Brainier Solutions, Inc. is definitely making an impression in the tech world, both with their foundational Learning Management Systems (LMS) and their customer service. Consistent care has earned them the 2017 Bronze Stevie® Award for Customer Service Department of the Year. This is their third year winning a Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service.
Brainier was founded in 1995 in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States with a mission to aid clients in continuing education and training, advancing skillsets, and expanding knowledge. They offer three different computer software packages: élan LMS, Chameleon 2.0 (developed by BI WORLDWIDE), and Legacy LMS.
Brainier Solutions serves small to large enterprises dedicated to training and investing in their staff. Their software packages offer an interactive, individualized learning portal accessible to employees at any time and on any digital device they choose.
They state, “Brainier programs are developed with the understanding that employees are not machines,” the company states. “They are people balancing needs, concerns, and interests in and out of the workplace. As such, we aspire to provide a curriculum that develops work-related skillsets and personal development attributes that promote success in every aspect of their life.”
The LMS offers access to courses in Drug and Alcohol Awareness, HIPAA, IT Skills, Legal Compliance, OSHA, PC Skills, SkillSoft, as well as access to other course libraries. Employees can study at their own pace in ways they can comprehend and succeed. LMS is sure to include blended learning options with interactive e-learning and multimedia resources. Success is measured by each individual’s testing and tracking.
Employers and their administrators can manage and coordinate trainings as well as keep track of each employee’s development and success. The LMS programs also offer internal social communication via blogs, file exchange, internal messaging, and live chat.
They are repeatedly recognized for their product and services by tech guru sites like TrainingIndustry.com and SoftwareInsider.com. TrainingIndustry.com cited Brainier Solutions as one of The Top 20 companies in 2017 for Learning Portals/LMS after several years of featuring them as a company to watch. SoftwareInsider.com assessed them as “Above Average” in almost every category. The Brandon Hall Group has awarded Brainier Solutions for Excellence in Technology for Learning Management and Unique Learning Technology every year since 2013.
Brainier Solutions’ excellent product and award-winning customer service mirrors the motivation behind their LMS systems. “To advance, you must inspire and invest in their [employee] development. In-house training not only motivates employees to improve, it also gives them the tools and knowledge to do so.”
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Lisa P. Oswald is senior vice president of customer service at Travelzoo and leads a global portfolio including customer and client services, product operations, and voice-of-the-customer programs in support of Travelzoo’s 28 million members worldwide. Lisa is a Director of SOCAP International, the customer care industry’s leading professional development association, and an Advisory Board member with Execs In The Know, a global community of customer experience executives. She is a Gold Stevie Award winner, and was named Customer Service Executive of the Year in 2013 by The American Business Awards. She is extremely pleased to be serving the Stevie Awards community as a Judging Committee Chair in 2018.
Art Gairo is a Client Operations Executive with over 20 years of experience in building, transforming, and leading world class customer service organizations. Art currently serves as Senior Vice President of Client Operations at Evolve IP, The Cloud Strategy Company™. In this role, Art is responsible for leading the entire client experience, while directly leading client care & support, technical services, project management, service delivery and client activations. 
As the Senior Director of Customer Service at Dun & Bradstreet, Matt enjoys developing leaders and taking care of customers. In 2017, Matt was recognized for spearheading teams that resulted in improved Net Promoter Scores, handled millions of customer contacts at an 82% service level, and contributed over $100 million in sales, saves, and collections.
Ben Martin currently serves as a member of the Network Alliance executive management team. He directs the Network Alliance Client Support Center, which specializes in offering white glove technical support, system management, and professional services for a wide spectrum of Cloud Desktop, Cloud Infrastructure, and Cloud VoIP environments. Ben previously served as Vice President of Customer Care at Parature, Inc. (acquired by Microsoft), where he directed technical support operations serving Parature's global customer and partner network.
Jay Fortuna has been helping transform the Learning and Development industry through a blended learning approach that incorporates micro-learning and other innovative techniques. The curriculum and courses that Jay has created are not only effective and immersive, but are engaging and enjoyable. Jay is becoming a recognized name in the Learning and Development (L&D) field and received multiple awards in 2017. This includes winning the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Training Program of the Year, and Bronze Stevie Awards for Sales Training Product of the Year, and for Sales Training or Education Professional of the Year in the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Services for his work with the Horton Group. In addition, Jay and his team were named a Finalist by the Institute for Excellence in Sales (IES) for Sales Innovation of the Year. Recently, Jay was named as one of Workforce Magazine’s 40 under 40 Gamechangers in 2017 for his accomplishments and the future impact that they believe he will have in the human resources and L&D arena.
Tiffany Wagner has worked in sales, consulting, and sales operations leadership roles in the software industry for 25 years. Her experience crosses over both start-ups and fortune 500 companies. She has been with SAP since 2006, and is responsible for the largest demand-generation program in SAP strategic and large enterprise accounts.
Dan Stalp is known as the consummate sales training professional. As the president of Sandler Training of Kansas City, he excels as a transformational sales trainer and sales coach, a highly sought-after speaker, and respected business writer. For more than 12 years, Dan has been one of the most successful sales trainers in the Kansas City metro area. He has built a loyal client base, many of which not only continue with him year after year, but also refer him to their clients and business associates. They do this because Dan has helped them become very astute and highly successful non-traditional sales professionals. In the 2017 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, Dan received the Gold Stevie Award for Sales Training or Education Leader of the Year in the Sales Individual Awards category.
All individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small—may submit nominations to the Stevie Awards for Great Employers. The 2017 awards will honor achievements since the beginning of 2016. Entry details are available at 
These categories recognize the achievements of solution providers for sales, contact center, and customer service professionals.
The information requirements for entries in these categories in the 2016 competition include:
“We’ve received so many requests for individual deadline extensions that we’ve decided to extend the deadline for everyone,” said Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher. The original final deadline was July 20. Gallagher also stated that there will be no additional late fees for entries submitted through August 10, and late entries will not be penalized in the judging process.
DP DHL, with Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award wins for their operations in 29 countries, won the Grand Stevie Award trophy as the most honored organization in the competition for the third year in a row. Other organizations that took home Grand Stevies, in recognition of the sheer number of awards they won, include Carbonite, Inc., Delta Air Lines, eMoney Advisor, LLC, GuideWell Connect, iHeartMedia, John Hancock Financial Services, Lennox Industries, Inc., Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Sales Partnerships, Inc., and Visualize.
Rob Jeppsen is a senior executive at HireVue, a fast-growth technology company that is launching a game-changing tool for Sales Leaders worldwide, and aims to revolutionize how sales leaders coach their teams and develop the world's greatest sales teams. Prior to joining HireVue, Rob was the SVP of Sales at Zions Bank from 2005 to 2015, where he helped lead a team of about 300 commercial bankers in a full-service offering of products to help grow and manage businesses.
Mike has over 30 years of experience in sales, sales leadership, brand management, distribution, retail, general management, M&A, operations, and coaching with multiple brands and channels in the heating and air conditioning manufacturing industry. Mike also volunteers as a board member of the 
Since starting the company aged just 16, Jo credits her success to an innate passion, dedication, and zeal for business, along with an intuitive ability to identify good opportunities. Jo was voted “35 under 35” in Management Today magazine in 2010. Active Digital also named one of the “Top 6 Customer Service Business Leaders in Europe” at the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards in 2013. The company also won the Gold Stevie Award for Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year - Technology Industries in the 2015 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.
Michael D. Anthony is General Manager of OnForce, a strategic business unit of Beeline. He is an innovative leader with more than 20 years of experience in the technical services industry. He is a passionate customer advocate who believes that a client-focused culture is the key to growing a successful business.
As Vice President of Telemarketing, Jackie Coffey is responsible for the overall direct-to-consumer telesales capability serving numerous clients in the health care vertical for GuideWell Connect. Coffey leads the multi-channel sales contact center specializing in new acquisition, welcome programs and retention for Medicare, Under 65, small group, and ancillary products.
University in 2000, Kadir worked at various companies on website development. In 2003, he started at DenizBank A.Ş. as a software engineer. In 2005, Kadir joined Intertech A.Ş. as a software engineer, fulfilling his duties in Internet Banking and Web Projects at Alternative Distribution Channels Department. He was named ADC Department Head in July 2010. In this position he has led many successful projects in Internet/Mobile Banking and CRM fields.
Rebecca V. Eclipse is the Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer of Globe Telecom, Inc., and heads the Office of Strategy Management and Customer Experience. 
