Thanks to the 2017 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service Preliminary Judges

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Jan 31, 2017 @ 03:37 PM

The following professionals participated in preliminary judging of the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service from November 2016 through January.  Their average scores determined the 2017 Finalists.  We thank them for their time, insights and support.

The 11th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service gala is on Friday, February 24 where winners will be announced. Tickets for the Las Vegas ceremony are on sale now.

iStock_000064097091_Large.jpg

Asburche Adalan, Business and Sales Development Mgr., DHL Express US, Miami, FL USA
Amit Kumar Agarwal, Sr Manager, FarePortal India Pvt. Ltd, Gurgaon, Haryana India
Shelly Alder, Manager, Domestic Customer Service, J.R. Simplot Company, Boise, ID USA
Scott Anschuetz, CEO, Visualize-Inc, Birmingham, MI USA
David Araujo, Direct Sales Supervisor, DHL Express São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Benj Arriola, SEO Director, Myers Media Group, San Diego, NC USA
Bilal Asci, Customer Value Group Manager, n11.com, Istanbul, Turkey
Ronald Joseph, Avecilla Process Auditor, Globe Telecom, Manila, Philippines
Stuart Bankey Manager, Community Management Rackspace,San Antonio, TX USA
Mike Bare, CEO, BARE International, Washington DC USA
Nick Broadbent, VP Global Support, DataCore Software, Reading, United Kingdom
Randi Busse, President Workforce Development Group, Inc., Massapequa Park, NY USA
Pembe Candaner, Founder, President, JobzMall, Tustin, CA USA
Lucia Caron, Manager, Customer Support, Verint Systems Inc., Herndon,VA USA
Beth Castro, AVP - Commercial Enablement, AT&T, Houston, TX USA
Joe Cherian, Regional Vendor Manager, Vonage, Chennai, Tamilnadu,India
Brian Correia, Director, Sales & Client Services, Solstice Dental & Vision, Plantation, FL USA
Marc Cowan, Fellow at the Institute of Supply Chain Management, Dolphin International, United Kingdom
Emilia D'Anzica, VP, Customer Engagement, WalkMe, San Francisco, CA USA
Robyn Davis, Trade Show Strategy Specialist, When I Need Help, Columbia, SC USA
Luis Deza, General Manager, Canto Rodado Consulting, Miraflores, Lima, Peru
Sheryl Dobson, Director of Customer Support, J2 Global Cloud Services, Ottawa, ON Canada
Alan Dowler, Operations Manager, Hamilton Jewelers, Princeton, NJ USA
Eve Dumovich, Publisher, Snowline Publishing, Ashford, WA USA
Caroline Edwards, Consumer Information Centers Product Manager, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee, Chattanooga, TN USA
Andrew J. "Flip" Filipowski, Executive Chairman & CEO, SilkRoad Technology, Winston, Salem NC USA
Shannon Gregg, Director, Sales Operations, TeleTracking,Pittsburgh, PA USA
Tara Griffin, Senior Solutions Consultant, Genesys, Flagler Beach, FL USA
Heidi Guzman, MBA, Consorcio Kairos, VILLAHERMOSA, Tabasco, Mexico
Nabyl Hassain, Director of Telesales, DHL, Miami, FL USA
Mary Henson, Membership Care Coordinator, United States Equestrian Federation, Lexington, KY USA
Deepak Kumar, Hotkar Manager, Jasper Industries Private Limited, Hyderabad, Telangana,India
Lin Hui Kai, Deputy Manager, Cathay Life Insurance Co., Ltd Taipei, Taiwan
Adam Ihrig, Business Analyst, JPMorgan Chase, Heathrow, FL USA
Linden Ingram, EVP Sales, Imparta Inc, Austin, TX USA
Joann Kay, Customer Care Director, GraduationSource, Port Chester, NY USA
UMUT KECECIOGLU, Mobile Services Manager, Yapi Kredi Bankacilik Üssü, Kocaeli, Turkey
Tony Keesee, Director of Customer Care, VPay, Richardson, TX USA
Joshua Kelley, Supervisor, Leadership Operations Training, MTM, Inc., West St Paul, MN USA
Kathy Leckey, Vice President of Marketing, SomethingNew, New York, NY USA
Sandra Lynch, Account Manager, John Hancock, Boston, MA USA
David Madacsi, Senior Technical Customer Support Engineer, GrassValley, Lakewood, CO USA
Wessam Massoud, Programme Delivery Manager, Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Center (ADSIC), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Rowena Maxwell, Senior Manager, Accenture, London, United Kingdom
Judy Mod, Founder, CEO, Chief Adoption Officer, RevenueSphere, Atlanta, GA USA
Anni Mollett, SVP, Senior Credit Products Manager, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Dallas,TX USA
Thomas Moor, Global Director, Strategy and Planning, Sartomer (a business unit of Arkema), Exton, PA USA
Ann Moreth, Sr. Customer Service Engagement Manager, UPMC Health Plan, Pittsburgh, PA USA
Jason Morris, Director of Operations, SRS|Acquiom LLC, Denver, CO USA
Rajendran Nair, VP, Marketing, Rootstock Software, Fremont,CA USA
Tracy Neiser, Customer Service Manager, Active Exhaust Corp., Toronto, ON Canada
Ken Overly, Vice President, Operations, EFG Companies, Dallas, TX USA
Kadir Mustafa, OZTURK Executive Vice President / ADC & Digital Banking Solution Projects, Intertech Bilgi Islem ve Pazarlama Ticaret A.S.,Istanbul, Sisli, Turkey
Leticia Padilla, Corporate Recognition and Citizenship, Concentrix, Fremont, CA USA
Lou Reinemann, Director, Customer Care, SmartBear Software, Somerville, MA USA
RJ Riemer, VP Support Operations, VIZIO, Inc., Dakota Dunes, SD USA
Toni Roberts, VP, Customer Service & Operations, Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio & Indiana, Farmington Hills, MI USA
Vicki Rollins, Sales Operations & Marketing Professiona, Glenaden Homes, Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada
Sharon Rudd, Organisational Development & Sales Consultant, TNT, Mascot, NSW, Australia
Stu Schlackman, Owner, Competitive Excellence,Richardson, TX USA
Paula Seeger, Library Technician 2, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, OR USA
Randy Selleck, Sr. Director, Call Center Operations, Assurant Solutions, Atlanta, GA USA
Bill Shelton, Senior Vice President, USHEALTH Advisors, Grapevine, TX USA
Melda Sofuoglu, Channel Experience & Operations Development Manager, Call Center Operations & Experience & Development, Istanbul, Turkey
Andrzej Szczepaniak, Deputy Director, Central Settlement Services Bank, Zachodni WBK S.A., Poznan, PA Poland
Will Tarrant, Managing Partner, Service Metrics Group, Plano, TX USA
Asli Tas KAYABAS, Psychologist, Trainer, Founding Partner, Awards Consultant, Kuzey Academy, Istanbul, Turkey
Özge Tekalp, Director, Türk Ekonomi Bankasi A.S, Istanbul, Turkey
Julie Thomas, President & CEO, ValueSelling Associates, Rancho Santa Fe, CA USA
Kelly Thomas, Assistant Vice President, Transfer Agent, OppenheimerFunds, Inc., Centennial, CO USA
Irem Tuzunalper, Founder & CEO, EXTRA Loyalty Solutions Co., Istanbul, Turkey
Lori Van Dyke, Manager, Customer Care, Access One Inc,Chicago, IL USA
Chris Vasan, Communcations Lead, Cisco Systems, Inc., Raleigh Triangle Park, NC USA
Madalina Vilau, Managing Director, Expo Media, Bucharest, Romania
Sunil Wadhwa, VP - Customer Success, Druva, Sunnyvale, CA USA
Charles White, Principal Administrator, International relations officer (retired), European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
Nicolette Wuring, Managing Director, Customer Management Services, Amstelveen, Netherlands

Topics: customer service awards, judging, Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, sales awards, judges

Meet the Preliminary Judges of the 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Wed, Oct 05, 2016 @ 10:57 AM

The following professionals participated in first-round judging of the 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Businessin September - October 2016.  Their average scores determined the nominations that were eligible to be included in final judging, that would ultimately be named Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.  We thank them for their time, interest and insights. Stevie Awards for Women in Business finalists will be announced on October 6, 2016.

Lisa Abeyta, Founder/CEO, APPCityLife, Inc., Albuquerque, NM USA

Lara Abrams, Managing Member, Lara Abrams Communications, LLC, Lexington, KY USA

Nicole Y. Adams , Marketing, PR and Corporate Communications Translator, NYA Communications, Bellbird Park, QLD Australia

Women_in_Biz_7-1.jpgAhmed Alhai, BRM Specialist, ADCO, Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates

Huda Al-Husaini , Associate Engineer, Jordan Engineers Association, Shmisani, Amman Jordan

Marcie Allen, CEO, MAC Presents. New York, NY USA

Maria Bailey, CEO, Blue Suit Mom Media, Miami, FL USA

Janet Beale, Managing Director, Sytor Enterprises Pty Ltd, East Lindfield, NSW Australia

Deb Birnbaum, Strategic Initiatives and Continuous Quality Improvement Professional, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN USA

Jennifer Bonham, Director, Marketing & Sales Strategy, Envolve, Inc., St. Louis, MO USA

Yvonne Borg, SVP, E.ON Nordic, Malmo Sweden

Deborah Bowie, CCE, IOM, President/CEO, United Way of North Central Florida, Gainesville FL USA

Marcia Brand, President, Creative Marketing Concepts, Inc., Alexandria, VA USA

Khobi Brooklyn, Communications, Tesla Motors, San Francisco, CA USA

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing, Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Rigaud, QC Canada

Carolin Buchardt, CEO and Founder, CB Praxisberatung, Heidelberg Germany

Valerie Burke, Director of Digital Media and SEO, Sundance Vacations, Wilkes-Barre, PA USA

Beverly Butler, Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo, San Francisco, CA USA

Krista Canfield, Founder, Food Water Shoes, San Francisco, CA USA

Deb Carr, Founder, Sydney Lifestyle Blog, Sydney, NSW Australia

Alexandra Cearns, Creative Director / Owner, Houndstooth Studio, Perth Australia

Viola Manuela Ceccarini, TV PERSONALITY, PRODUCER, COLUMNIST AND WRITER, LIVEIN-STYLE MAGAZINE, SEVENPRESS.COM, TELEVIVA HOUSTON, DEAMINA MAGAZINE, New York, NY USA

Joy Chen, Chairman & CEO, H2O+ Beauty, San Francisco, CA USA

Kim Clark, Principal, Polished Professionals Boston, Boston, MA USA

Robyn Davis, Owner, When I Need Help, Columbia, SC USA

Ana Degani, Regional Director of Customer Service, Americas Region, DHL, Plantation, FL USA

Michele Don Durbin, VP, Inflection, San Jose, CA USA

Eve Dumovich, Editor, Boeing/Snowline Publishing, Ashford, WA USA

Lorretta Gasper, Owner/Principal, Wind Rose Communications, Atlanta, GA USA

Pamela Gharaibeh, Child and Family Therapist, Main Street Therapy for Children and Families, Livonia, MI USA

Barb Girson, President, My Sales Tactics, LLC, New Albany, OH USA

Siki Giunta, Managing Director - Cloud and Infrastructure, Accenture, New York, NY USA

Regina Glick, Director of Marketing, Summit Professional Networks, New York, NY USA

Lisa Goldberg, Director, Marketing Services, VetCentric, Inc., Baltimore, MD USA

Allison Golsby, CEO, ConsultMine, Brisbane Australia

Charity Herb, Online Content Administrator, American Greetings, Cleveland, OH USA

Alison Higgins-Miller, Regional Business Development Manager, International Corporate Advisory PTE LTD, Dural, NSW Australia

Robyne Highsmith, Founder, Teen Dare To Dream Program, Zionsville, IN USA

Joann Hizon, Vice President - Human Resources SM Investments Corp, Pasay City, Philippines

Rebekah Hurworth, Founder and Director, Your Architect, Red Hill, Queensland Australia

Craig Jacobsen, Founder, Open Spaces Marketing, Encinitas, CA USA

Anne Jefferies, Vendor Compliance Manager, AT&T Global Vendor Management, Biggar, United Kingdom

Jess Jones, Founder, Soar Collective, Melbourne, Australia

Dr. Neelima Kamrah, Chairman, KIIT Group of Colleges, Gurgaon, Haryana India

Michelle King, Senior Director, Legal Operations, Intralinks, New York, NY USA

Renée Knee, Customer Success Executive, Self-employed, San Rafael, CA USA

Shamina Krishna, Manager, Training Department, Smart Reader® Worldwide Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, AL Malaysia

Jill Liberman, Founder, Videoglobetrotter, Inc., Boca Raton, FL USA

Sarah Lippincott, Digital Marketing & Public Relations Professional, Tigercomm, Washington, DC USA

Theresa Mack, Owner, PowerUp Partners, Torrance, CA USA

Lisa MacKenzie, President, MacKenzie Marketing Group, Portland, OR USA

Rachel Maleh, Deputy Director, American Heart Association, Arlington, VA USA

Scott Maloney, CEO/Co-Founder, BowTie, Albuquerque, NM USA

Francesca Masoero, CEO and co-Founder, STREAM magazine, Cumiana, TO Italy

Karen Mayfield, Division Lending Executive at Citi, Citi Bank, San Francisco, CA USA

Renie McClay, Project Manager, Caveo Learning, Ozark, MO USA

Robin McCoy-Ramirez, Owner, SoothEaze, Boston, MA USA

Karen McFadzen, Director and co-Owner, Vision Training Australia, Sydney, NSW Australia

Kim McGann, Founder, Wedding Entrepreneurs Academy, Nelson Bay, NSW Australia

Carolyn Melby, President, Carolyn B. Melby, Skin Specialist llc, Chandler, AZ USA

Shar Moore, Editor-in-Chief, YWoman, Wellington Point, Queensland Australia

Jason Morris, Director, SRS Acquiom, Denver, CO USA

Jennifer Morrison, Director of Marketing & Talent Management, H&S Enterprises, Los Angeles, CA USA

Danielle Mullin, Site Coordinator, EmCare, Fort Smith, AR USA

Balaji Nagabhushan, Group Chief Administrative Officer, Tristar Transport LLC, Dubai, NH United Arab Emirates

Rajendran Nair, VP, Marketing, Rootstock Software, San Ramon, CA USA

Mandy Nembs, Founder               , Capillus Distribution LLC, New York, NY USA

Carey-Ann Oestreicher, CEO, Potential Unlimited, Burlington, ON Canada

Lorraine O'Neill, Dr, The EPI Centre Australia Pty Ltd, Parrearra, Australia

Görkem Özkan, HR Professional, HR, Ankara, Turkey

Kaan ÖZSÖKMEN, Owner, K-Tex Sourcing & Buying Agency, Istanbul, Turkey

Liz Palmer, President and CEO, Liz Palmer Media Group Inc., Toronto, ON Canada

M Carmen Paz, Founder, Director of Program Management, Page One Guru, Austin, TX USA

Christine Pietryla, Consultant, Freelance , Pietryla PR & Marketing LLC, Chicago, IL USA

Fabi Preslar, President, SPARK Publications, Matthew, NC USA

Jesintha Rajaratnam, Managing Partner, Money Garden, Bangalore, Karnataka India

Shenan Reed, President of Digital, North America, MEC, New York, NY USA

Dennis Reno, Corporate Vice President, Customer Success, Proofpoint, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA USA

June Ressler, President & CDO, Cenergy, Houston, TX USA

Kelly Roark, Founder & CSO, KPR Strategic Consulting, New York, NY USA

Grace Rodriguez, Co-Founder, Station Houston, Sugar Land, TX USA

Ritzi Ronquillo, Chairman, IABC Phillipines, Manilla, Philippines

Catalina Rousseau, President & CEO, BDR Associates, Bucharest, Romania

Srinivasan Saravanamuthu, Senior Manager, Accenture, Seattle, WA USA

Susan Savage, General Manager , MICROS Fidelio Australia, South Turramurra, IN Australia

Steve Schonberg, Managing Director, K2 Krupp Kommunications, Inc, New York, NY USA

Christine Seymour, Director, Marketing and Communications, John Crane, Norcross, GA USA

Manal Sham, Customer Service Supervisor, DP DHL, Amman, Jordan

Keira Shein, Partner, Shein Strategies, Owings Mills, MD USA

Gary Shumaker, President and CEO, C2 Solutions Group, Inc., Reston, VA USA

Alysia Silberg, COO, Acceleforce, London, United Kingdom

Sylvia Slezak, Director of Marketing & Social Media, Internet Directory, Inc. d/b/a CityOf.com, Corpus Christi, TX USA

Theavy Sok, Partner, Country Club Apiaries, Denver, CO USA

Carla Spain, Director of Marketing & Communications, Holy Names High School, Oakland, CA USA

Vickie Sullivan, Founder and President, Sullivan and Associates, Tempe, AZ USA

Linda Summerton, Managing Director, Advanced Care Australia, Maroochydore, QLD Australia

Aniket Suru, FX & Commodities Programme Manager, HSBC, London, United Kingdom

Shoab Syed, Principal Consultant, Sovnex, Toronto, ON Canada

Alice Takpemongo, Co-Create IKEA Open Innovation Leader, IKEA Group, Brentford, Middlesex United Kingdom

Asli Tas Kayabas, Professional Training & Coaching, Kuzey Academy, Istanbul, Turkey

Julie Taylor, Owner, Business coaching 1-1 LLC, Washington, DC USA

Josie Thomson, CEO, JosieThomson.com, Red Hill, QLD Australia

Katy Thorbahn, Partner, Managing Director, Shiny, Wilmington, DE USA

Lori VanDyke, Manager Customer Care, Access One, Chicago, IL USA

Imal Wagner, President, Phoenix Rising, PR, Gaithersburg, MD USA

Joyce Weiland, President, SoftPro, Raleigh, NC USA

Marci Weisler, Co-Founder/Consultant, MW Advisory, New York, NY USA

Susan Werkner, Managing Director/Founder, Interactive Investor Pty Ltd, Sydney, NSW Australia

Becky Wilson, Chief Visibility Officer, WDS Marketing & PR, Overland Park, KS USA

Kathy Woodard, Communications Specialist, Freelance Writer, Columbus, OH USA

Lori Zaret, Chief Marketing Officer, Bond Consulting, Dallas, TX USA

If you're interested in being a Stevie Awards for Women in Business Judge in 2017, apply below.

Apply Here

Topics: judging, preliminary judging, stevie awards for women in business, awards judging, the stevie awards for women in business

Making Life Better: A Meaningful Mantra from International Business Awards Websites/Apps Judging Committee Chair

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, May 05, 2016 @ 10:12 AM

Simon Hardy, Vice President Brand Experience at FCV Interactive in Vancouver, Canada, has been named as the Chair of the Website & Apps Judging Committee of The 2016 (13th Annual) International Business Awards. FCV won a Gold Stevie Award in the Website Categories of The 2015 International Business Awards for their redesign of the Calgary Transit website.

The 2016 International Business Awards will be accepting entries through June 15, but enter by May 11 to avoid a late entry fee. REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

1605FCV.jpgWe asked Simon about being named Chair, what winning the Gold Stevie Award in 2015 had meant to FCV, and what new developments he thought would most affect how companies do business in the future.

On being named Chair of The 2016 International Business Awards Judging Committee for the Website & App Awards categories, Simon observed: This is a great honor, not only for me, but also for FCV. As we expand across Canada and into the US, it’s really exciting to be a part of The International Business Awards, recognizing work that has genuinely made a difference to an organization or an industry, and–most importantly–resulted in a better user experience.”

A Fantastic Validation
Representatives of FCV attended the 2015 International Business Awards in Toronto last October. On winning the Stevie Award for Best Website in the Transportation category, Simon commented: We’re very proud of the Gold Stevie Award we won for our work with Calgary Transit. It was fantastic validation for a site that has transformed the digital experience for one of Canada’s most complex public transportation networks. But as a user-focused transformation agency, it also shone a spotlight on the wider range of work we’re doing in public transportation, travel and tourism, and digital government services across North America.”


Calgary Transit provides over 100 million trips every year to riders across the Canadian city. Its website had been out of date, difficult to use, and lacking in the important features that customers expect: mobile compatibility, accessibility, real-time updates, and trip planning. Calgary Transit approached FCV to design a responsive, customer-focused, future-proof website that would serve the connected riders’ every need.

Information at the Users’ Fingertips
FCV successfully delivered a mobile-friendly, customer-centric, scalable website that streamlined user tasks and integrated all transit services into one site. Features included: WCAG 2.0 (AA) accessibility, real-time service updates, improved information architecture, and responsive design.

FCV Interactive’s award-winning website for Calgary Transit launched in 2014 and transformed how riders obtained transit information. They can now access a responsively designed website via phone, tablet, and desktop. Real-time transit information is now at the fingertips of almost 20,000 daily mobile transit users.

The Future of Web Development

As an expert in this field, we asked Simon for his thoughts on what new developments in social media and web development businesses should be looking out for.

“The last year has seen a wide adoption of tools like Sketch and InVision, helping our teams to rapidly prototype, test, and iterate.” he told us. “For private and public sector organizations, this agile approach means we can transform user and brand experiences into something more powerful and meaningful much faster.”

Looking into the future, Simon added: “As more and more clients see the power of truly serving their users’ needs in order to meet business goals, I think we’re going to see some really exciting and unexpected solutions.”



Improving Digital Services

According to Simon, his job has changed over the years, but for the better. My job used to be all about persuading people to do things,” he explained. “But over the last 10 years, as we’ve all become more and more empowered, it’s evolved into helping people to do things. Working to constantly improve private and public sector digital services with faster access to more relevant data is incredibly exciting.”

In short, Simon told us: “At FCV, the goal that motivates us across every project is always the same: to create a user-focused experience that makes life better.”

About Simon Hardy:
Simon Hardy is Vice President Brand Experience at FCV Interactive. He leads FCV’s Design, Brand, and Content teams, creating solutions that engage customers and deliver results.

Simon is an award-winning creative director, designer, and copywriter with international experience across digital, print, and TV for brands including Starbucks, Nike, lululemon athletica, and EA Sports.  He also serves on the Digital Design Advisory Board at Vancouver Film School.

About FCV Interactive:
FCV Interactive is a user-focused transformation agency. Every day, FCV redesigns organizations and creates digital services that people love. With over a decade of expertise working with public and private sector clients, FCV delivers experiences that make life better. To learn more, visit fcvinteractive.com.

Topics: judging, app awards, website awards, International business awards, web awards, judges

Stevie Awards for Women in Business Announce Final Judging Chairs

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Sep 29, 2015 @ 05:42 PM

The Stevie Awards are delighted to announce the  five distinguished women who will chair the final judging committees of the 2015 (12th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business competition.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

Finalists in this year's Stevie Awards for Women in Business will be announced on
October 7.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie placements from among the Finalists will be determined in final judging, to begin in late October.  Results will be announced at the 12th annual awards dinner in New York on November 13.  Tickets will go on sale October 7.

The five committee chair selections are based on the categories that will be judged. Final judging chairs helped to form their committees, each of which will be comprised of 10-20 other executives.  Here are this year's final judging committee chairs.

INDIVIDUAL/EXECUTIVE

Elizabeth Schillo, Senior Vice President, Sales
Dice, New York, New York, USA

15-WIB-EXEC-ChairElizabeth Schillo serves as Senior Vice President for Dice and Clearance Jobs, leading all North American sales channels. She oversees account management, new business sales, customer-centric sales communication, sales training, new product sales, and strategic partnerships for business development to generate annual results of over $130M.

Prior to Dice, she held sales leadership roles with CareerBuilder, Ann Taylor, and McKesson Information Systems. Over the past thirteen years, Elizabeth has demonstrated her ability to lead multi-channel sales teams and to drive results. Her passion for training, leadership, and serving customers has enabled her teams to develop strong customer relationships.

Elizabeth holds an MA from Wheaton College and a BA in Communication and Psychology from Lee University.

INDIVIDUAL/ENTREPRENEUR AND MARKETING

Amber Olson Rourke, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer
Nerium International, Addison, Texas, USA

Amber Olson Rourke leads a team that is responsible for all of Nerium International’s™ branding, creative services, communications, public relations, events, digital marketing, and social media. As a member of the core executive team, Amber helped set and execute the strategy that led Nerium to be the youngest company ever to earn a place on the Direct Selling News Global 100 List in 2013, as well as receiving the prestigious Bravo Growth Award from Direct Selling News for hitting $100 million in sales during its first full year of business. In 2014, Amber was recognized as a 40 Under 40 by Direct Marketing News, and has also been profiled alongside Nerium International’s other top executives in both Direct Selling News and SUCCESS from Home magazines.

15-WIB-ENTR_MARKET-ChairAmber also plays a key role in Nerium International’s culture and helps drive the company vision of “Making People Better.” She assisted in developing Nerium’s core values and leads a corporate culture committee which ensures that the core values are represented throughout the company. She launched a partnership between Nerium International™ and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, spearheading a fundraising effort that yielded over $500,000 in one year. She has also established a partnership with the Success Foundation to host teen workshops across the country. These workshops teach kids the skills needed to achieve their dreams. To date, thousands of teens have attended these free workshops.

Amber is enthusiastic about helping people achieve their dreams—especially women. A frequent keynote speaker at Nerium events, which draw audiences of 10,000 people or more, Amber encourages women to put their “calling before their comfort.” She has hosted women’s workshops and teen workshops across the country and is on the Advisory Board for Live Happy Magazine and the National Acts of Happiness campaign.

COMPANY/ORGANIZATION

Ann Kaplan, CEO & President
iFinance Canada Inc., Toronto, Canada

Ann Kaplan is the CEO and President of iFinance Canada, the parent company to iFinance Home Improvement, Medicard, Petcard, Dentalcard, and Earlybird Pay Day Loans–a national consumer finance Company. She is also the founder of Brix Exchange, Canada’s first Real Estate Crowd Funding Portal, regulated under the Securities Acts.

15-WIB-CO-Chair-BIGGERAn award winning business woman, Ms Kaplan is the recipient of the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award 200 and is currently the winner of the central region for the Award of Excellence, CWEYA award and a finalist for the CWEYA Canada (November 2015); the Peak Award of Excellence in Finance, as well as nine times on the Canada’s Profit 100 list for growth and 9X placement on the Canadian W100 list; she was also recognized as one of Canada’s most inspirational women in 2007 and more recently as one of Canada’s top three Female Business Leaders. Ann has also been named in the WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame 3X and was inducted into the WXN Hall of Fame in 2014 and Recognized with highest honor as Rotman School of Business Top Women in Management/Entrepreneurship, 2015. Internationally, Ann is the recipient of numerous entrepreneurship awards, most recently for Woman of the Year in The 2015 International Business Awards.

Ms. Kaplan has an MBA, MSc, and a Corporate Governance Designation (ICD.d); and she is currently completing her Doctoral Thesis in finance at Henley Business School, University of Reading. Ann sits on three academic boards and committees; she is an eleven delegate with the Ontario Economic Summit; and in 2014 she was a co-chair in finance at the G-20Y summit in Geneva. Ann has hosted three televisions shows, written four books (If You Dont Laugh, Youll Cry, Best Practices, The InterNet, and Fashion Cares), and is often profiled or quoted in the media. She is the mother of eight and resides in Toronto, Canada.

COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA

María Cura, Partner and Managing Director/Barcelona Office
LLORENTE & CUENCA, Madrid, Spain 

15-WIB-PR_MEDIA-ChairMaría Cura joined LLORENTE & CUENCA in April 2010 as Managing Director of the Barcelona office, and has been a Partner in the company since 2012. She has more than 20 years of experience in communications consulting, and has a broad knowledge of managing corporate and marketing communications for leading companies in sectors such as technology, tourism, finance, and pharmaceuticals.

Before joining LL&C, María worked for USP Hospitals as Corporate Director of Marketing and Communications, going on to be made a partner and member of the Executive Committee, and where she set up the CSR Department and the Alex Foundation. Prior to that, she spent five years at communications consultancy Gené & Asociados in Barcelona, representing institutional clients such as the Regional Government of Catalonia, the Government of Andorra, and F.C. Barcelona, amongst others.

María has a law degree from the University of Barcelona.

NEW PRODUCT & SERVICE

Katrinka McCallum, Vice President of Products & Technologies Operations
Red Hat, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

15_WIB_NP_ChairKatrinka McCallum is the vice president of Products & Technologies Operations at Red Hat, a Fortune 500 company with close to $1.8 billion in revenue. Her team provides the operational backbone for Red Hat's product and technology operations, enhancing the development, commercialization, and lifecycle management of the company’s offerings. In addition to ensuring the business units are able to make data driven decisions, she is responsible for engineering operations that ensure development teams have the infrastructure & tools needed to deliver products. She is also responsible for the site management of Red Hat’s R&D facilities in Australia, China, Czech Republic, India, and Israel.

Katrinka describes her career path like a mosaic: up close it may not be clear, yet stepping back it’s a beautiful piece of art. Katrinka has led operations for publicly-traded companies where she has had a variety of responsibilities, including sales, marketing, technical support, product development, IT, HR, finance, operations, and the running of entire business units. She leverages her Wellesley and Duke education, as well as her CPA, as foundational elements for a solid footing in how to ask the types of questions that lead teams in the right direction.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business will continue to accept entries through Friday, October 2. No additional late fees will be charged, and late entries will not be penalized in any way in the judging process. Contact help@stevieawards.com with any questions

Topics: judging, stevie awards, women awards, women in business awards, awards judging, Awards for Women, final judges

Thanks to the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business Preliminary Judges

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Sat, Oct 11, 2014 @ 09:08 AM

The following professionals participated in preliminary judging of the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the top business awards program for women,  in September and October.  Their average scores determined the 2014 Stevie logoFinalists.  We thank them for their time, insights and support.

Husam Mahmoud Abdallah, Sr. Specialist Strategy & Business Excellence, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Lisa Abeyta, Founder/CEO, APPCityLife, Inc., Albuquerque, NM, USA
Huda Al-Husaini, Engineer, Jordan Engineers Association, Jordan
Andrea Archuleta, Director, Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Ascendant Global Technology, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Kausar Asif, Sr.Manager Mktg.Services, Cupola Pakistan Limited, Karachi, Pakistan
Michelle Bart, President, CEO, National Women's Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation (NWCAVE), Vancouver, WA, USA
Janet Beale, Managing Director, Sytor Enterprises Pty Ltd, East Lindfield, NSW, Australia
Talia Beckett, Managing Director, Pink Pearl Public Relations, Canada
Sherry Bellamy, Business Owner, Anythingdomain.com, Centreville, VA, USA
Denise Blasevick, CEO, The S3 Agency, Boonton, NJ, USA
Tya Bolton, CEO / Business & Event Strategist, Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC, Waldorf, MD, USA
Karen Bonsignori, Founder/CEO, FRESH Company USA, Clearwater, FL, USA
Jennifer Braun, Owner & CEO, Type A Events | Festivities, Medina, MN, USA
Jane Bryant, Director, Spire Communications, Potomac Falls, VA, USA
Mj Callaway, Author, Coach, Speaker, Rock More Sales, Delmont, PA, USA
Bev Campbell, Employee Advocate, Bev's Business Services, Kimberley, BC, Canada
Dawn Campbell Giesman, Sr. Marketing Manager, PublicSchoolWORKS, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Deb Carr, Founder, Sydney Lifestyle Blog, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Kim Clark, Principal, Polished Professionals Boston, Boston, MA, USA
Monica Coburn, Vice President, Wells Fargo, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Etta Cohen, Founder, Forward Ladies, Leeds, United Kingdom
Jennifer Commander, Partner and Managing Director, Alexandria Clinical Research Alexandria, VA, USA
Irene Corpuz, Head of Planning & IT Security, Western Region Municipality, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Maria Coyne, Executive VP, KeyBank, Cleveland, OH, USA
Kate Darcy Hohenthal, Founder, The Birthday Club, Manchester, CT, USA
Churchill Dass Prince, Founder CEO, Sales Intellect Company, Chennai, India
Danielle Davenport, Co-Founder South Valley Angels, San Martin, CA, USA
Robyn Davis, Owner, When I Need Help, Lexington, SC, USA
Anna Day, Director, Worldwide Womens Resources, Bicester, South East, United Kingdom
Rochelle Ekanayake, Managing Director, MrPierce Studios International Asia (pvt) LTD, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Lori Ericson, Product Planning and Development, Epicor Software Denver, CO, USA
Joy Lynn Fields, President, Joy Lynn, Inc., GA, USA
Kharma Finley-Wallace, Principal, Hoverfly Media, Washington DC, USA
Lynette Flowers, CEO, Flowers Powers Girls, USA
Susan Flynn-Doyle, Co-Owner, SFD Couture Formal Wear, New York, NY, USA
Lorretta Gasper, Owner/Principal, Wind Rose Communications, Atlanta, GA, USA
Manoj Gautam, MR Om Shiva Shakti, Herbal Company, Kathmandu, Nepal
Linda Ginac, CEO, TalentGuard, Austin, TX, USA
Barb Girson, President, My Sales Tactics, LLC, New Albany, OH, USA
Regina Glick, Director of Marketing, Summit Business Media, New York, NY, USA
Charity Herb, Online Content Administrator, American Greetings, Cleveland, OH, USA
Kimberly Howard Vice President, Creative Director, The Thomas Collective, New York, NY, USA
Jennifer Hrycyszyn, Vice President, Greenough, Boston, MA, USA
Craig Jacobsen, Founder, Open Spaces Marketing, Vista, CA, USA
Monika Jaslowska, Corporate Communications, Polpharma, Warsaw, Poland
Anne Jefferies, Vendor Compliance Manager, AT&T Global Vendor Management, Biggar, United Kingdom
Brigitte Johnson, APR, Communications Manager, Enterprise Community Partners, Columbia, MD, USA
JP Jones, Owner, Paige1Media, Lawerenceburg, TN, USA
Rebecca Jones, Owner, bScene Marketing Solutions, Miami, FL, USA
Rose Jurczewski, Owner, Funxion Fuzion, Roselle, IL, USA
Nancy Justice, Global Customer Service Manager, Braiform, Asheville, NC, USA
Laura Kerr, Principal Business Analyst, Sabre Airline Solutions, Southlake, TX, USA
Datin Sri Dato', Dr. Wang Kim Ha, Group Executive Director, Smart Reader® Worldwide Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Shamina Krishna Manager, Training Department, Smart Reader® Worldwide Sdn. Bhd. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tammy Kronawitter, Executive Assistant, Clear Decisions, Mitcham, SA, Australia
Iwona Kubicz, President of the Board, Procontent, Warsaw, Poland
Jill Liberman, Founder, Videoglobetrotter Inc., Boca Raton, FL, USA
Vanessa Lindeberg, Account Manager, OnStrategy, Reno, NV, USA
Natalie Lowde, Founder Director, #Changetheratio, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Susan Lynch, EVP & CFO, Global Information Solutions Division, Hitachi Data Systems, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Anil Machado, Managing Director, Tnell Sieradz, Poland
Morag Malloy, Managing Director, Fission Creative, Paisley, United Kingdom
Carol Marx, Past President, American Agri-Women, Rickreall, OR, USA
Donald Mazzella, COO, Information Strategies, Inc., Ridgefield NJ, USA
Robin McCoy-Ramirez, Owner, SoothEaze, Boston, MA, USA
Elaine Metlin, Senior Partner, Dickstein Shapiro, Washington, DC, USA
Nicole Middendorf, CEO, Prosperwell Financial, Plymouth, MN, USA
Laurel Mintz, CEO,Elevate My Brand, Inc Studio City, CA, USA
Deborah Mitchell, Founder, Heaven Health & Beauty Ltd, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Debbie Moore, COO, Other Creative Ltd LONDON, London, United Kingdom
Dawn Morris, Sr Vice President & General Manager, Bankers Warranty Group, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Chris Moschovitis, CEO, TMG-emedia, New York, NY, USA
Stephanie Moss, Vice President, Hansen Technnologies, Powder Springs, GA, USA
Rajendran Nair, Sr Director, Marketing Intalio, USA
Kirsten Osolind, founding CEO, Re:invention, USA
Liz Palmer, President and CEO, Liz Palmer Media Group Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada
Gayle Pearce, Senior Associate, STS Capital Partners, Mississauga, ON, Canada
Sarah-Jane Peterschlingmann, Managing Director, ATechnology International, Australia
Harish Pillai, COO, Indus Health Plus Pvt. Ltd., Pune, India
Toni Potter, Director, Technica Dulles, VA, USA
Fabi Preslar, President, SPARK Publications, Matthew, NC, USA
Vicky Prior, Founder, Utter Content Creation Ltd, Huddersfield, AL, United Kingdom
Rebecca Quin, Owner, The Rebecca Quin Agency, New York, NY, USA
Maria Reitan, Senior Principal, Lola Red PR, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Sandra Richardson, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Métier, Ltd., Healdsburg, CA, USA
Anupama Rosa, Marketing Executive, LYCATEL SWITCHWARE LTD, United Kingdom
Catalina Rousseau, President & CEO, BDR Associates, Bucharest, Romania
Pearl Saadi, Ms Other creative Ltd London, London, United Kingdom
Amy Scarlino, President & CEO, Catchpole Corporation, Boston, MA, USA
Grace Schalkwyk, CEO, Gramercy Digital Strategy Advisors, New York, NY, USA
Katja Schroeder, President, Expedition PR, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Mark Schroeder, Senior Vice President, M Booth & Associates New York, NY, USA
Christine Seymour, Director of Marketing, Siemens Industry, Inc., Alpharetta, GA, USA
Julie Sheppard, General Counsel, Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), Pensacola, FL, USA
Letty Swank, Founder, Giftwrapperz, Los Gatos, CA, USA
Alice Takpemongo, Technology & Innovation Consultant, Mindjet, Brentford, Middlesex, United Kingdom
Pamela Thomas, President, The Thomas Collective, New York, NY, USA
Josie Thomson, CEO, JosieThomson.com, Red Hill, QLD, Australia
Melanie Tinto, Vice President, Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Debra Turbes, Director Corporate Marketing, NEI Global Relocation, Omaha, NE, USA
Gea Wijers, Senior Consultant, Wijers Community-based Consulting, Amsterdam, Noord Holland, The Netherlands
Leah Wilkinson, Partner, Wilkinson Shein Communications, Stevenson, MD, USA
Becky Wilson, Chief Visibility Officer, WDS Marketing & PR, Overland Park, KS USA
Yvonne Wu, Author Assistant & Publicist, The YP Publishing, Ontario, Canada

Topics: judging, business awards, stevie awards for women in business, women awards, International Awards

Now’s the time to be a Stevie Awards for Women in Business Judge!

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Sep 02, 2014 @ 12:33 PM

Today we’ve opened the preliminary round of judging for the 2014 (11th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards program for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

You're invited to apply to participate in the judging process, which takes place online.  Interested?  Apply here.

                                              Apply Now

As a judge you'll read and rate nominations submitted by women-owned and–run organizations all around the world. You’ll be assigned categories based on your experience, function, and industry. Judging takes place online, at your convenience, any time day or night, through October 5. 

You’ll be inspired and educated by the stories of high-achieving women around the world, and you’ll receive a certificate of appreciation, suitable for framing. You’ll also be acknowledged on the awards website (see last year's judges here) and in the November 14 awards dinner program.

Plus, the two judges who review the most entries in the women awards will be offered two tickets to the November 14 awards dinner and $1,000 toward the cost of attending the event.

Apply to be a Stevie Awards for Women in Business judge.  You'll be glad you did!

Questions about the judging process?  Let us know.

Topics: judging, business awards, stevie awards for women in business, women awards

Thanks to 2014 International Business Awards Preliminary Judges

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Wed, Aug 13, 2014 @ 08:43 AM

The following professionals participated in preliminary judging of The 2014 International Business Awards, the worlds top business awards program, in May-July.  Their average scores determined the entries that were eligible to be included in final judging.  We thank them for their time, insights and support.

Dr. Mamdooh Abdelmottlep, Founding President, International Police Sciences Association, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
2014Nicole Y. Adams, Translator & Consultant, NYA Communications, Brisbane, Australia
Hazem Adawie Senior Manager-Corporate Performance Management Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Bora Aksoylu, Event Manager, NIKE Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey
Shadi Al Hroub, Creative Director, Freelance, Amman, Jordan
Ahmad Alhai, Drilling Services Automation Project Manager & RTOC Project Member, ADCO, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Mahmoud Alhayek, Quality Expert, Abu Dhabi Police, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Dr. Mohammed A. Alkhozai, Director, Bahrain Management Society, Manama, Bahrain
Amal Al-Najjar, HR Manager, Fluor Kuwait, Kuwait
Col. Mohammed Alreeh, Ministry of the Interior, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ani Atanasova, CEOPixelhunters, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dr. Christina Augustine, Global Strategic HR, Virtusa Corporation, Chennai, India
Heather Barton, Head of Human Resources, American Institute for Foreign Study (UK) Ltd, London, United Kingdom
Israel Bonequi, Creative Director, Birds Nest Foundation, Montreal, QC, Canada
Ted Bridgwater, President, Foresight Corporate Communications, Toronto, ON, Canada
Oana Bulexa, Managing Director, The Practice, Bucharest, Romania
Connie Bullock, Director, Marketing, NuCompass Mobility, Manassas, VA , USA
Mark Burton, CEO, International Armoring Corp., Centerville, UT, USA
Peter Bush, Doctor, Response Ambulance Services, Port Talbot, United Kingdom
Jorge Cachinero, Director Corporativo de Reputación e Innovación, Llorente y Cuenca, Madrid, Spain
Venkata Rajesh, Cheerla    Group Senior Manager - HR Strategy, Policies & Compliance, Etisalat Group, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Tore Claesson, Director, Tio Agency, New York, USA
Sally Clubley, Senior Consultant, IHRDC, Stourton, United Kingdom
Dorothy Crenshaw, CEO, Crenshaw Communications, New York, NY, USA
Kate Darcy Hohenthal, Founder, The Birthday Club, Manchester, CT , USA
Karla Davis, General Manager, Plantation Resort, Surfside Beach, SC, USA
Saraida De Marchena Kaluche, President and CEO, Markatel, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Lelanie de Wet, Web Content & Social Media Manager, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa
Teresa DeFelice, Account Executive, RCI, Orlando, FL, USA
Danielle Di-Masi, Managing Director, The Interactions Lab, Coogee, Australia
Richard Dixon, Owner/Administrator, Home Helpers and Direct Link of North Texas, Keller, TX, USA
Sheryl Dobson, Director of Customer Contact, J2 Global, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Michal Dunin, Managing Director, WebTalk, Warsaw, Poland
Stacey Edmonds, Founder and MD Lively, Lively Coogee, NSW, Australia
Rochelle Ekanayake, Managing Director UK/SRI LANKA, MrPierce Studios International Asia (PVT) Ltd, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Kristina Garcia, Managing Director, German State of Hessen U.S. Office for Economic Development, New York, NY, USA
Sergio García, Creative Director, Doctor Jekyll, Barcelona, Spain
Manoj Gautam, Om shiva, shakti herbal company pvt. Ltd, Kathmandu, Nepal
Constantinos Grivas, CEO and Founder, Swiss Nutraceuticals MIKE, Athens, Greece
Naresh Gupta, Associate Partner, IBM Global Business Services, Gurgaon, India
Danita Harn, VP of Operations, Harn & Associates Bookkeeping Firm, Woodstock, GA, USA
Robin Harris, Principal/Creative Director, Harris Design Inc., McLean, VA, USA
Aida Hernandez, New Business Development, Marco de Comunicación, Madrid, Spain
Jesse Hertstein, Senior CSR Specialist, Amway, Ada, MI, USA
Jamie K. Holt, MBA, President/CEO, JMK Notary And Services, Miami, FL, USA
Giles House, VP Marketing, CallidusCloud, Pleasanton, CA, USA
Yvonne Howie, CEO, NSW, The CEO Institute, Neutral Bay, NSW, Australia
Richard    Hu, Senior Editor, China Advertising, Beijing, China
Elif Ildeniz, Employer Branding Project Leader, TOFAS-FIAT, Istanbul, Turkey
Echo Ilott, Director, Boost Marketing, Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Leo Indarwahono, Public Health & Educational Executive, The Indonesian Business Coalition on AIDS (IBCA), Jakarta, Indonesia
Petr Jares, Member of the Board, Etnetera, Prague, Czech Republic
Parag Jaripatke, Senior Systems Administrator, AOL Inc., Dulles, VA, USA
Monika Jaslowska, Senior Head of Brand Public Relations Department, Polpharma Biuro Handlowe Sp. z o. o., Warsaw, Poland
Beverly Jensen, President/CEO, WomensMedicineBowl.com, Greeley, CO, USA
Özgür Karaçak, Managing Partner / Founder/ Creative Director, SesliHarfler Digital Advertising Agency, Istanbul, Turkey
Hakan Karamanli, IT Manager, GARANTI TEKNOLOJI, Istanbul, Turkey
Samitha Karunarathne, CEO, Aryans Engineering (Pvt) Ltd., Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka
Mazin Khoury, CEO, Middle East, AMEX (Middle East) B.S.C. (c), Manama, Bahrain
Elzbieta Krawczynska, Quality Specialist & Trainer, Bank Zachodni WBK S.A, Poznan, Poland
A.J.Lawrence, CEO, the JAR group, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Andreea Leonte, Senior PR Consultant, MCCANN PR, Bucharest, Romania
Chris Litherland, International Snr Director HR, Intermec by Honeywell Heinsberg, Germany
Ke Je Tony Liu, Greater China Partner, Creative Chairman, MC Saatchi aeiou, Shanghai,  China
Denis Looney, Vice President, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Cork, Ireland
Anil Machado, Managing Director, Tnell, Sieradz, Poland
Morag Malloy, Managing Director, Fission Creative, Paisley, United Kingdom
Kristin Marcell, Vice President Public Relations, SmartMark Communications, Newtown, PA   USA
Wessam Massoud, Programme Delivery Manager, Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Center (ADSIC), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Chris McConnell, Senior Manager, Accenture, Chicago, IL, USA
Colin McKillop, Chief Executive Officer, Butcher Enterprises, Windsor, ON, Canada
Jennifer, McQueen, Managing Partner, Ausnindo-Asia/Pacific, Croydon, VIC, Australia
Jeremy McWilliams, Managing Director, Bang TV, London, United Kingdom
Ronald Meske, President, Training Systems Design, Camarillo, CA, USA
Eric Mosely, CEO, Globoforce, Dublin, Ireland
Rajesh Kumar Mudiakal, SAP Project Manager, CMC Limited, Mumbai, India
Motomasa Murayama, Professor, Tokiwa University, Mito City, Japan
Rajiv Noronha, AVP, Location HR Leader & Head -Org., Effectiveness, Tata Consultancy Services, Bangalore, India
Charles Olsson, Managing Director, Stockfeed Purchasing Pty Ltd, Crestmead, Australia
Pierluigi Orati    Head of Country Analysis, SENEL SPA, Rome, Italy
Diego Otero Rodríguez, Creative Director, Suigeneris Communications SL (A Save Your Numbers Holding), Barcelona, Spain
Alper Afsin Özdemir, President, Krombera Digital Marketing Agency, Istanbul, Turkey
Cem Cabbar Özdemir, Creative Director, Project House, Istanbul, Turkey
Parveen Panwar, CEO, PMI 5, Media LLC, Los Altos, CA, USA
Anne Patterson, VP Client Delivery, FreeFlow, Kerry Ireland
Katarzyna Pawlikowska, Managing Partner, Garden of Words, Warsaw, Poland
Guy Perry, President, CEO & Founder, Salt Lake Running Company, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Donald Pillai, International Marketing Executive, Bumbo (Pty) Ltd, Rosslyn, South Africa
Churchill Dass Prince, Founder & CEO, Sales Intellect Company, Chennai, India
Rammesh Rajagopal, Senior Manager IT, Cisco Systems Inc., Morrisville, NC, USA
Fanjarivo Rakotonirina, President, Tropical Items Madagascar, LLC, Boulder, CO, USA
V.S. Ramachandran, Senior VP, Emarat, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Mohamed A. R. Rashed, Director of Strategic Planning, Ahlia University, Manama, Bahrain
Dennis Reno, Vice President, Customer Experience, New Relic, San Francisco, CA, USA
Pamela Robinson, CEO, Financial Voyages LLC, Atlanta, GA, USA
Linanne Sackett, Principal Investigator, Verizon Next Step Program, Albany, NY, USA
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Amr Sadik, VP - Curriculum Development, INTEX, Cairo, Egypt
Sasan Saeidi, Managing Director, FP7, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Göktug Sahin, Lecturer, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
Hande Sarantopoulos, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Director, Kale Group, Istanbul, Turkey
Gauri Sharma, Head of Business, Modest Inc, Chicago, IL, USA
Keira Shein, Partner, WilkinsonShein Communications, Stevenson, MD, USA
Pelle Sjöqvist, Creative Director, Dahlheim & Sjöqvist, Stockholm, Sweden
Asuncion Soriano, Vice President, INFORPRESS, Madrid, Spain
Leslie Stretch, President & CEO, CallidusCloud, Pleasanton, CA, USA
Julian Stubbs, Senior Lecturer, Marketing (retired), The University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
Begum Susar, Digital Marketing and Design Assistant, Vice President, ING Bank Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey
Andrzej Szczepaniak, Deputy Director, Bank Zachodni WBK S.A, Srem, Poland
Pinar Tuba, Temizkan, HR Senior Consultant and Co-Active Coach, Elemental-Value (official provider of The Coaches Training Institute-CTI), Istanbul   
Meera Tenguria, Founder & Director, Aarrohan Communications, Mumbai, India
Wailaya    Tiningsih Bravyanto, Corporate Relations, PT Unilever Indonesia, Tbk, Jakarta, Indonesia
Han Tjan, VP Corporate Communications, Daimler, New York, NY, USA
Aigerim Tulepbergenova, Business Analyst, Morgan Stanley, Eugene, OR, USA
Noel Unciano, Research Specialist, Industrial Technology Development Institute, Taguig City, Philippines
Aykut Ustun, Group Manager - HR and Management System, Opet Petrolculuk, Istanbul, Turkey
Rob Vandenberg, President & CEO Lingotek, Draper, UT, USA
Kirti Vashee, Vice President, Enterprise Translation, Asia Online, Santa Monica, CA , USA
Nicole Vaughn, Account Supervisor, Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., St. Louis, MO, USA
Vincent Verdi, Art Director, CUNY-TV, Staten Island, NY, USA
Robyn  Vogels, Founder, Managing Director, Personnel Relocations, Cheltenham, SA, Australia
Mike Voznick, National Business Consultant, Harn and Associates, Smyrna, GA, USA
Clara H.Y. Wang, Account Director, KAI Communications (China&UK), Beijing, China
Floor Wijburg, CEO, W & I Consultants, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Silvana Xhaferi, General Secretary, Albanian-British Chamber of Commerce and industry, Tirana, Albania
Mimi Young, Principal, Behavior Design, New York, NY, USA
David Zapata, President, Zapwater Communications, Chicago, USA                            
Joseph Zitzelberger, Director of Manufacturing Development, PACCAR Inc., Chillicothe, OH, USA                                                                                                                          

Topics: judging, business awards, International business awards, stevie awards, IBAs, judges

American Business Awards Name Chairs for 2014 Final Judging

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Mon, May 12, 2014 @ 05:49 PM

The Stevie® Awards have announced the ten executives who will chair the specialized final judging committees for its 12th Annual American Business Awards, the top business awards competition in the USA.

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. - public and private, large and small, for-profit and non-profit - are eligible to submit nominations to The American Business Awards.

The ten committee selections are based on the categories that will be judged. Final judging begins this week.  Here are this year's final judging committee chairs.

CREATIVE AWARDS CHAIR - Apps/Live Events/Publications/Videos
Mark Shewmaker, Chief Experience Officer
SMITH, Seattle, Washington

14 ABA CREATIVE ChairMark is an expert in user experience with an impressive portfolio of award-winning campaigns and digital solutions created for some of the planet’s most recognized brands. At SMITH, Mark leads UX, creative, and content teams on their mission to craft cutting-edge and revenue-driving brand experiences.

Prior to SMITH, Mark was Executive Creative Director at R/GA San Francisco. Throughout his nine-year relationship with R/GA, Mark worked with clients such as Microsoft, Nike, Verizon Wireless, Abercrombie & Fitch, L’Oréal Paris, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, IBM, and Merck, overseeing the development of category-leading digital commerce, mobile, retail, marketing, and product design initiatives.

When he’s not traversing the planet on business, Mark finds his home in the Bay Area of Northern California, with his wife Wendy and two children.

WEBSITE AWARDS CHAIR
Gene Ehrbar, Managing Partner, Emerging Technology
ISITE Design, Portland, Oregon

14 ABA WEB Chair colorA mobile developer and strategist, Gene has experience translating a wide variety of challenging client technical needs into elegant and durable online systems. As Managing Partner, Emerging Technology, at ISITE Design, Gene is responsible for agency direction and business development in the areas of mobile and emerging technologies, including connected experiences, wearables, and next-generation interfaces.
Gene works with an interdisciplinary team of strategists, experience designers, and engineers to create digital experiences in collaboration with both startups and enterprise innovation teams across a variety of industries.

Prior to ISITE, Gene founded and ran Portland-based Anomaly Incorporated, a firm specializing in web and mobile application development.

Gene is an avid outdoorsman. He enjoys skiing the Oregon backcountry and playing the electric guitar (though rarely simultaneously).

MANAGEMENT AWARDS CHAIR
David DiStefano, President & CEO
Richardson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

14 ABA MGT ChairDavid DiStefano is a seasoned executive with nearly three decades of successful senior management experience with both early-stage and global organizations. Over his career, David has managed finance, operations, sales, and demand generation functions. For the last 17 years, David has been instrumental in leading Richardson to its place as a premier global sales performance organization. He provides executive level support to Richardson’s clients bringing overall vision and guidance, sales performance expertise, and best practice insights to senior client management.

David has been a driving force in expanding Richardson’s products and services. In 1999, he played a significant role in the Company’s successful efforts in raising private equity to build Richardson’s eLearning platform, Richardson QuickSkills™, and in expanding the Company’s global footprint by launching its European operations based in the UK. In 2006, David played a prominent role in the Company’s successful acquisition by ClearLight Partners and became President and CEO immediately thereafter. Today David sits on the Board of Directors and leads an eight-person Executive Management team.

David is a recognized thought leader in the area of sales force development and performance and actively speaks at client and key industry conferences. In 2007, Training Industry named him a “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professional”. David has been an-eight time featured guest on Selling Power TV, speaking on a wide range of topics that include sales performance, sales coaching, sales force engagement, sales enablement, Sales 2.0 technologies, negotiation skills, and innovation. Prior to joining Richardson in 1992, David spent nine years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was Senior Manager. At PwC, David was responsible for the overall client relationship and engagement management for his clients. David is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Drexel University.

COMPANY/ORGANIZATION AWARDS CHAIR
Carey Smith, Founder & Chief Big Ass
Big Ass Solutions, Lexington, Kentucky

14 ABA COMPANY ChairCarey Smith’s professional life began in insurance. Dissatisfied with that work, he decided to start his own company. Carey spent more than a dozen years leading a firm that installed sprinklers on the roofs of industrial buildings to cool the interiors. He and his wife, Nancy, sold their house and quit their jobs to focus on the company, but the business never grew beyond $1.4 million in annual sales. In 1999, at the age of 46, Carey used its small profits to fund his venture into fans,

Carey had visited thousands of facilities while running his first start-up. He saw time and again how people turned to a relatively simple device—fans—in their quest for comfort. But traditional box-and-pedestal fans moved little air, took up valuable floor space, and used inefficient motors. The solution: a large ceiling fan that would use its size, not speed, to move high volumes of air across large spaces. With their incredibly efficient motors, Big Ass fans cost mere pennies per hour to operate. In 2013, the company started Big Ass Light, which offers energy-efficient lighting for industrial and commercial facilities.

Because he refused to lay off employees—and even hired—during the Great Recession, Inc. magazine named Carey Smith “Economy Hero” in 2011. That same year, Ernst & Young named him a regional Entrepreneur of the Year. Carey is now focused on how Big Ass Solutions can become a 200-year company: one that will always act in the best long-term interests of its customers, employees, and suppliers.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS/PR/IR AWARDS CHAIR
Nikki Tanis, President
Tanis Communications, Inc., San Jose, California

Nikki TanisNikki TanisNikki Tanis has had over 20 years experience creating and implementing a broad range of strategic communications, marketing, and PR programs. She has spent 12 of those years as the head of Tanis Communications, a respected and fast-growing Silicon Valley agency serving a diverse set of high technology companies with a breadth of marketing, communications, and PR services.

Previously, Nikki was corporate vice president, corporate marketing and communications at Spansion, Inc., a global, NASDAQ-listed semiconductor company with $2.5 billion in revenue and over 9,000 employees at that time. Prior to that, Nikki was director of corporate communications at S3, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed leader in graphics chips for the PC industry. She was also advertising and PR manager for NEC Electronics, the U.S. semiconductor subsidiary of NEC Corporation, and she has held communications positions at Precision Monolithics and Signetics.

Nikki holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in psychology from San Diego State University.

CUSTOMER SERVICE/SUPPORT AWARDS CHAIR
Bridget Moscatello, VP of Customer Operations
Empire Today, Northlake, Illinois

14 ABA CUSTOMER SERVICE ChairBridget Moscatello has over 23 years experience in the customer care industry. She has acted as Executive Consultant for, and partnered with, Fortune 500 CEOs and COOs on redefining organizational customer service models while improving business efficiencies. Since 2005, Bridget has been with Empire Today (Empire), the largest shop-at-home retailer in the U.S. Bridget is focused on driving customer service by leveraging people, processes, and technology, She ensures that customers always receive the right associate at the right time. Her commitment to providing excellent service is evident through her philosophy of treating every customer “like they are our only customer.”

In her company role, Bridget owns the entire customer service experience and ensures that thousands of working processes within Empire are consistent across its 70 U.S. markets and multiple product lines. She developed Net Promotor Score (NPS), a metric for tracking customer loyalty that has revolutionized the company. In addition, she wanted to ensure that the servicing experience was exactly the same across the country and worked with an outside partner to custom design a 24-month computer-based training course dubbed Customer Service University™. This course ensures that, regardless of location, all servicing personnel are working under the same expectations regarding how to deliver the best possible experience for Empire customers.

Bridget has led Empire to winning the prestigious Gold Stevie® Award for Best Customer Service in The 2013 American Business Award, having earned Silver in 2012, and Bronze in 2011 and 2010. Bridget also sits on the Board of Directors for the Better Business Bureau® in Chicago, and participates in the Bureau’s Standards and Ethics Committee. She is a three-time graduate of the Harvard Business School for Executive Education.

HUMAN RESOURCES AWARDS CHAIR
Bob Nicoson, Chief Human Resources Officer
Constant Contact, Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts

14 ABA HR ChairBob joined Constant Contact® in June of 2008 and has more than 25 years of experience in human resources leadership and general management. In his current role, he oversees all human resources programs, practices, and policies that govern Constant Contact's business needs and culture. Bob also drives executive, cross-functional team, and management leadership and development; strategic workforce planning and staffing; and compensation, performance management, and recognition and reward systems for the company.

Prior to joining Constant Contact, Bob served as vice president at Gather Inc., a social networking site for adults. Before Gather Inc., he was the director of human resources and change management consultant at Weston Jesuit School of Theology and the director of human resources and administration at CertaLogic Inc. He also held executive leadership positions in global human resources at Scala Business Solutions, The Pioneer Group, Inc., and Lotus Development Corp. (now Lotus Software).

Bob holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana State University.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AWARDS CHAIR
Ted Studwell, Vice President of Engineering and Operations
Virtela, Greenwood Village, Colorado

14 ABA IT ChairTed is one of the founding team members of Virtela and is responsible for designing, delivering, and supporting superior managed information technology services to Virtela’s customers. This includes responsibility for the company's network and security architecture, engineering, service implementation, and Virtela’s relationships with network vendors and carriers around the globe. He is also responsible for Virtela’s 24x7 Global Operations Centers in Denver, Mumbai, and Manila that provide network, security, and telephony support globally.

Ted was previously with Qwest (now CenturyLink) where he led the planning and engineering of the company's data products. He drove the design and construction of Qwest's data services and networks while having Qwest gain significant market share with major corporate customers. Before that, Ted was responsible for designing, planning, and engineering Sprint's data networks while leading the company into new data and Internet service markets. He led the effort to grow Sprint's data networks, managed the rapid growth of the company's Internet network SprintLink, and the first widespread use of packet over SONET. Ted was also responsible for building the first private IP network used for Intranet services. Prior to joining Sprint, Ted worked in communications systems at Aeronautical Radio, COMSAT, and General Electric.

Ted served in the U.S. Navy in active and reserve capacities as a submarine officer for over 25 years. He completed Naval Nuclear Power training, was certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a Chief Engineer on a naval nuclear power plant, and achieved the rank of Captain. Ted has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from The George Washington University, and is a licensed Professional Engineer.


MARKETING AWARDS CHAIR
Scott Cullather, Global Managing Partner
inVNT, New York, New York

14 ABA MARKET ChairScott Cullather has over 20 years of experience in brand communications and is the founder and Global Managing Partner of inVNT, a brand communications agency that collaborates with brands and organizations around the world to create remarkable moments that challenge convention, mindsets, competitors, and the market. Scott is an industry leader who has helped shape and define the way organizations communicate to their employees, partners, customers, members, investors, journalists, and consumers.

Under Scott’s leadership and vision, the inVNT team has executed highly successful and impactful brand experiences that change the way people think, feel, behave, and perform. inVNT’s clients include PepsiCo, Merck, Grant Thornton, General Motors, Subway, ESPN, Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). inVNT has designed and produced award-winning campaigns in more than 60 countries on 6 continents from offices in the US and Europe.

Scott regularly speaks at industry events and expositions, and has been published in Brand Republic, The Guardian, SmartCEO Magazine, Expo, and Successful Meetings. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as creative director and producer of “AMC in Concert at the Rainbow Room.” When he’s not working, Scott enjoys spending time with his children, surfing, playing Scrabble®, and collecting vintage eyewear.

“The Stevie Awards are the World's Premier recognition for business achievement and it is an honor to Chair the final judging of the Marketing categories in The 2014 American Business Awards.” Scott Cullather, Global Managing Partner, inVNT

NEW PRODUCT & PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AWARDS CHAIR
Alex Bäcker, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer
QLess, Inc., Pasadena, CA

14 ABA NEW PRODUCT ChairAlex Bäcker is the chief executive officer, co-founder and inventor of QLess. In this role, he drives the overall vision and strategy for the company, thus leading the charge on eliminating lines worldwide. Bäcker also currently serves on the board of advisors for the California Institute of Technology Information Sciences and Technology.

Prior to QLess, Bäcker worked with a number of companies in the science industry including the Center for Computation, Computers, Information, and Mathematics of Sandia National Labs and Caltech while also conducting business at McKinsey & Co. In addition, Bäcker founded and co-founded several companies including Adept Technologies, CafeThink, Whozat? and abInventio.

Throughout his career, Bäcker has been honored with several awards including the 2010 40 Under 40 for M&A Advisor Recognition Awards as well as The 2013 International Business Awards' Gold Stevie for IT Executive of the Year, and a Silver Stevie for Innovator of the Year.

Missed your chance to enter this year's American Business Awards?  Enter The International Business Awards - the categories are almost identical to those of the ABAs.

Topics: judging, American business awards, stevie awards, judges

American Business Awards Preliminary Round Judges

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, May 08, 2014 @ 12:47 PM

Stevie logoThe following professionals participated in preliminary judging of The 2014 American Business Awards in April-May.  Their average scores determined the Finalists.  We thank them for their time, insights and support.

Ray Aldrich, Director, Development, Marketing & Communications, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI
Amal Al-Najjar, HR Manager, Fluor, Kuwait
Zainab Ansari, Director/CEO, Xenith PR (Pvt.) Ltd, Pakistan
Daniel Arenas, Creative Director, Sunday Morning NY, Astoria, NY
Cathy Baker, Competition Consultant, USEF, Lexington, KY
Jeff Bell, Partner, NCT Ventures, Kirkland, WA
Israel Bonequi Creative Director, Birds Nest Foundation, Canada
Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO, Pure Performance Communications, Marlboro, NJ
Daniel Burkholder, IT Solutions Advisor, Susan G. Komen, Frisco, TX
Tanya Candia, CEO, Candia Communications, Saratoga, CA
Susan Chait, VP, Creative Director, Lebowitz | Gould | Design, Inc., New York, NY
Dr. Kevin S. Chen, President/CEO, Business Methods Corporation, Mt Freedom, NJ
Irene Corpuz, Head of Planning & IT Security, Western Region Municipality, United Arab Emirates
Dave Craig, Vice President, HR Fazoli's Restaurants, Lexington, KY
David Crawford, Senior VP, Managing Group, Creative Director, GSD&M, Austin, TX
John Cushman, former VP - eSales & Service, AT&T, Dallas, TX
Karen Danielson, Marketing Communications & Brand Manager, US Water Services, Inc, St Michael, MN
Natalia Diaz Marketing Specialist, Forte Payment Systems, Dallas, TX
Brenda Dukart, Executive Account Manager, Managed Business Solutions, Colorado Springs, CO
Elizabeth Enselein, Director of Operations, Murthy Law Firm, Owings Mills, MD
Matt Finizio, VP, Creative Director, Slack and Company, Chicago, IL
Hüsniye Firat, Dr. Çanakkale Onsekiz, March University, Turkey
Kyle Forster, Co-Founder/President, Big Switch Networks, San Francisco, CA
Anthony Franco, President, EffectiveUI, Denver, CO
Jean Gea, Product Marketing Manager, Acumatica Kirkland, WA
Dawn Giesman, Marketing Manager PublicSchoolWORKS, Cincinnati, OH
Stephen Gill, President, Stephen Gill Associates, Thailand
Katharine Goldman, SVP, Executive Creative Director, Jack Morton Worldwide, New York, NY
Eddie Grant, Product Manager, Brodie Meter Co., LLC, Statesboro, GA
Donna Grare, VP Engineering, PHD Virtual, Morris Plains, NJ
Kristi Grigsby, VP Marketing, CSI Enterprises, Bonita Springs, FL
Bonnie Hackbarth, Senior Counselor, Guthrie/Mayes Public Relations, Louisville, KY
Eric Halvorson, Senior Vice President,Wells Fargo, Minneapolis, MN
Alexander Hannett, Manager, Corporate Strategy and Marketing, All Florida Paper, Inc., Medley, FL
Leslie Harstad, Director, Thought Leadership Strategy, Optum, Minneapolis, MN
Batul Hasan, CEO, BSH Consultants, Pakistan
Kevin Hegebarth, VP, Marketing & Product Management, HireIQ Solutions, Inc., Alpharetta, GA
Mary Ann Henker, President, The Henker Group, Easton, MD
Ann Hill, Chairwoman of the Board, Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, Lancaster, CA
Faith Jackson, PR Specialist, Lawler Computer Consultants, LLC, Birmingham, AL
Parag Jaripatke, Senior Systems Administrator, AOL Inc., Ashburn, VA
Stuart John, Senior Product Manager, Source Interlink Media, Santa Monica, CA
James Johnson, Chairman, The Standish Group International, Inc., Boston, MA
JP Jones, Owner, Collipsis Web Solutions, Lawrenceburg, TN
Craig Kavicky, Vice President, Lextant, Columbus, OH
Douglas Kelly, EVP Design, Imagination Publishing, Chicago, IL
Laura Kerr, Principal Business Analyst, Sabre Airline Solutions, Dallas, TX
Mike Kindle, VP, Information, HealthSouth, Birmingham, AL
Marylee Klinkhammer, Technology Director, DRG, Bernie, IN
Slade Kobran, CMO, Chief Outsiders, New York, NY
Claudia Koehler, Corporate Vice President, VOK DAMS Events, Germany
Roja Kolachina, CEO/President, Synerteq, Inc., Rockville, MD
James Koons, Chief Privacy Officer, Listrak, Lititz, PA
Nitin Kumar, Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Jersey City, NJ
Rick Kuwayti, Managing Director, Head of Marketing, BMO Capital Markets, Canada
John Lamb, VP, Group Head, Ebix, Atlanta, GA
Frank Laudo, Senior VP Creative Director, GES, Grapevine, TX
Erran Lawler, Owner, Lawler Computer Consultants, LLC, Birmingham, AL
Jason Lawson, Partner, Moss Adams LLP, Los Angeles, CA
Rob Leggat, Senior Vice President, Goddard Gunster, Washington, DC
Peter Levy, President, Corniche Productions, Brooklyn, NY
Nanxi Liu, CEO, Enplug, Inc., Los Angeles, CA
Lily Liu, CEO & Founder, PublicStuff, New York, NY
Juliana Lopez, Controller, Northern Technologies Group, Inc, Tampa, FL
Avinash Mainkar, Adjunct Professor of Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Jennifer Maldonado, Sr. Program Manager, Global Client Experience, Cornerstone OnDemand, Santa Monica, CA
Anne McCarthy, President and Founder, Westmeath Communications, Castle Rock, CO
Jeannine McHenry, Art Director, One17 Creative, Marina Del Rey, CA
Catherine McQuaid, Principal, Big Game Hunting, Canada
Kathy Menzie, Associate Professor & Chair, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
Feroz Merchhiya, CTO, California Insurance Guarantee Association, Diamond Bar, CA
Caroline Meyers, Director of Corporate Communications, MC2, Chestnut Ridge, NY
Andrea Michaels, President, EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS, Sherman Oaks,CA
Tamika Mikucki, Director of Human Resources, Westhab, Inc., Elmsford, NY
Carlos Minetti, President, Consumer Banking, Discover Financial Services, Riverwoods, IL
Jay Mitchell, President, Mereo LLC, Colorado Springs, CO
Judy Mod, Principal, Social Gastronomy, LLC., Atlanta, GA
Rajesh Kumar Mudiakal, SAP Project Manager, CMC Limited, India
Brian Mulvey, Vice President, Investor Growth Capital, New York, NY
Kirk Musselman, Director, Human Resources, Classified Ventures LLC, Chicago, IL
Eric Nash, Senior Director, Online Marketing, Stamps.com, El Segundo, CA
Madhusmita Nayak, Manager-Enterprise Performance, UAE Exchange, United Arab Emirates
Steve Nelson, Partner & CTO, AP42, San Ramon, CA
Michael Newman, Vice President International Sales & Global Marketing, Optical Cable Corporation, Roanoke, VA
Bruce Nicoll, ACD Copy, The Navicor Group, Westerville, OH
Ayelet Noff, Co-CEO and Founder, Blonde 2.0, Israel
Bob Older, President, Creative Travel Inc. dba Rainbow Charter Service, Wilmington, DE
Linda Olsan, Director, Customer Care, ACE, Rancho Mission Viejo, CA
Kirsten Osolind, CEO, re:invention marketing, San Diego, CA
Lori Owens, VP, Client Relations, PhoneWare, Inc., San Diego, CA
Ravi Padaki, Product Manager, Snapfish, San Francisco, CA
Parveen Panwar, CEO, PMI 5 Media LLC, San Francisco, CA
Paul Patton, Senior R&D/Regulatory Manager, Delta Faucet Co., Indianapolis, IN
Rob Peglar, CTO Americas, EMC Isilon, Wildwood, MO
Ken Phelan, CTO, Gotham Technology Group, Montvale, NJ
Churchill Dass Prince, Founder CEO, Sales Intellect Company, India
Dr. Steve Rajan, Vice Chancellor of Malaysia, IAEWP (NGO United Nations), Malaysia
Gillian Rawcliffe, Business Development Manager, Vérité, Sandy, UT
Kathleen Reddy, Copresident, McKinnon-Mulherin, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT
Dennis Reno, Vice President, Customer Portal Experience, New Relic, San Francisco, CA
Selena Rezvani, President, NextGenWomen, LLC, Elkins Park, PA
Tom Richard, Director of Organizational Development, Westpark Communications, L.P., Houston, TX
Avis Richards, President/CEO, Birds Nest Productions, Purchase, NY
Chris Risheill, Director of Sales, Marketing and Exhibits, Association for Middle Level Education, Westerville, OH
Colleen Rosso, Director of Communications, Hartland Township, Milford, MI
David Saef, EVP, MarketWorks & Strategy, GES, Hodgkins, IL
Viurniel Sanchez, Information Management, Infrastructure Technology Services, Miami, FL
Scott Sauder, Area Operations Consultant, The UPS Store,, Noblesville, IN
Harry Schechter, CEO & President, Temperature@lert, Boston, MA
Richard Schechter, VP Marketing, Medtech College, Atlanta, GA
Lisa Schweickert, VP of Training, Golden Corral Corporation, Raleigh, NC
Bill Shelton, Vice President, USHEALTH Advisors, Grapevine, TX
Tina Stafford, Senior Account Executive, Stafford Creative Inc, Edmonds, WA
Mahiette Tarrago, Creative Director, Tycoon Advertising Group LLC, The Woodlands, TX
Harmony Tenney, Senior Marketing Consultant, CRG, Charlottesville, VA
Lori Teranishi, Partner, IQ PR, Inc., San Francisco, CA
Michelle Thorsell, Principal, SMT Architects, P.C., Glen Ellyn, IL
Roger Thorstenson, Lead: Strategic Planning & Performance Measurement, Office of the DoD CIO, Arlington, VA
Han Tjan, Corporate Communications, Daimler, New York, NY
Richard Trombly, Editor / Senior Account Exec, Hill & Knowlton, China
Chikako Uchinami, CEO, Japan Translation USA, Sunnyvale, CA
Noel Unciano, Science Research Specialist, Industrial Technology Development Institute - DOST, Philippines
Vinny Verdi, Producer, CUNY-TV, New York, NY
Charles Kirby Wadsworth, Vice President of Global Marketing, F5 Networks, Wayland, MA
Maggie Wang, Service & Support Manager, Nolo, Pleasanton, CA
Edward Weisberg , Senior VP of Marketing and Business Development, GXT Green, Billerica, MA
Karen Weldon, Manager, Executive Communication & Strategic Collaboration (Office of the CIO), Consumers Energy, Jackson, MI
Hope White, CEO, Rise and Fly, Fort Worth , TX
Becky Wilson, President, WDS Marketing and PR, Overland Park, KS
Robert Wnuk, Regional Sales Director, Tax Care S.A., Poland
Gregory Wright, Communications Manager, AICPA, New York, NY
Ziad Ziadeh, National Customer Service Manager, DHL Express, Saudi Arabia
Matthew Zintel, President, Zintel Public Relations, Cypress, TX
Joseph Zitzelberger, Director of Manufacturing Development, PACCAR Inc, Chillicothe, OH
Chris Zoloth, Director, Global Customer Care, IHG, Salt Lake City, UT

Topics: judging, American business awards, stevie awards, judges, Finalists

A Judge's Perspective on the Value of the Stevie Awards

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Apr 29, 2014 @ 04:22 PM

Rosaline Raj is the founding principal of Creative Chaos Communications, a boutique agency in Silicon Valley that helps brands discover, create, optimize and share high quality multimedia content.  Raj first became a Stevie Awards judge in 2012. She now works to create engaging social media content and conversations for the six world-recognized Stevie Award programs. We asked Rosaline to share her insights and experience in judging the Stevie Awards.

RoselineFind out more on how to become a judge for the International Business Awards, the world’s premier business awards program, here.

Beyond Inspiration

Rosaline tells us that she first started judging entries for the Stevie Awards  purely for inspiration and to see how big brands and agencies were achieving success amidst the ever-changing communications landscape.  She very quickly learned that this was beyond inspiration. “Judging the awards became a dynamic professional development tool for me. This was the best way for me to gain deep insight into a campaign, project or event from top companies across the world.”

The Content Perspective

We asked Rosaline what role content plays in the entries. “To win an award, not only does the strategy need to be exemplary, but the content needs to break through the chaos. That doesn’t mean creating content for the sake of content. But instead creating high-quality content that is strategic, audience-focused, optimized and has measurable results. The impressive content in the entries - from both big and small brands – have helped build trust and drive awareness, differentiation and preference for their businesses.”

Extraordinary Teams

A winning entry shows how a team’s efforts have positively impacted a business. “I enjoy the stories that illustrate how a great leader creates the vision, builds an extraordinary team and empowers them to deliver exceptional results to their customers. Strong employees definitely build a strong business and it is exciting to see how companies build a successful brand from the inside out.”

Leveling Up the Playing Field

The Stevie Awards programs attracts everyone from the most influential brands to small businesses and non-profit organizations. Time, budget and talent are huge challenges for everyone. “I was particularly impressed with the level of creativity and amazing results from smaller businesses. I loved seeing their ingenuity in overdrive. I think the Stevie Awards level up the playing field and honors remarkable work regardless of company size and budget.”

On Judging Entries

We asked Rosaline on how she judges the entries. “Strategy and results weigh heavily. But I also look at the level of creativity and that extra “something” that takes an entry from great to outstanding.”

The Perks

Judging any awards competition is time-consuming but there are a ton of benefits.  “By judging the Stevie Awards, I have been able to break free from my “comfort zone,” weigh in on the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of projects, benchmark my work against renowned brands in the industry and gain validation that I am on the right track.”

About Rosaline Raj

Rosaline Raj is the founding principal of Creative Chaos Communications and has over 15 years of integrated experience spanning marketing, public relations, employee communications and journalism. She is the editor-in-chief of Contentology, the Creative Chaos monthly publication on all things content and how to grow your business with it. She’s a former board member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC-Silicon Valley) where her work was honored with a Chapter Management Award (2013). She writes a column for the chapter’s monthly publication, The Communicator, which reaches 500 targeted communicators in the San Francisco Bay Area.  

Previously, she worked for Spansion, a global flash memory company in the automotive, industrial, consumer and communications markets. She was recognized in 2010 with the Vice President Spotlight Award.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in politics from San Jose State University.

About Creative Chaos Communications

Creative Chaos Communications is a boutique agency in Silicon Valley that helps brands discover, create, optimize and share high quality multimedia content.  We believe that a holistic approach to communications drives customer value, business growth and leadership. We believe in giving, sharing and teaching to empower entire communities and work with local non-profits to advance their work.  www.creativechaosgroup.com

Topics: judging, business awards, International business awards, stevie awards, Rosaline Raj, Creative Chaos Communications