committee, Jon told us he was “delighted to be invited to chair one of the judging panels for the International Business Awards and to help in giving recognition to outstanding people and results in business from around the world. The International Business Awards stands alone in celebrating the best achievements from the world of global business.”

CREATIVE MEDIA (WEBSITES/APPS/LIVE EVENTS/VIDEO) AWARDS CHAIR
Chair: Masahisa Tsukada, CEO
DIPLO Data Service Inc., Osaka, Japan

Masahisa Tsukada has been involved with the planning and distribution aspects of establishing MODRIC Inc. in Japan for 10 years. Until 2000 he was also the founding director of Izumi CATV Inc. (a third sector company) at Izumi Cable TV (Now J:Com Kansai Inc.).

Currently, Mr. Tsukada is a corporate group board member for a number of companies, including DIPLO Data Service Inc., Mainichi Inc., and LICENSE JAPAN Inc. He is also a program evaluator for J:Com Kansai Inc., a special advisor for Izumi Young Entrepreneurs Group (Osaka prefecture), and he is a member of the Izumi South Rotary Club Japan.

 

CREATIVE MEDIA (ANNUAL REPORTS & OTHER PUBLICATIONS) AWARDS CHAIR
Chair: Rachel Deutsch, Principal/Creative Director
The Design Channel, Chevy Chase, Maryland, USA

Rachel Deutsch has worked in the branding, advertising, and marketing communications field for over twenty years, working for local agencies and later running her own agency. She has been responsible for strategizing numerous award-winning campaigns for local and national organizations in education, technology, healthcare, and government markets. Rachel is currently Principle and Creative Director at The Design Channel in Washington DC.  Some of the accounts she has worked on include CareerBuilder, Blackboard, Children's National Medical Center, Howard University, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Wright Manufacturing

 

CUSTOMER SERVICE/SUPPORT AWARDS CHAIR
Chair: Steve Bujouves, Director of Support
FreshBooks, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Steve Bujouves is the Director and Head of Support at FreshBooks, a cloud accounting specialist for small business owners. Steve is passionate about providing extraordinary experiences for customers and also championing the positive and fun Support Team culture at the company. 

The FreshBooks mission is: Execute on Extraordinary Experiences Everyday. Based in Toronto and founded in 2003, the company’s aim is to allow small business owners to save time on paperwork so they can spend that time on doing things they love with their family and friends.  Steve has been with FreshBooks since its early days and has helped to scale Support from a small (but mighty!) group to a large team that handles over a quarter of a million customer cases a year. 

Steve’s focus is on ensuring the highest level of quality and service for FreshBooks customers. His tenure at FreshBooks has enabled Steve to experience rapid growth first-hand. He learned early in his career that one of the biggest factors in a highly functioning Support Team was the culture and personal development of the team itself. Steve is focused on maintaining a healthy culture of growth and development, which promotes exceptionally happy team members and, in return, exceptionally happy customer experiences.

Steve mentors and advises several start-ups. He was honored to win the Gold Stevie Award for Customer Support Manager of the Year in the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and was able to lead his team to win the 2012 and 2013 Front-line Customer Support Team of the Year and the 2014 Customer Service Management Team of the Year.

KOREAN-LANGUAGE FINAL JUDGING COMMITTEE CHAIR
Chair: Hung Ki Kim
President
Korea Business Communicators Association, Seoul, South Korea

Hung Ki Kim is a full-time Instructor at the Korea Broadcasting Advertising Corporation Training Institute, Hangyeore Cultural Center, Hangyeong Academy, and the Korea Magazine Institute. He runs a Public Relations Course offered by the Korea Productivity Center, and he is a professor on a course for Chief Communications Officer and Administration Publicity at Gangwon-do Officials Training Institute. Other PR courses in which he is involved are run at the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the National Institute of Professional Administration, the Central Election Management Committee Training Institute, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology Training Institute, Busan Human Resources Development Center, and the Gyeonggi-do Human Resources Development Center. Kim has also been an Instructor at the Faculty of Communications and Media of Sookmyung Women’s University, and a visiting professor at the Department of Advertising Creation at Cheongju University.

Kim is an advisor to the Korea PR Association, and he is a member of the Korea Advertising Society, Korea Association for Advertising and Public Relations, and Korea Free Literary Persons Association. He is also a consultant to the Seoul Government, the Korean National Tuberculosis Association, the Road Traffic Safety Authority, the Korean Academy of Nursing, the Presidential Social Integration Commission, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, and the Ministry of Environment Public Relations (Evaluation).

In addition to being a judge for The International Business Awards, Kim has also been a member of the Moscow International Advertising Festival judging panel.

Final results of this year's IBA will be announced on August 13.

Missed your chance to enter this year's International Business Awards?  Here's a solution...

Cynthia Good is the founder and CEO of Little PINK Book, and is chair of the final judging committee for the media awards categories in the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run. We asked Cynthia about her experience as a Stevie Award winner, the value of awards programs for women in business, and what inspires her.

Here’s what Cynthia had to say about being a Final Judging Committee Chair, and her own experience of winning a Stevie Award:

“I personally value the invitation to chair one of this year's final judging committees.   At PINK, we have found that whenever we contacted our friends - all senior level women, at Walmart, HP, Accenture, Estee Lauder, Ahava, JPMorgan Chase, and UPS - they were thrilled to join the committee to judge the Stevie Awards.  It speaks volumes about the Stevie Awards organization that some of the most prominent women at many of the world's top companies are willing to take the time to be part of this.  It also shows the commitment their own organizations have to helping women succeed.

“The Stevie Awards have a great reputation and many longtime partners of PINK also participate. We have been excited to share the work PINK has done and to be recognized for the hard work the team at PINK has put in over the years to tell the story about women, career, and advancement.

“At PINK we were especially pleased to have received the Gold Stevie Award in the website awards category for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012) from the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. I’m so proud of the PINK team. It is their hard work that resulted in this recognition. And we all appreciate the support given by the Stevie Awards to organizations working to promote women in business.” 

We asked Cynthia for some advice on what Corporate America can do to expand the roles of women and minorities in the workplace.  Here’s what she told us:

“In our work with corporations to advance women and minorities we’ve found that most companies rely primarily on mentoring, networking, affinity groups, and sponsorship programs as the means of advancing diversity; but this isn’t enough to change the metrics.

“At most companies, diversity engagement becomes the responsibility of the HR and Diversity departments in order to make sure a company is compliant and that minority employees have a sounding board. But this does not drive real change and may even contribute to a continuation of the status quo.

“How to fix it?  What we at PINK have found is often lacking is full endorsement from the top. Once the CEO of a company decides to measure and then increase diversity participation in leadership roles, then we can bring about real change.

“At PINK, we will only work with companies to increase diversity leadership when there is full support and direction from the top. This makes it far easier for Diversity and HR to set--and then achieve--specific goals.

“Advancement within a company or organization requires not just the full participation of the individual diversity candidate: it means finding out what each candidate is most passionate about; what the obstacles to advancement are; and what it will take to overcome those obstacles.”

When asked for her sources of inspiration, Cynthia told us:

“Eighty percent of those in PINK’s community say they advanced in their career because of Little PINK Book. It is those individual stories of inspiration that keep us motivated and excited to get up every morning.

“You can read one example in a recent feature story we ran on America’s Top 10 Female CFOs.  Another was the Facebook Contest we organized that gave one contestant a week at Canyon Ranch Spa for sharing how she had found the ‘courage to do what she loves.’ We also share the wisdom of women leaders every year at our signature events.  The next one, our 9^th Annual Fall Empowerment Event, is November 12 in Atlanta, and we will be live-streaming it free for women around the world to watch, learn, and be as inspired as we are by these leaders’ stories of triumph.”

2013 Judging and Awards Dinner and Ceremonies:

The final judging committees of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business are currently determining the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the winners. In addition to the media categories, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business final judging committees will also confer marketing awards, new product awards, management awards, company awards, and PR awards. The awards will be announced and presented, and the recipients and judges will be celebrated, at the 2013 (10th annual) awards dinner and ceremonies. The dinner will be held on Friday, November 8 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, New York City. Tickets are still available.

About Cynthia Good:
Cynthia Good is the founder and CEO of Little PINK Book, America's #1 digital platform for career women. PINK launched in 2005 as the only national women's business magazine, which under Cynthia’s leadership grew to a readership of 650,000. She then grew the digital version, LittlePINKBook.com, into America's top online resource for working women. Now she's bringing advancement directly to Fortune 500 companies with programs such as ITAP (Identify, Track, Advance, Promote), enabling corporate America to increase the diversity representation of women and minorities in leadership roles. "It's our legacy work," says AIG.

PINK has won numerous industry honors including the Ozzie Award for Best Feature, and the Gold Stevie for Best Website from the Stevie Awards for Women in Business for two consecutive years. Stories featuring top women in business on LittlePINKBook.com continue to inspire generations of ambitious women. Cynthia has written six books and appears regularly as a women's business expert on evening newscasts. She gives speeches to corporate and entrepreneurial groups alike, including The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, McKesson, Andrews Kurth, Hilton Worldwide, Deloitte, and KPMG.

A self-described Famillionaire, Cynthia knows riches are in family. She lives in Atlanta, GA, USA with her husband of more than 20 years and their two sons, Alden and Julien; two miniature horses; four chickens; and Lucy their giant orange cat.

About Little PINK Book:
Little PINK Book describes itself as:  “Your daily dose of encouragement and inspiration to follow your dreams and have the beautiful career and beautiful life you deserve.”  For more information, go to www.littlepinkbook.com.