The 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

PT. Unilever Indonesia Tbk in Jakarta, Indonesia, won a Gold Stevie® Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year (Asia, Australia & New Zealand) in the Company/Organization Awards categories of The 2013 International Business Awards.  Entries to the 2014 International Business Awards, the world’s premier business awards program, are now being accepted.  Get your entry kit here.

We talked with Sinta Kaniawati, General Manager of the Unilever Indonesia Foundation, about its Stevie® Award-winning program.

“The trash generated by city dwellers is set to increase significantly in the next two decades, especially in fast-growing cities in developing countries like Indonesia.” Sinta explained. “Poor waste management makes residential neighborhoods in cities more prone to health, environmental, and social problems.”

Waste pollution in tropical regions can result in malaria, typhoid, and dysentery. A lack of recycling programs has resulted in the burning of plastic waste, which has contributed to 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a World Bank Report in 2012.

To tackle this problem, Unilever Foundation Indonesia developed its “Community Waste Bank Program” to empower communities to take action to reduce waste while receiving economic benefits.

We asked Sinta what winning a Gold Stevie® Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year had meant to the Foundation.

“Winning the Gold Stevie is an international recognition of what we are doing with our CSR program here in Indonesia, and it really does make a difference,” Sinta told us. “With its panel of reputable international judges, The International Business Awards provides recognition and confirmation that our program meets international standards—even though, at present, it is only implemented locally in Indonesia. We hope that, with the exposure our program has gained through the Stevie Awards, our Community Waste Bank program can also be replicated elsewhere.”

The Unilever Indonesia Foundation launched the first Community Waste Bank program in 2004 with just 20 Community Waste Banks in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city with a population of over 3 million.  By 2012, the program had grown to 499 banks, a 2000% increase in just 8 years. The program is now being carried out in the ten most populated cities in Indonesia, and reaches a combined population of more than 20 million people.

Helping Communities to Help Themselves

The Unilever Indonesia Foundation program assists communities in developing a system where they can collect inorganic waste and sell it based on its value. The money is saved at the Waste Bank and can be cashed over time. The system works like a regular bank, except that individuals deposit waste instead of money.

In 2012, 278 tons of waste was collected, generating 300 million Inodnesian Rupiah (approximately $26,000) of profits.  This was shared by more than 28,000 waste bank customers and directly impacted 140,000 beneficiaries. The profits have enabled low-income families to buy 3 kg of rice per month.

Areas with waste banks have reduced their waste by 80% and reported a considerable reduction in health problems.

The waste bank program aims to realize the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan target of “Reducing Environmental Impact” with the target of halving Indonesia’s waste by 2020.

In 2013, the Unilever Indonesia Foundation was on target to increase the number of waste banks to 700 while continuing to develop them into larger business units.  The Foundation’s unique approach has put the community at the center, while engaging governments, NGO partners, media, and its own corporate functions to support the program.

“Working with our NGO Partners, we trained the community to establish and manage the waste banks.” Sinta explained. “We support access to the market by establishing links with waste collectors as waste buyers. We also support the scaling-up of each waste bank to become larger business unit by approaching local banks to assist with soft loans for waste shredding machines.” Additionally, communities have been taught how to turn plastic waste into attractive recycled household items for sale; and organic waste is turned into compost.

In 2009, the Foundation’s Community Waste Bank program won the Stevie® Award for Environmental Responsibility Program of the Year for adding value to plastic waste. The program has influenced the Government of Indonesia to include waste banks in Indonesia’s “Adipura” Cities Performance Awards; and it was adopted as a Best Practice CSR Program in Waste Reduction by Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment in 2013.

Future Sustainability Programs

We asked Sinta where the Unilever Indonesia Foundation would be focusing its attention in 2014. “Over the coming year, the three main sustainability programs we will focus on are health, wellbeing, and nutrition; reducing environmental impact; and enhancing livelihood—especially for Indonesian smallholder farmers,” Sinta told us.

“Winning a Stevie Award has energized the whole team at Unilever Indonesia Foundation to keep doing what we are doing,” concluded Sinta.  “We look forward to creating more effective programs that will benefit the community throughout Indonesia.”

About Sinta Kaniawati

Sinta Kaniawati started her career in the corporate world in 1990 when she joined Unilever Indonesia as a management trainee. She built tremendous skills in market research, marketing for national and international brands, and customer development, and was assigned a senior position at Unilever Indonesia Foundation in 2007.  

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

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

She is married with a young son and daughter.

About Unilever Indonesia

PT. Unilever Indonesia Tbk is one of Indonesia’s leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies. Its portfolio of Home & Personal Care and Foods & Beverages products is distinguished by many of the world’s best known and most trusted brands, including Lifebuoy, Vaseline, Pepsodent, Lux, Pond’s, Sunlight, Rinso, Blue Band, Royco, Dove, Wall’s, Rexona, Clear, and others.

About Unilever Indonesia Foundation

Unilever Indonesia Foundation focuses on improving health, hygiene, and nutrition; reducing environmental impact; and improving livelihood through sustainable socio-economic programs with the community. The Foundation has been recognized nationally and internationally since 2007.  In addition to The International Business Awards, it has received an Energy Globe Award; the Indonesian MDG Award for Environment, Improving Maternal Health, Reducing Child Mortality, and Combating HIV/AIDS & Other Diseases; and the Indonesian CSR Award and AFCSR Award.

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.

Find 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

First Winners in Newest Stevie Awards Program to Be Honored in Seoul on 30 May

29 April 2014 – Fairfax, VA USA: Winners in the new Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, the only business awards program to recognize achievement in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region, were announced today.  The complete list of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners is available at http://Asia.StevieAwards.com.

The Stevie Awards are widely considered to be the world's premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in the workplace over the past 12 years in programs such as The International Business Awards and the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the first new Stevie Awards program to be created in seven years.

Stevie winners will be celebrated and presented their awards at a gala banquet at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, South Korea on Friday, 30 May.  Tickets for the event are now on sale.

Stevie Award winners include, among others:

• AirAsia Berhad, Malaysia
• ABS-CBN, the Philippines
• Billabong International Ltd, Australia
• Fast Retailing Co. Ltd, Japan
• Huawei Technologies, China
• Hyundai Steel, South Korea
• Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd, Singapore

All organizations in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region were eligible to submit entries.  Nominations of more than 500 organizations were considered for the awards this year.

More than 50 executives around the world participated in the first round of judging to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.  A second judging panel will choose a very few Grand Stevie Award winners beginning the first week of May.

The Stevie Award trophy, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major international awards, is among the world's most coveted prizes.

For more information about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, visit http://Asia.StevieAwards.com.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards.

Stevie® Awards to Be Presented This Fall in Paris

The Stevie® Awards today issued the call for entries for The 11th Annual International Business Awards, the world’s premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organizations in more than 50 nations and territories each year.

All individuals and organizations worldwide – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small – may submit nominations to The International Business Awards.  The entry deadline is 14 May.  Late entries will be accepted through 11 June, and results will be announced in mid-August.  Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.  

Stevie Awards will be conferred at three levels of distinction: Gold, Silver and Bronze.  Several Grand Stevie Awards also will be conferred as best-of-competition prizes.  Stevie Award trophies, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major international awards, are among the world’s most coveted prizes. Stevie Award winners will be selected by an international judging panel of more than 200 executives.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace.  Categories include:

• Management Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product Awards
• Public Relations Awards
• Web Site Awards, Smartphone and Tablet App, and other media awards

Because 2014 Stevie Award winners will be celebrated on Friday, 10 October at the Westin Vendôme Hotel in Paris, France, all organizations in France may submit an unlimited number of entries to the IBAs this year without having to pay the entry fees.  French organizations should use the promotion code “Paris” where indicated in the online entry process.

The 10th Annual International Business Awards were presented in October 2013 in Barcelona, Spain.  Top Stevie winners last year included Accenture (USA), Best Doctors, Inc. (USA), Burson-Marsteller (Australia and the UAE), Coca-Cola Turkey (Turkey), Finansbank A.S. (Turkey), Ignacio de las Cuevas S.A. (Spain), Jack Morton Worldwide (UK and the USA), KW Digital (Sweden), LLORENTE & CUENCA (Spain), Maras Group (Australia), Nu Skin Enterprises (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan), Reading Room (Singapore), RTR Rete Rinnovabile (Italy), and Weber Shandwick (Hong Kong and the UK). 2013 results are summarized here.

About The Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  A sixth program, the German Stevie Awards, will debut later this year.  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 www.StevieAwards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards. 

The final entry deadline for The 2014 (12th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., is this Wednesday, April 23.  Complete details on the ABAs are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Maybe you haven't entered yet, and you're swamped this week, or you're not sure of the benefits of participating, or haven't yet made the case to your boss or your colleagues about why you should make the investment in time and money to submit nominations to the ABAs.

Here are 10 great reasons why your organization should enter The American Business Awards.

1. Entering the ABAs is a cost-effective way to thank and honor your valued employees and to build or burnish your brand.

2. The entry process itself is valuable.  You'll research and write succinct, compelling stories of achievement within your organization that you can use in other ways.

3. Small companies have just as much chance to win a Stevie as big companies do.  Every year, household-name companies such as Apple, Delta Faucet, and Ford Motor Company are joined in the winners' circle by small and medium-size organizations that are still building their brands.

4. There are scores of categories covering every aspect of business, from management and finance, to marketing and public relations, to product development, customer service, and human resources.

5. If you’re a marketing consultancy or media production company, your work will be reviewed and honored by potential clients, not just your competitors, and there are many categories for web sites and apps, marketing campaigns, video productions, and other media.

6. Many of the world's top business leaders will review your nominations during the judging process.

7. If you win a Gold Stevie Award you’ll get to make a 30-second acceptance speech…before an audience of hundreds of executives from across the country…during a nationally-broadcast awards dinner…that will also be streamed worldwide over the Internet.

8. The Stevie Award is one of the world's most impressive trophies - it will wow clients, partners, colleagues and staff.

9. We'll promote your win across our web site and media.  We get more than 70,000 visitors to our site every month, have more than 24,000 weekly email newsletter subscribers, and many thousands of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter followers.

10. As an honoree you'll get a range of free tools that you can use to promote your award.

Need more reasons?  Need help choosing categories?  Contact us.

We won't officially extend the entry deadline, but if you need a few extra days to submit your entries you may have them, but you must request a brief extension in writing.

We received such a large, late influx of entries for the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards that we've had to change the announcement date for the winners.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will now be announced and notified on Tuesday, April 29 - not on April 23, as originally planned.

The reason for the change is that we've had to extend the judging for a week to ensure that all entries are fairly judged.  The judging, originally scheduled to end on April 18, will now conclude on April 25.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the first new Stevie Awards program to be introduced in seven years.  This new business awards program is open to all organizations operating in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region.  More than 400 entries were submitted this year.

Currently more than 100 executives are reviewing the entries in the first-round of judging, which will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners to be announced on April 29.

A second round of judging, to be conducted in early May by another international panel of executives, will choose a handful of Grand Stevie Award winners from among the Gold Stevie winners.

The Stevie winners will be celebrated and presented their awards during a gala banquet on Friday, May 30 at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, South Korea.  Tickets for the banquet will go on sale on April 29.

Join the mailing list for the 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and you'll be emailed the entry kit as soon as it's available this fall.

We have published the full-text of the Gold Stevie Award-winning entries from the 2014 (8th Annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world's premier sales awards and customer service awards.

READ THEM HERE.

Here’s a preview of some of the Gold Stevie-winning entries you'll find online now:

Company: Strategy to Revenue, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Category: Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year
Nomination Title: DHL Global Forwarding - Quest for Sales Excellence

Strategy to Revenue (STR) was engaged by DHL Global Forwarding (DGF) in September 2012 to transform the global sales force to become the number one in the logistics industry as part of their 'Good to Great' business strategy.

In order to fully understand the current situation, STR worked in collaboration with the DHL Global Sales Training team to analyze the sales process, existing selling models and concepts used in the field, and identify the gaps to drive high performance...

The Kohl’s Charge Contact Center, a 900+ seat environment with four locations, provides Retail & Customer Service and Operational Support to 25+ million Kohl’s Charge Card customers and 1,158 retail store locations. 3 balanced elements define the Kohl’s unique Contact Center Strategy…

Company: PostNet, Denver, CO
Category: Sales Growth Achievement of the Year
Nomination Title: PostNet

PostNet CEO Steve Greenbaum, and co-founder Brian Spindel led PostNet’s re-imagined franchise model from its origins as a mail and parcel store to a full-on Neighborhood Business Center. When consumer sales declined in the recession, PostNet seized an opportunity in a new breed of customers: laid-off workers who decided to go into small business ownership. Validation of this new target customer came from extensive market research and an analysis of the top-performing franchises that were already mainly focused on servicing the needs of small businesses in their communities...

Chris Kyle, a United States Navy SEAL, known as the most lethal sniper in American military history, was tragically shot and killed on February 2, 2013 at a shooting range in Texas. To honor this war veteran, Mr. Greg Marra, known as America’s Sculptor, completed a life-size sculpted image of Chris Kyle and was raising funds to have it transported from Sarasota to Dallas/Ft. Worth, where it would be cast in bronze and eventually presented to Mr. Kyle’s family.

Business partners of Mr. Marra contacted Delta to make flight reservations to attend a ceremony where the statue would be viewed. When Dallas/Ft. Worth Specialist Rachel Bible heard the story, she inquired if Mr. Marra also needed reservations. Rachel offered to conference in Mr. Marra to assist him but was told he wasn’t ready to make his reservation due to lack of funds. Rachel realized quickly that the flight had a limited number of seats left on it, and overwhelmed with compassion for the situation, elected to pay for Mr. Marra’s ticket herself...

Company: Turkish Economy Bank, Istanbul, Turkey
Category: Best Use of Technology in Customer Service
Nomination Title: TEB SME TV

TEB SME TV is the first internet television of the banking sector in Turkey. The objectives are to help development and growth of SMEs in Turkey, to offer suggestions to expand their visions, to share success stories and growing trends in business. It presents these facilities by providing hot news on many topics including marketing & sales, foreign trade, information about industry, R & D incentives, meeting the SME’s needs of information and training focusing on the latest developments...

Company: CGS, New York, NY
Category: Contact Center Leader of the Year
Nomination Title: Tom Walsh, Executive Directory

Tom Walsh is an outstanding call center site director for CGS’s Edison, NJ call center, where he is responsible for the 170 person technical support help desk for a multinational photography and imaging company. Through thick and thin, he manages his people with enthusiasm and care while managing the business with attention to results. He thinks creatively and works within the constraints of a call center operation to constantly re-invent and improve...

Company: FreshBooks, Toronto, ON Canada
Category: Customer Service Management Team of the Year
Nomination Title: FreshBooks Management Team

FreshBooks’ customer service management team consists of Senior Support Manager, Steve Bujouves and Support Managers, Grace Antonio and Tim Chan (lovingly known 'round these parts as Chim).

This past year presented a difficult challenge for the team. To meet the needs of a growing user base, the Support Team needed to double (yes, double!) its size this year to 22 people. The hardest thing to keep intact when growing the team so quickly is ensuring customers *consistently* receive extraordinary experiences every time they contact FreshBooks. The focus for 2013 was consistency...

Globe Telecom in Manila, the Philippines won a Gold Stevie® Award for New Product or Service Introduction of the Year in the marketing awards categories of The 2013 International Business Awards, the world’s only international, all-encompassing business awards program. (Entries to The 2014 International Business Awards and the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are now being accepted.)

GCASH is a mobile money service of G-Xchange, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, one of the leading telecommunications companies in the Philippines. It allows subscribers to convert their money to GCASH (stored automatically in the subscriber’s “GCASH wallet”) and use this to purchase airtime load, send money, and pay their bills—all at the speed of a text message.

Operating as an innovative mobile money service in the Philippines, a traditional, third world nation, is very challenging. To illustrate, a good 80% of Filipinos transact in cash and only 20% actually venture into the convenience of credit and debit cards - for safety (less exposure to fraud), and because Filipinos shun the thought of being in debt.

We asked Paolo Baltao, president of G-Xchange, Inc., what he saw as the biggest challenges to online shopping in The Philippines in 2014.

“Only a small percentage of Filipinos own credit cards which can be used for online shopping,” said Baltao, “while those who do are hindered from shopping from foreign websites (i) because of the hassles and fees required when the package reaches Philippine grounds; and (ii) because not all foreign merchants ship internationally.”

Continued Baltao: “We developed GCASH American Express Virtual Pay to respond to the growing customer preference for online shopping and e-commerce, and to ensure that the product will guarantee security, convenience, and the promise of package delivery straight to the Philippine doorstep.”

Meeting the Challenge

“As GCASH goes deeper into the world of payments, it is constantly faced with the challenge of innovating to fit the consumer’s ever-changing lifestyle,” added Balata. “Winning the Stevie® Award in 2013 provided international recognition of GCASH as one of the world’s best when it comes to product and service innovation. It also strengthened the value proposition of GCASH as the leading mobile money service in the Philippines.”

“We are elated with the global recognition that winning the Stevie® Award has given the brand,” concluded Baltao. “Not only does it add value to our innovation: it also serves as an inspiration to continue to innovate.”

Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards

Baltao is exited by the prospect of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards. “Given the growing number of excellent businesses in the Asia-Pacific region, the Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards couldn’t have come at a better time,” he said. “These Awards will provide an opportunity for more Asia-Pacific players to gain recognition for superb business practices and innovative services.”

Innovation and Security

GCASH American Express® (GCASH Amex) Virtual Pay gives subscribers a virtual account linked to their GCASH wallets. The first of its kind, GCASH Amex Virtual Pay introduces a secure way of shopping from sites that accept American Express as a mode of payment. All subscribers are automatically assigned an American Express card bin linked to the subscriber’s GCASH wallet, and a security code, which they can change anytime for security. As an additional account safety measure, an SMS is sent for every successful transaction made using the service. This way, subscribers are alerted when someone tries to use their accounts.

End-to-End Shopping Experience

Having assured Filipinos that the service is secure, G-Xchange proceeded with developing an end-to-end shopping experience tailored for the Philippine market. A partnership with a reliable freight forwarding company was formed: My Shopping Box (MSB) issued personalized U.S. addresses to all subscribers, enabling Filipinos to have foreign packages delivered straight to their doorsteps at affordable rates.

The Filipino proclivity towards U.S. goods had been dampened somewhat by the extra steps (and fees) they needed to take in order to receive their foreign purchases. Now, MSB settles local duties and delivers the packages that could otherwise only have been acquired by waiting for big brown boxes packed lovingly by any of the 9.5 million overseas Filipino workers—or by purchasing it locally for three times its value.

Outstanding Performance

To date, GCASH Amex Virtual Pay has performed outstandingly and achieved the following results in the first year of its launch:

-        Grew its subscriber base over 200 times in the span of 6 months from 895 subscribers in October 2012, to 195,560 subscribers in April 2013;

-        Enjoyed a 180% increase in the subscriber’s average daily transaction count;

-        100% positive feedback on social networking sites—a first-ever for Globe Telecom in 2012;

-        Second highest ROI contributor to total Globe Telecom’s publicity efforts in 2012.

While still conducting its operations in a conservative local environment, GCASH Amex Virtual Pay is slowly gaining a bigger reach over its market because of the relevance of the service in addressing local concerns. It is, after all, a service built for Filipinos, by Filipinos. Through this, Globe Telecom is able to bridge another gap and connect its subscribers not only to each other, but also to the rest of the world.

Future Innovation

Concludes Baltao: “Seeing the Philippines adapt more and more to technological advancements, especially in the mobile money industry inspires me to constantly offer newer product and service innovations that will all work towards creating a wonderful world for our consumers.

About Paolo Baltao

Paolo Baltao is the President of G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom. GXI pioneered a cardless and cashless mobile commerce service called GCASH. Launched in the Philippines in October 2004, GCASH has over 1 million subscribers today.

Before he became President, Paolo held several positions in GXI, including International Remittance & Banking Business Development Head, Financial and Government Services Segment Head, and OFW & Money Remittance Segment Head. He was responsible for the formulation of the product strategy, management of product portfolio, creation and implementation of business strategies, and acquisition of international and domestic partners.

Prior to working for GXI, Paolo had 13 years of experience in product management and business development in the pharmaceutical, banking and remittance, and telecommunications industries.

About Globe Telecom

Globe Telecom is a leading full service telecommunications company in the Philippines, serving the needs of consumers and businesses across an entire suite of products and services including mobile, fixed, broadband, data connections, internet and managed services.  Its principals are Ayala Corporation and SingTel who are acknowledged industry leaders in the country and in the region. For more information, visit www.globe.com.ph.  Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/talk2Globe and Facebook: http://facebook.com/GlobePH.

The final entry deadline for the 2014 (first annual) Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, the first business awards program to recognize achievement in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region, has been extended through 31 March.

Information about the program is available online at http://Asia.StevieAwards.com.

The Stevie Awards are widely considered to be the world's premier business awards programs.  The Stevie Award trophies, made by the company that makes the Oscar and other major international awards, are among the world's most coveted prizes.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are open to all organizations in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region.

Entries will be accepted in the following categories:

• Technology Company of the Year
• Manufacturing Company of the Year
• Services Company of the Year
• Government or NGO Organization of the Year
• Fastest-Growing Company of the Year
• Exporter of the Year
• Management Team of the Year
• Customer Service Leader of the Year
• Technology Executive of the Year
• Manufacturing Executive of the Year
• Services Executive of the Year
• Government or NGO Executive of the Year
• Woman of the Year
• New Technology Product of the Year
• New Consumer Product of the Year
• New Consumer Service of the Year
• New Business Product of the Year
• New Business Service of the Year

The awards will culminate with a gala awards banquet at the Lottel Hotel in Seoul, South Korea on Friday, 30 May.