The 14th annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world’s top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run, is now accepting entries. All organizations and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit nominations.

The early-bird entry deadline, with discounted entry fees, is July 19. The final deadline is August 23, but late entries will be accepted through September 20 with payment of a late fee.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE

Learn about what’s new and different in the 2017 edition of the awards.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business offers categories for every aspect of the women-run workplace.

Today we will feature the Individual Awards categories. 

These categories will recognize the achievements since July 1, 2016 of individual female entrepreneurs, executives and employees.

Entries to these categories require the following:
1. An essay of up to 525 words describing the nominated individual's achievements in the category since July 1, 2016
2. A biography of up to 125 words of the nominee
3. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges.

The entrepreneur categories are for women who founded their organizations. The executive categories are for women who run all or some part organizations founded by others. Employee totals are for the entire organization.

1. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Products –10 or Less Employees
2. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Products –11 to 2,500 Employees
3. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Products –More Than 2,500 Employees
4. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Services –10 or Less Employees
5. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Services –11 to 2,500 Employees
6. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Services –More Than 2,500 Employees
7. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Products –10 or Less Employees
8. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Products –11 to 2,500 Employees
9. Female Entrepreneur of the Year– Consumer Products –More Than 2,500 Employees
10. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Services –10 or Less Employees
11. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Services –11 to 2,500 Employees
12. Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Services –More Than 2,500 Employees
13. Female Solo Entrepreneur of the Year: new category for 2017.  This category will recognize the achievements of women business owners who work alone.
14. Female Innovator of the Year – Government or Non-Profit –10 or Less Employees (this category has no entry fee)
15. Female Innovator of the Year – Government or Non-Profit –11 to 2,500 Employees (this category has no entry fee)
16. Female Innovator of the Year – Government or Non-Profit –More Than 2,500 Employees (this category has no entry fee)
17. Female Executive of the Year – Business Products –10 or Less Employees
18. Female Executive of the Year – Business Products –11 to 2,500 Employees
19. Female Executive of the Year – Business Products –More Than 2,500 Employees
20. Female Executive of the Year – Business Services –10 or Less Employees
21. Female Executive of the Year – Business Services –11 to 2,500 Employees
22. Female Executive of the Year – Business Services –More Than 2,500 Employees
23. Female Executive of the Year – Consumer Products –10 or Less Employees
24 .Female Executive of the Year – Consumer Products –11 to 2,500 Employees
25. Female Executive of the Year– Consumer Products –More Than 2,500 Employees
26. Female Executive of the Year – Consumer Services –10 or Less Employees
27. Female Executive of the Year – Consumer Services –11 to 2,500 Employees
28. Female Executive of the Year – Consumer Services –More Than 2,500 Employees
29. Female Executive of the Year – Government or Non-Profit –10 or Less Employees (this category has no entry fee)
30. Female Executive of the Year – Government or Non-Profit –11 to 2,500 Employees (this category has no entry fee)
31. Female Executive of the Year – Government or Non-Profit –More Than 2,500 Employees (this category has no entry fee)

32. Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Asia, Australia or New Zealand
33. Female Executive of the Year in Asia, Australia or New Zealand
34. Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Canada
35. Female Executive of the Year in Canada
36. Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Europe, the Middle East & Africa
37. Female Executive of the Year in Europe, the Middle East & Africa
38. Female Entrepreneur or Executive of the Year in Mexico, Central & South America

39. Most Innovative Woman of the Year: new categories for 2017.  These categories will recognize individual women for the innovations they initiated, developed, or launched since the beginning of July 2016.  Choose the category that corresponds to your nominee's industry, not her job function.
       a. Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations
       b. Business Services
       c. Franchising
       d. Industry
       e. Government or Non-Profit
       f. Manufacturing
       g. Technology

40. Young Female Entrepreneur of the Year: This category will recognize the achievements of female entrepreneurs under the age of 30.

41. Maverick of the Year: This category will recognize the achievements of female individuals who have affected positive change on their companies and/or industries. 

42. Lifetime Achievement – Business
43. Lifetime Achievement – Government or Non-Profit

These categories will recognize individual executives and entrepreneurs who have achieved accomplishments of significance over their entire careers. There is no eligibility period requirement for these categories.

44. Mentor or Coach of the Year – Business
45. Mentor or Coach of the Year – Government or Non-Profit

These categories will recognize the achievements of women who provided support and guidance to other women in the workplace.

46. Women Helping Women – Business
47. Women Helping Women – Government or Non-Profit

These categories will recognize the achievements of women who provided support and assistance to women in their communities.

48. Female Employee of the Year: This category will recognize the achievements of non-executive female employees. There is no entry fee for this category.
       a. Business
       b. Government or Non-Profit

49. Woman of the Year: These categories will recognize individual women, regardless of their titles, positions, or entrepreneurial or executive status, for their achievements since July 1, 2016, in the following industry sectors.  Choose the category that corresponds to your nominee's industry, not her job function.
       a. Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations
       b. Business Services
       c. Franchising
       d. Industry
       e. Government or Non-Profit
       f. Manufacturing
       g. Technology

For years, ElsaMarie D’Silva kept the incident a secret. She was travelling with her mother and siblings on a crowded train in Mumbai when she felt a stranger grope her pelvic area.

Yet the girl, just 13 years of age at the time, had no way of getting help. She couldn’t scream amid the cacophony of sounds in the train compartment. She couldn’t even raise her arms to bat the man away, since they were pressed down against a sea of fellow travelers.

The assault put an indelible scar on D’Silva. In the years that followed, she’d avoid city trains whenever possible, opting for more time-consuming routes to reach her destination.

And yet, like many victims of sexual assault, she didn’t feel comfortable telling anyone. “I filed it at the back of my mind and moved on with life in the best way I knew how to,” she explained during a 2015 Ted Talk.

That is, until a particularly horrifying event shook the country of India ‒ and the rest of the globe ‒ in 2012. It was then that a 23-year-old physical therapy student from Delhi, accompanied by a male friend, was so brutally raped by a group of young assailants that she later died from her injuries.

By then a 20-year veteran of the aviation industry, D’Silva knew she couldn’t remain quiet about her own story any longer. She decided to use the very tool that helped her coordinate 500 flights each day as an airline executive to help combat the problem of sexual assault in India: data.

Her solution was an app called Safecity, which allows women and young girls to report incidents of everything from rape to indecent exposure and unwanted picture-taking. It also provided a comments section where females can share their stories of violence and provide mutual support.

The data, she says, can help law enforcement officials and community leaders to focus on “hotspots” where this type of behavior seems to emanate. And, crucially, it also helps hold law enforcement accountable if those problem areas aren’t addressed. “My challenge with SafeCity is to actually get people to question the status quo,” D’Silva told her Ted Talk audience.

D’Silva has already garnered numerous plaudits for her venture, including the 2016 Gold Stevie Award for Female Entrepreneur of the Year. More importantly, the company she founded is making a big impact throughout some of India’s most populated cities.

The 2017 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the top awards for women entrepreneurs, executives, and employees around the world, opens for entries on May 22. Request the entry kit here.

In Mumbai, for example, local police have altered their patrols to counteract hotspots. And in Delhi, city leaders have increased the availability of public restrooms, alleviating the opportunity for predators to abuse women who otherwise had no choice but to relieve themselves outdoors.

The technology is also making it possible to confront problems in more novel ways. For instance, crowdsourced data revealed a tea stall in Delhi where men would loiter and stare in an intimidating fashion at girls as they passed by.

Once that trend became known, a community group hired a local artist to paint a mural outside the tea stand featuring eyes that glare back at the male customers. It has a sign that, in translation, reads “Look with your heart and not with your eyes.” As a result, D’Silva says, the menacing behavior has been significantly reduced.

Because of stories like the horrific incident in 2012, India has developed an outsized reputation for sexual violence. But D’Silva says it’s important to realize that there’s actually a much wider phenomenon that needs to be addressed globally.  She uses a startling statistic from UN Women to make her point: 1 in 3 females, the organization finds, will encounter some type of sexual assault in their lifetime.

Indeed, the market for Safecity has grown beyond India’s borders to countries like Kenya, Cameroon and Nepal. The company is even getting reports from western cities like New York and London. In total, it’s gathered information on more than 10,000 incidents of sexual assault and intimidation.

The more the tool spreads, the closer D’Silva believes cities will get to achieving true gender equality. “We need to create a world where every girl can walk down the street without fear of being intimidated and where every woman has an equal opportunity to a quality life,” she said.

At a time when businesses have access to more data ‒ from more sources ‒ than ever before, Mina Lux believes the ability to better understand that information will be crucial to future success. That’s precisely the challenge that Lux, who just took home the Gold Stevie Award in the 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business for Female Entrepreneur of the Year, is trying to address.

The 2017 Stevie Awards for Women in Business will open for entries on May 22. These are the top awards for women across the globe. The program features entrepreneur awards, company awards, marketing awards, media awards, and more.

Request the entry kit now and it will be emailed to you in May.

Her young New York City-based firm, Meelo Logic, Inc., enables companies to aggregate data and gain insights through artificial intelligence. As a result, clients can “understand, activate, engage and motivate customers” more effectively.

It’s an endeavor that could fundamentally reshape the way companies interact with data. And yet the Taiwan native, who grew up in Canada, has an even more ambitious goal: to break down the longstanding gender gap within the tech industry.

She’s trying to tackle the issue by mentoring young females and calling attention to the issue at industry events. “Throughout my career, I’ve had the good fortune of supporting young women in their careers by offering them guidance and opportunities in organizations that are often dominated by men,” Lux says.

The under-representation of women is underscored by a 2015 TechCrunch report, which found that only 18% of technology companies had a female founder. That’s up from less than 10% as recently as 2009. The forces behind that phenomenon are numerous.  But for Lux and other women in the industry, there’s still plenty of work to do.

Certainly, having fewer female role models to follow has kept many young women from studying in computer science or engineering programs. Those who do pursue STEM-related degrees often find unique obstacles when they try to launch startups of their own. In part that’s because early-stage investment firms are themselves a “boy’s club,” according to researchers.

A joint survey by the National Venture Capital Association and Deloitte, for example, found that women make up just 11% of top decision-makers at venture capital firms. And, there are plenty of entrepreneurs who say that creates a bias ‒ whether consciously or not ‒ against female-led organizations.

To overcome those hurdles, Lux suggests it’s important for females to not only have the necessary skills, but the confidence to see their goals through. It’s a point she drove home during an International Women’s Day event at her alma mater, the University of Ottawa.

“We discussed the steps of building a company from recognizing a need, dreaming up a solution, solidifying funding, running a company and confronting challenges head on,” she says. “But most of all, I wanted to highlight the importance of never undervaluing your own brilliance and to believe in yourself.”

Breaking Barriers

Cracking the glass ceiling is something Lux has successfully done time and again. After graduating with a dual biochemistry and chemical engineering degree, she changed course and helped co-found a marketing company called FloNetwork. There, she pioneered the first technology platform that allowed businesses to send emails as a way of generating leads and building revenue. She ended up selling the business to DoubleClick for a staggering $80 million in 2001.

After a distinguished consulting career where she tackled digital marketing for the likes of USA Today and Doubleday Book Club, she decided to start a new technology firm that would help businesses strategize based on real-time consumer data and behaviour prediction. Meelo was born.

Already, the company is gaining serious attention from the tech world. Among its accomplishments: beating out thousands of early-stage firms to win the 2016 TiE50 Top Startup award. 

“[Meelo] is the only company that holds partnerships with the two largest think tanks in the cognitive technology and artificial intelligence: IBM Watson and Caltech/Jet Propulsion Labs,” Lux explains. “Meelo uses both think tanks to solve any problem and provide intelligence for any need." 

In order to deploy the technology effectively, she says it’s vital that the organization bring in contributions from a diverse pool of talent.

Lux says, “At Meelo, all voices are heard, all talents are valued and all have an equal opportunity to succeed.”

An interview with Etsuko Tsugihara, President of Sunny Side Up, Inc.

Stevie Award-winner, Sunny Side Up, Inc of Tokyo, Japan won a Gold Stevie Award in the 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business for Women-Run Workplace of the Year.  President and CEO Etsuko Tsugihara also won the Silver Stevie for Female Executive of the Year in Asia, Australia or New Zealand.  Tsugihara shares what winning the Stevie Awards this year meant to the organization.

The 2017 Stevie Awards for Women in Business will open for entries in May. If your organization has operations in Japan or any of  the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region, you may participate in the 2017 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

What does Sunny Side Up, Inc., do?

We are a multi-faceted Public Relations firm offering a wide range of services from standard PR and marketing, to Sports Marketing, Casting, Digital Marketing, Business Development, Media Relations, Sales Promotion and more. Recently, we've expanded our services globally and our strength is in assisting foreign companies entering the Japanese market.

What is the organizational vision?

Our company motto is "Let's have fun!" We seek to create a buzz by continuing to evolve and expand, in order to stay ahead of social and cultural trends.

What sets your company apart in this category?

Japan is still a very conservative business culture with many challenges for women. For instance, less than 1% of the 3000 companies listed on the Japanese stock exchange are run by women. In fact, I may be the only female Founder! The Japanese government has a target to increase the number of women executives drastically by 2020. In my own small way, it would be great if I'm able to encourage and inspire the future businesswomen of Japan.

How did you first become acquainted with the Stevies®?

Some of our global partner companies and clients had received an award, and we wanted to see if it applied to our company as well.

What was it like for your company to win this award?

It's quite exciting for the entire company because this is a joint effort. Our company is young (average age is less than 35), with more than half being female employees. I hope that the award will help motivate them even more!

How has the win affected your business?

We hope it increases our visibility so that people who see our fun name will associate it with Public Relations in Japan. Perhaps we'll also be able to attract new team members?

What changes in the industry does your team find interesting and why?

Having been in the PR business for more than 30 years, I've seen how we've changed drastically with the diversification of media. For a very long time, mass media meant TV, newspapers, magazines and radio, and we were able to gain exposure by establishing strong working relationships and ties with the major media sources. With the expansion of the internet and social media, even the source of news and how it’s generated has expanded. In fact, anyone can be the source of news/information. More than ever, it’s not important how much you spend, but how creative and original you can be in creating newsworthy information. Sunny Side Up is known for creating a buzz, so we're in perfect position to be the trendsetters!

What is the story behind your organization that might inspire our audience?

I started the company when I was 17, and not only have we managed to stay in business for more than 30 years, we've been listed on the local stock exchange since 2008.That's quite a feat when you consider less than 1% of Japanese companies last that long. I hope that more young and motivated people are inspired to break out on their own!

Learn more about Sunny Side Up. Inc.

World's Top Honors for Women Entrepreneurs, Executives, Employees and the Organizations They Run Were Presented in New York Before More than 500 Accomplished Women From Around the World

Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations run by women, the Stevie® Awards for Women in Business announced the results of its 2016 competition on Friday, November 18.

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

With more than 500 businesswomen and their guests in attendance, the awards were announced at a gala dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Nations represented at the event include Argentina, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, South Africa, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A.

The presentations were broadcast live via Livestream.

More than 1,400 nominations from organizations and individuals in 22 nations were submitted to the awards this year for consideration in categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, and Startup of the Year, among others. More than 160 professionals around the world participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and then the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements.

Grand Stevie Award trophies were presented to the five organizations that submitted the best body of entries to the competition, in their own names or in the names of one or more clients. Winners were determined by the number of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards won in the competition.

The Grand Stevie Award winners are:

•         PAIRELATIONS LLC, Centennial, CO USA (#1)
•         Accenture, Chicago, IL USA (#2)
•         WDS Marketing & Public Relations, Overland Park, KS USA (#3)
•         Jeunesse Global, Lake Mary, FL USA (#4)
•         Linqia, San Francisco, CA USA (#5)

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

• Shauna MacDonald, Principal and founder of Brookline Public Relations, Calgary, AB, Canada - Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Canada
• Viviana Zocco of Grupo Vi-Da, Buenos Aires, Argentina - Female Entrepreneur or Executive of the Year in Mexico, Central & South America
• Susan L. Abrams, CEO, Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Skokie, IL - Female Innovator of the Year – Government or Non-Profit
• LivingTree dba: Snowflake Technologies Inc., Austin, TX - Community Involvement Program of the Year
• Shyamala Soundari Kuppusamy, Senior Product Manager, Macy's Inc., San Francisco, CA - Employee of the Year - Business
• Bobbi Leach, CEO of RevenueWire Inc, Victoria, BC, Canada - Female Executive of the Year in Canada
• SUNNY SIDE UP, Inc. Tokyo, Japan - Women-Run Workplace of the Year - More Than 10 Employees
• TAPfit, Queensland, Australia - Startup of the Year - Consumer Products Industries
• TEARS Foundation, Sandton, South Africa - Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit– 10 or Less Employees
• Susan Ma, founder of Tropic Skin Care, Croydon, Surrey, United Kingdom - Young Female Entrepreneur of the Year
• Yvonne Mei, Executive Vice Chairman of World System Builder, World Financial Group, San Jose, CA, USA - Woman of the Year - Industry

The 2016 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflect a diverse group of large and small organizations from around the globe. Organizations that won more than one Gold Stevie Award include Accenture, Cisco Systems, Inc., Enabled Employment, Final Salute Inc., Goldie Blox, Happy Family, Jeunesse Global, Linqia, Madison Services Group, Inc., Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and RippleNami, Inc.

For a complete list of Stevie Award winners and more information, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Entries for the 2017 edition of the awards will open next May.

The 13th annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run, will be presented this Friday, November 18 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York.  More than 400 women and their guests from around the world will attend.

The presentations will be broadcast via LiveStream at 7:30 pm eastern time on Friday. Watch it live or later on, here.  Follow along with a copy of the awards dinner's official program book. The red caprt pre-show will air on the Stevie Awards Facebook page at 6:00 pm ET.

Finalists in the 2016 awards were announced last month.  This Friday the Finalists will find out whether they've won Grand, Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award status.

So who's coming to New York City for Friday's gala event?  Here are the organizations who have already booked their place for the awards dinner.  Tickets are still available.

360 Total Concept Oakland CA
ABS Associates Inc. Schaumburg IL
Accenture Chicago IL
Access One Inc. Chicago IL
ActionCOACH-The London Coaching Group London United Kingdom
Actuated Medical Inc. Bellefonte PA
Aflac Columbus OH
Alliance Data Columbus OH
Amobee San Diego CA USA
Aspire Phoenix AZ
AT&T Dallas TX
ATREVIA Madrid Spain
Australian Charity for the Children of Vietnam Brisbane
Axis Capital Inc. Grand Island NE
Bank Leumi Tel-Aviv Israel
BBR Creative Lafayette LA
Biocrystal Technologies Rijeka Croatia
Blanks Boutique Birmingham AL
Blueliner Marketing New York NY
Bounce Australia Maryborough VIC Australia
Braeburn Pharmaceuticals Princeton NJ
BRG Communications Alexandria VA
Bronto Software Durham NC
Brookfield Sydney NSW Australia
Burson-Marsteller Hong Kong
Candor Oklahoma City OK
CBIZ Women's Advantage Cleveland OH
Century 21 Real Estate Madison NJ
Chargebacks911 Clearwater FL
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation Dover DE
Citrus Studios Santa Monica CA USA
Clearfield Inc. Plymouth MN
Clearslide San Francisco CA
Coast Professional Inc. West Monroe LA
Concentrix Corporation Tempe AZ
ConnectIreland Dublin Ireland
Corporette New York NY
Curriculum Associates North Billerica MA
Darktrace San Francisco CA
Dell EMC Hopkinton MA
Democracy Prep Public Schools New York NY
Dignity Health San Francisco CA USA
Dr. Marlene Mahipat Randallstown MD
Dynamic Solutions International Denver CO
EHR Concepts Villa Rica GA
Enabled Employment Canberra ACT Australia
Encore Associates San Ramon CA
Engage2Learn Corpus Christi TX
Epsilon Irving TX
ERA Franchise Systems LLC Madison NJ
EssayJack Inc. Toronto ON Canada
Event Head Melbourne VIC Australia
EvolveMKD New York NY
Family Legacy Missions International Irving TX
Final Salute Inc. Alexandria VA USA
FIS Jacksonville FL
FIS St. Petersburg FL
Fiserv Warren NJ
Foxtail Marketing American Fork UT
FuturePay Salt Lake City UT
Gail Lowney Alofsin Newport RI
General Electric Fairfield CT
Generation Hope Washington DC
George P. Johnson Auburn Hills MI
Gina Din Group Nairobi Kenya
Globalization Partners Cambridge MA
Goodwin Group PR Walpole MA USA
Grass Roots Meetings & Events New York NY
Grupo Vi-Da Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires Argentina
H&S Enterprises Inc. Scottsdale AZ
Happy Family New York NY
Hawkins International Public Relations New York NY
Headmark Sydney Australia
Heaven Skincare Shifnal Shropshire United Kingdom
Hilton Software Coral Springs FL
Hinduja Global Solutions HGS USA Peoria IL
Humana Insurance Louisville KY
Humana Louisville KY
hVIVO plc London United Kingdom
IAC Applications Yonkers NY
iCIMS Matawan NJ
Identity Theft Resource Center San Diego CA
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center Skokie IL
Improving Addison TX USA
Indus Health Plus (P) Ltd. Pune Maharashtra India
Innovid New York NY
INVNT New York NY
iTalent Corporation San Jose CA
Ithraa Consulting Group Jeddah Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
iVvy Pty Ltd Gold Coast QLD Australia
Ixia Calabasas CA
JDA Software Scottsdale AZ
Jenny Fenig Worldwide Great Barrington MA
Jewel Toned West Hollywood CA
JMA Solutions LLC. Washington DC
Jones Publishing (Citywealth) London United Kingdom
JSP Properties LLC St. Paul MN
Kristie's Beirut Lebanon
Krupp Kommunications New York NY
Kura-ra.net Osaka Japan
Linqia San Francisco CA USA
LivingTree dba: Snowflake Technologies Inc. Austin TX
LLORENTE & CUENCA Madrid Spain
Macy's Inc. San Francisco CA
Madison Services Group Inc. Washington DC
Manpower Group Milwaukee WI
Marketing CoPilot Toronto ON Canada
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge MA
Matrex Exhibits Addison IL
MATRIXX Software Saratoga CA
Meals on Wheels America Arlington VA
Meelo New York NY
Mid-America Asian Culture Association Leawood KS
Miller Vein Novi MI
MONAT Global Doral FL
n e t a m o r p h o s i s New York NY
Nicole Rodrigues - NRPR Group Beverly Hills CA
OBI Creative Omaha NE
One Mission Framingham MA
PAIRELATIONS LLC Centennial CO
PayneGroup Seattle WA
Payoneer Inc New York NY
Peggy Klaus Berkeley CA
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Harrisburg Pennsylvania
Pivot Point Marketing Larkspur CA
Prime Focus Technologies Private Limited Mumbai India
Primrose School Franchising Company Acworth GA
Proforma Durkee Huntersville NC
Push! Leadership and Business Training Brisbane QLD Australia
ReachLocal Woodland Hills CA
Red Hat Raleigh NC
RevenueWire Inc Victoria BC Canada
RevUnit Bentonville AR
Sealed Air Diversey Care Charlotte NC
SEVEN PRESS s.a.s Live-In Style - Televiva Houston etc... New York NY
Silverlink Burlington MA
Simple Mills Chicago IL
Southwest Michigan First Kalamazoo MI
SPLICE Software Calgary AB Canada
Spong Minneapolis MN
Sports 1 Marketing Irvine CA
Strategy and Management Services Inc. Springfield VA
Stratix Norcross GA
Stratus Interactive West Chester PA USA
STREAM magazine Torino ITALY
SUNNY SIDE UP Inc. Tokyo Japan
Susan Davis International Washington DC
Tagetik Lucca Italy & Stamford CT
TAPfit Queensland Australia
TEADS New York NY
TEARS Foundation Sandton South Africa
The Association for Women in Events Washington DC
The Australian Charity for the Children of Vietnam Brisbane QLD Australia
The Enrichery Houston TX
The Henker Group Easton MD
The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Lawrenceville NJ
Thought Bubble Brisbane QLD Australia
TIBCO Software Palo Alto CA
TMG Des Moines IA
Trendy Lime Inc. San Francisco CA
Triple A Financial Services Pty Ltd Australia Adelaide South Australia
Tropic Skin Care Croydon Surrey United Kingdom
Universal Environmental Consulting Westbury NY
Untangle Life Alexandria VA
USAID/OFDA Washington DC
WDS Marketing & Public Relations Overland Park KS
Webzap Technologies Noida Uttar Pradesh India
Wells Fargo Treasury Management San Francisco CA
WeSpire Boston MA
West Pharmaceutical Services Exton PA
Wind Rose Communications Atlanta GA
Women in PR London United Kingdom
World Financial Group San Jose CA
Zafin Palo Alto CA

The Stevie Awards are delighted to announce the  five distinguished women who will chair the final judging committees of the 2016 (13th 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 were announced on
October 6.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie placements from among the Finalists will be determined in final judging, to begin October 17.  Results will be announced at the 13th annual awards dinner in New York on November 18.  Tickets are on sale now.

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/ENTREPRENEUR

Jo Wimble-Groves, Business Support Director
Active Digital, Lamberhurst, Kent, United Kingdom

Jo Wimble-Groves is co-owner of the successful Kent-based company Active Digital, an award-winning business mobile communications company, which she operates with her brother, Richard Groves. Jo has spent the last 20 years of her career working on customer experience and team strategy. Her commitment to delivering an exceptional level of service has led to a number of company awards. Active Digital was named as 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.

Established in 1996, Active Digital clients include Olympic teams and rugby clubs. Its core business is providing mobile phones, tablets, fixed line, and apps to UK organizations of all sizes.

INDIVIDUAL/EXECUTIVE

Karen Justice, CEO
Just For Pets, Suffolk Park, New South Wales, Australia

An award-winning business leader, Karen Justice has owned and managed the Just for Pets buying group business based in Byron Bay since January 2009. As CEO, she liaises with over 65 independent pet retailers and most major manufacturers and suppliers to the pet industry on a daily basis. Karen keeps her finger on the pulse in this fast-changing industry.

Karen’s first job was as a vet nurse while she was still a teenager, which she did for four years before completing her Higher School Certificate and moving into the world of human health. She is a registered nurse who moved into private Child and Family Health Clinics when she started her own family. She managed a pharmacy for over eleven years, and then moved into the pet-care industry in 2005. After leaving the health industry completely, Karen owned and managed a pet shop for five years before taking on the challenge of a pet industry buying group.

Karen owns a beautiful Tiboodle (a cross between a Tibetan spaniel and a poodle) named Daisy, and a rescue cat named Sox, and is an avid marine fish enthusiast.

COMPANY/ORGANIZATION

Dr Ambreen Zaman Riaz, Founder
I Change Her Life, Lahore, Pakistan & Istanbul, Turkey

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

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

PUBLIC RELATIONS/MARKETING/MEDIA

Mary Ann Henker, President
The Henker Group, Easton, Maryland, USA

Mary Ann Henker is president of The Henker Group, an integrated marketing communications firm serving clients up to the national level. She founded The Henker Group in 2005 to fully leverage her skills and experience to deliver powerful and proven results for companies and organizations. Prior to The Henker Group, Mary Ann was the executive director of the Giant Screen Theater Association, the worldwide association for the IMAX theater and film industry. In that role, she completed business and contract negotiations with individuals and companies in 22 countries. Her management and business style is that of aggressive marketing, detailed planning, and strict fiscal management.

Mary Ann has been a frequent judge for the marketing and communications categories of The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards and the Stevie® Awards for Women in Business. She has also been invited by A Billion + Change to participate in a forum at the White House. She is a past recipient of The Daily Record of Maryland's “Successful by 40 Award,” and has has been honored as a Business Woman of the Year by the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce. In addition to receiving a Stevie® Award for Women in Business, her company, The Henker Group, won Bronze Stevie® Awards in The  2016 American Business Awards for both Marketing Agency of the Year and Communications Department of the Year.

Currently, Mary Ann sits on the boards of Junior Achievement for Talbot County, Maryland, the Eastern Shore Experiential Learning Center, and The Cause Agency.  She is a graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, a Minor in Management, and a focus on employment law. She has completed courses towards a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas.

NEW PRODUCT & SERVICE

Fatima Cabral, CEO and co-founder
Pink Elephant, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Since the founding of Pink Elephant in 1989, Fatima Cabral has been a driving force behind the success of Pink Elephant across Canada, North America, and Asia. After introducing ITIL® to North America and Asia in 1997, Pink Elephant established itself as a leading provider of IT Service Management conferences, education, and consulting services.

Fatima has received many awards, including ranking in the PROFIT W100 of Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs for eight successive years, a business award from the Federation of Portuguese-Canadian Business Professionals, and the Gold Stevie® for Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Canada in the 2015 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business.

Currently, Fatima and Pink Elephant are leading the way in the Lean IT Revolution–an essential certification that should be part of every IT professional’s toolkit.

Finalists were announced today in the 13th annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world’s top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

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

This year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced at an awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Friday, November 18. More than 400 women and their guests from around the world are expected to attend the presentations, which will be broadcast live on LiveStream. The red carpet pre-show will air on the Stevie Awards’ Facebook Live.

More than 1,400 entries were submitted this year by organizations and individuals around the world for consideration in more than 90 categories including Executive of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Startup of the Year, Women Helping Women, and Women-Run Workplace of the Year.

Organizations with multiple Finalists in a variety of categories include Accenture (Chicago, IL), Aflac (Columbus, GA), Cirkled in (Redmond, WA), Creative Lodging Solutions (Lexington, KY), DCR Workforce (Boca Raton, FL), EvolveMKD (New York, NY), Jeunesse Global (Lake Mary, FL), Linqia (San Francisco, CA), Stratus Interactive (West Chester,PA), TAPfit (Queensland, Australia) and World Financial Group (San Jose, CA), among others.

Nominations were submitted by organizations in 22 nations including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Croatia, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and the USA.

Visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women for a complete list of Finalists by category.

Finalists were chosen by more than 110 business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging. Members of five specialized judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging that begins on October 17.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

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

Ahmed 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.

You've been busy. Summer's over and you're getting back into the swing of things. Whatever the reason, you didn't get around to submitting entries to this year's Stevie Awards for Women in Business. But you've gotten a reprieve. We have some tips on how you can submit your nominations in as little time as possible. The last day final entries wil be accepted is Friday, September 30.

We know, you're still busy. Your calendar this week is still chockablock. But surely you can find 10 free minutes. Because in 10 minutes you can prepare and submit an entry to the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and potentially win a Stevie®, one of the most coveted trophies on the planet.

Here are a number of ways you can do that:

Repurpose Nominations From Other Awards Programs
The submission requirements are fairly open-ended, and there's a wide variety of categories to choose from. If you've entered any other awards programs this year, simply repurpose the nominations you wrote for those competitions, as long as they qualify as being run by women. Most categories require only the submission of an essay of up to 650 words and a bullet-list summary of the achievements portrayed in the essay.

Repurpose Your Press Releases and White Papers
It's likely you've already done the heavy-lifting of describing your organization's achievements, your innovations, your new products and services, your marketing and PR campaigns, etc. Throughout the year you've been trumpeting your successes through press releases and white papers. Simply comb through your output over the past year and cobble together the text you've already written into a short essay. Note that the 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business will recognize your achievements since the middle of 2015.

Repurpose Your Press Clippings
With every nomination you have the option to attach any number of press clippings, work samples, video clips, photographs, etc. to your essay, to help paint the picture for the judges. Does one or more of your press clippings feature a compelling story that can be the basis of the essay for your Stevie Awards for Women in Business nomination? There's no need to reinvent the wheel if it already exists and you can reuse it.

Hire a Consultant
Did you know that there are a number of consultancies that specialize in preparing and submitting awards nominations on behalf of their clients? There are quite a few in the U.S.A., and internationally and they've been remarkably successful over the years in winning Stevie Awards for their clients. Contact us if you'd like a referral to one of them who can take the process of getting entries into the Stevie Awards for Women in Business off your hands this week.

Submit Media Work
Sometimes you hope to win a Stevie for a specific reason - for a major achievement, or a member of your team - but you can also win a Stevie Award for specific media work. If that's the case, take a look at the categories for videos, apps, websites, publications, and live events. It's really easy to enter these categories. These categories generally require only a short essay of up to 125 words, describing the nominated work's purpose and results to date, and the nominated video or app, etc., itself.

Resubmit a Nomination From Another Stevie Awards Program
Did you have success with a nomination in the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, or The American Business Awards? One Stevie Awards competition has nothing to do with another, and resubmitting a nomination from one program to this year's Stevie Awards for Women in Business is a valid strategy followed by many organizations.

Contact Us for Help
You'll save a lot of time by letting us do some of the important work for you. We'll save you the trouble of plowing through our category lists to find the category that's right for you, for example. Contact us, by email at help@stevieawards or telephone at +1 703-547-8389. Tell us what your organization wants to be recognized for, and we'll suggest the best category for your nomination.

Whichever strategy you choose to get your nominations written and submitted this week, do get them submitted by the final entry deadline of Friday, September 30.

Ready to Enter the 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business?