As the final round of judging for the 8th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service begins, we would like to acknowledge the 129 professionals worldwide who participated in the preliminary round of judging.

Recognized as the world's top customer service awards and sales awards, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer service offer a wide range of categories to recognize the achievements of sales, business development, contact center, and customer service professionals.

The preliminary round of judging, conducted from November through through mid-January, determined the Finalist nominations in this year's competition that are eligible to be considered in the final round of judging.

The following professionals participated in preliminary-round judging of the 8th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  We thank them for their time, insights and interest.

Teresa Allen, Owner, Common Sense Solutions, Shreveport, LA, USA
Amal Al-Najjar, HR Manager, Fluor - Kuwait, Kuwait
Mohammad Alreeh, Lt. Col., Ministry of the Interior, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Johnny Anderson, Vice President, Bulldog Solutions, Austin, TX, USA
Dmitry Aristarkov, Executive VP, National Association of Contact Centers, Moscow, Russia
Tristan Averett, Associate Manager - Enterprise EHR Support, Allscripts, Salem, OR, USA
Sam Baddeley, Senior Manager, Sales and Customer Service - Management Consulting, Accenture, London, United Kingdom
Paul Bilodeou, VP Sales and Marketing, The Brooks Group, Greensboro, NC, USA
Jill Blankenship, CEO, Frontline Call Center, Eastsound, WA, USA
Angela Blevins, VP Customer Care, Bluegreen Corporation, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Jeanne Bliss, President, CustomerBLISS, Pacific Palisades, CA, USA
Bob Botelle, Exec VP Merchant Services, Chief Customer Officer, Litle & Co, Lowell, MA, USA
Nick Broadbent, VP Global Support, DataCore Software, Reading, IN, USA
Jim Brodo, SVP Marketing, Richardson, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Peter Bush, CEO, New Swansea Bay, Port Talbot, Australia
Lucia Caron, Manager - Customer Support, Enterprise Intelligence Solutions (EIS), Verint Systems Inc., Herndon, VA, USA
Ana Castellanos, VP, Chief Human Resources Officer, Oakwood Temporary Housing, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Patrick Cheeseman, Head of Customer Support, Hotel Tonight, San Francisco, CA, USA
Peter Chiarelli, Sales Manager - Advertising Sales, Cablevision, Woodbury, NY, USA
Jackie Coffey, Director, Government and Consumer Markets, Blue Cross Blue Shield Florida, Point Vedra Beach, FL, USA
Michael Conley, Director of Operations Mid Atlantic, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, North Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Ruth Cox, Client Support Manager, One Call Now, Troy, OH, USA
John Cushman, VP eSales & Service, AT&T, Bedminster, NJ, USA
Kelly Dantas, Media Director, SDI Distributor, Yonkers, NY, USA
Robyn Davis, Owner, When I Need Help, Columbis, SC, USA
Jim de Jager, Operations Director, UPC DTH Leasing S.à r.l., Howald, Luxembourg
Jim Dickie, Principal, CSO Insights, Denver, CO, USA
Kevin Dominigue, VP, Customer Services, TRUMPF, Inc., Farmington, CT, USA
Alan Dowler, Operations Manager, Hamilton Jewelers, Princeton, NJ, USA
LaVon Edwards, Director of Sales, Century Link, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Annette Eland, Claims Customer Service Manager, Esurance, Rocklin, CA, USA
Ted Elliot, CEO, Job Science, San Francisco, CA, USA
Anita Ellis, Director of Sales, Calderon Textiles, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Ron Essig, VP, Products & Services, Marriott Vacation Club, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Andrew J. Filipowski, Executive Chairman & CEO, SilkRoad Technology, Winston Salem, NC, USA
Laura Fischer, Customer Service Coordinator, Kohl's Department Stores, Oconomowoc, WI, USA
Simone Fojut, Chief Editor, SFO Medien GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany
Dave Forsberg, EVP Sales & Marketing, Marketstar, Ogden, UT, USA
Heisha Freeman, EVP Sales & Marketing, The Move Management Center, Dallas, TX, USA
Chris French, VP, Customer Success, Globoforce, Southborough, MA, USA
Michael Galante, Speaker, thesalescoach.com, Preston, MD, USA
Stephen Giersch, Director Instructional Design, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Orlando, FL, USA
Stephen Gill, President - Consulting, SGA, Derby, United Kingdom
Robert P. Gillespie, Executive VP, New York Community Bancorp, Cleveland, OH, USA
Stanley Goodrich, Public Relations Manager, SYSPRO, Costa Mesa, CA, USA
Robert Gregory, VP of Customer Support, Media Temple, Marina Del Ray, CA, USA
Jimmy Griffith, Director, Solution Center Operations - Extended Protection Solutions, Assurant Solutions, Fort Worth, TX, USA
Judy Guffee, Senior Manager Customer Service, med fusion/ ClearPoint Diagnostic Laboratory, Louisville, TX, USA
Heidi Guzman, MBA - Customer Service, Consorcio Kairos, Villahermosa, Mexico
Gabriel Heijmer, Innovation & Development Manager, Swedavia AB, Stockholm, Sweden
Jim Heininger, Founder, Dixon|James Communications, Oak Park, IL, USA
Phillip Horvath, SVP - Professional Services, Merchant Partners, Redmond, WA, USA
Jennifer Hrycyszyn, Vice President, Greenough Communications, Boston, MA, USA
Tunde Hubina, Customer Care Director, UPC DTH S.à r.l., Howald, LA, Luxembourg
Linden Ingram, EVP Sales, Imparta Inc, Austin, TX, USA
Tyson Jacques, Customer support manager, Hoteltonight, Dover, NH, USA
Jeanne Jalufka, Sales Marketing Consultant, Pearson, Corpus Christ, TX, USA
Kala Jarugumilli, Sr. Manager, Customer Success Operations, NetApp, Sunnyvale, CA, USA
JP Jones, Owner, Collipsis Web Solutions, Tulsa, OK, USA
Meltem Karateke, President, IMI Conferences, Atasehir, Istanbul, Turkey
JoAnn Kay, Customer Care Director, Graduation Source, Port Chester, NY, USA
Chad Kestner, Director, Client Sales & Service, RCI, Carmel, IN, USA
James Koons, Chief Privacy Officer, Listrak, Lititz, PA, USA
Elzbieta Krawczynska, Quality Specialist Trainer, Bank Zachodni WBK S.A., Poznan, Poland
Suresh Kuppahally, SVP, Engineering, Operations and Customer Success, Replicon Inc, San Mateo, CA, USA
Yamini Kurup, VP Customer Experience, Aditya Birla Financial Services, Mumbai, India
Michael LeBarron, Lead Engineer, Gemvara, Rockland, MA, USA
Verna Lee, Marketing & Business Development Consultant, McTech Corp, Cleveland, OH, USA
Shane Lewis, Asst VP of Sales, Sundance Vacations, Kennett Square, PA, USA
Scott MacGregor, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Flo-Tech, Middletown, CT, USA
Jennifer Maldonado, Sr. Program Manager, Global Client Experience, Cornerstone OnDemand, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Wessam Massoud, Programme Delivery Manager, Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Center (ADSIC), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Deb Matthews, Director - Customer Experience, nexVortex, Herndon, VA, USA
Rowena Maxwell, Senior Principle - Customer Service, Accenture, London, United Kingdom
Lauren McKenzie, Customer Service Representative, JumpSport Inc, San Jose, CA, USA
Colin McKillip, Chief Executive Officer, Butcher Enterprises, Windsor, ON, Canada
Curtis McLaughlin, Customer Support Manager, AllClear ID, Austin, TX, USA
Chad O. Mills, COO, Carahsoft Technology Corp., Reston, VA, USA
Jay Mitchell, President, Mereo, LLC, Irving, TX, USA
John Monroe, Director of Communications, Stellar, Irving, TX, USA
Brian Moriarty, Vice President North America Sales, General Cable, Highland Heights, KY, USA
Jane Mullins, Sr Support Manager / Director, Technical Support Management Professional, Hayward, CA, USA
Michele Nylander, Client Relationship Director, CallMiner, Inc., Fort Myers, FL, USA
Brock Omohundro, Sr. Operations Manager - Training and Development, John Hancock, Portsmouth, NH, USA
Julius Orayo, Regional Head- Customer Services, The Jubilee Insurance Company of Kenya Limited, Nairobi, Kenya
Jacque Plair, Director - Americas Deployment & Corporate Services, IHG, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Churchill Dass Prince, Founder and CEO, Sales Intellect Company, Chennai, India
Jeanette Ramey, National Customer Service Manager, Empire Today, Northlake, IL, USA
Bryan Rand, Vice President, North American Sales, SDL International, Plano, TX, USA
Mark Repkin, Chief Revenue Officer, iPromo & Memory Suppliers, Morton Grove, IL, USA
Peter Rifkind, Director of Client Service, UltraLinq Healthcare Solutions, Inc, New York, NY, USA
Charlie Riley, CMO, PLS 3rd Learning, Buffalo, NY, USA
Nick Robertson, VP of Sales & Marketing, kCura, Chicago, IL, USA
Elizaveta Rybinskaya, Customer Care Director, OTTO Group Russia, Moscow, Russia
Megan Ritchie Saffitz, Director of LEED Support, US Green Building Council, Seattle, WA, USA
Randy Selleck, Sr. Director, Call Center Operations, Assurant Solutions, Atlanta, GA, USA
Behar Sensoz, Customer Complaint Management Specialist, Turk Telekom, Istanbul, Turkey
Tibor Shanto, President, Renbor Sales Solutions, Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
Ramin Shokrizadeh, Product Manager, FreshBooks, Toronto, Canada
Gary Shumaker, President, C2 Solutions Group, Inc., Reston, VA, USA
Manu Singh, Contact Center Manager, Dubai First, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Alec Stern, Founding Team, Vice President Strategic Market Development, Constant Contact, Waltham, MA, USA
Manfred Stockmann, President, Call Center Verband Deutschland e. V., Berlin, Germany
Doug Storbeck, Sr. Director of Operations, KM, Plymouth, MA, USA
Fred Stickroot, President, HomeNet, New Port Richey, FL, USA
Andrzej Szczepaniak, Deputy Director, Central Settlement Services - Santander Group, Bank Zachodni WBK S.A., Poznan, Poland
Jeff Tang, Senior Manager, Technical Support, The Active Network, The Active Network, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Will Tarrant, Co-Founder/Owner, Service Metrics Group, Plano, TX, USA
Özge Tekalp, Directr - Alternative Sales Channels, Türk Ekonomi Bankasi A.S, Istanbul, Turkey
Lucas Tennant, SE Regional Vice President, Sales - Payroll Division, Benefitmall, Franklin, TN, USA
Christopher Tepas, Chief Marketing Officer, Emkay, Itasca, IL, USA
Bob Thomas, Director of Business Development, Prorizon Corporation, Kennesaw, GA, USA
Corina Toader, Senior Associate Operations, WNS Global, Bucharest, Romania
Ron Torten, VP, WW Sales, Inphi, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Cathy Townend, Product Manager - CSA Travel Protection, Europ Assistance, San Diego, CA, USA
Tina Turnbow, Regional Scheduling Manager, Solis Women's Health, Addison, TX, USA
Abdiel Urriola, Sales & Marketing, Puma Energy, Panama
Lori Van Dyke, Manager of Customer Care, Access One Inc, Chicago, IL, USA
Vincent Vanden Bossche, Managing Director, Call Communications, Ottenberg, Belgium
Chris Vassan, Communcations Lead, Cisco Systems, Inc., Raleigh Triangle Park, NC, USA
David Vasquez, Customer Care Executive, Ally Bank, Charlotte, NC United States
Shelley Verdejo, Director, Facilities, Acquisition & Adminstrative Services, Pentagon Force Protection Agency, Washington DC, USA
Madalina Vilau, Managing Partner, Expo Media, Bucharest, Romania
Laura Walter, Corporate Marketing Manager, Enterprise Fleet Management, St. Louis, MO, USA
Jeremy Watkin, Director Of Customer Service, Phone.com, Poway, CA, USA
Tim Watson, Vice President - Mobile Applications, Parentlink, Provo, UT, USA
Matt Weston, Director, Client Services, TradeKing, Charlotte, NC, USA
Floor Wijburg, CEO, W&I Consultants, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Rusty Williams, Co-Founder, Align Sales, Wayland, MA, USA

Interested in judging the 2015 awards?  Apply to be a judge here.

Finalists in the 8th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, the world’s top honors for customer service, contact center, business development, and sales professionals, were announced today.

A diverse group of organizations and individuals around the world are among those recognized in the customer service awards, contact center awards, and sales awards categories.  Organizations with Finalists in multiple categories include AllClear ID, Bluegreen Vacations, Cars.com, Delta Air Lines, DHL Express, EMKAY, FedEx TechConnect, Canada's FreshBooks, John Hancock, Lennox Industries, LiveAnswer, Marriott Vacation Club, Marsh U.S. Consumer, Parlant Technology, PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants, Property Insight, Richardson, Salesforce, SoftPro, SurePayroll, Inc., Turkey's Turk Economy Bank, ValueSelling Associates, VIZIO, Inc., Turkey's Vodafone, and Wyndham Vacation Ownership. For a full list of Finalists by category, visit www.StevieAwards.com/Sales. 

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced during a gala banquet on Friday, February 21 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Tickets are now on sale.

More than 1,500 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition, an increase of 36% over 2013.  Finalists were determined by the average scores of 129 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges.  Entries were considered in 43 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; 43 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year to Sales Department of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers. 

More than 100 members of seven specialized judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging, to take place January 27 - February 5.  

Beginning today, the general public will be able to cast their votes for their favorite providers of good customer service in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service Department.  Voting is open at http://www.stevieawards.com/Service.peopleschoice. Winners of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service in multiple industries will be determined in mid-February and honored at the awards gala in Las Vegas on February 21.

About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business 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.

Sponsors and supporters of the eighth annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include the BusinessTalkRadio Network, Competence Call Center, and ValueSelling Associates.

Submit your entries today at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales

Tuesday, January 14 is the final entry deadline for the 2014 (8th annual) Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. These are the world's top honors for contact center, customer service, business development, and sales professionals. All organizations and individuals worldwide are eligible to submit entries.

Review the entry kit now - you'll find it online, here. The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to the 2014 awards.

There's a lot that's new and different for the awards this year, including our new Grand Stevie Award trophy.

Finalists will be announced on January 22.  All Finalists will ultimately be named Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award winners.  The winners will be announced during a gala banquet at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on Friday, February 21.  (Attendance isn't required to win.)

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service feature categories to recognize achievement in every aspect of the worklife of sales, business development, contact center, and customer service professionals:

• Individual Sales Performers
• Sales Teams and Departments
• Sales Achievements
• Individual Customer Service and Contact Center Performers
• Customer Service/Contact Center Achievements
• Customer Service Departments
• Solution Providers to Sales and Customer Service Professionals
• New Products and Services used by sales and customer service professionals

Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2014 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

P.S.  Need a few extra days to enter?  Contact us.

We've just published a 5-minute video about how to enter the U.S.A.’s top business awards program, The American Business Awards.

WATCH IT NOW

Our brief video covers all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries to the ABAs.

All individuals and organizations within the U.S.A. -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small -- may submit nominations to the ABAs. The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Our business award categories include: annual report awards, app awards, company/organization awards, customer service awards, human resources awards, information technology awards, management awards, marketing awards, new product awards, public relations awards, support awards, and website awards, among others. See all corporate awards categories.

The entry deadline for the 12th edition of The American Business Awards is March 26. Late entries will be accepted through April 23 with payments of a late fee.  Nominations should cite achievements since January 1 2013. There is no eligibility timeframe for web site and app entries - it does not matter when they were first published.

Get your entry kit for the ABAs – it contains everything you’ll need to know about how to prepare and submit entries.

Questions about how to select categories or submit entries?  Contact us at help@stevieawards.com, +1 703-547-8389.

 

The Stevie Awards, the world's premier business awards programs, have just published a brochure about our 2014 sponsorship opportunities.

READ THE BROCHURE HERE

The brochure outlines the opportunities associated with our six awards programs in 2014, including two new programs - the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and the forthcoming German Stevie Awards.

Among the benefits that are available through Stevie Awards sponsorships are:

• The ability to submit an unlimited number of entries to the sponsored program without having to pay entry fees. This benefit can be extended to sponsors’ clients as well

• The right to name and confer one or more honorary Stevie Awards upon your customers

• A full-page ad in the official program of the event

• Up to 100,000 banner ad impressions on the sponsored program’s web site and in the weekly Stevie Awards Update e-newsletter

• Tickets for the sponsored awards banquet

• At least 10 minutes of stage time to present awards at the sponsored event

• Logo identification in all photographs and video clips of the sponsored event

• Hospitality and display privileges, before, during, and/or after the sponsored event

• Editorial coverage, in the form of an interview or profile, in the Stevie Awards blog and e-newsletter

We welcome the opportunity to customize sponsorship benefits to suit your needs.  Contact Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher for details.

We've published the Gold Stevie Award-winning entries in The 2013 (10th Annual) International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition.

READ THEM HERE

Now you can read the full-text of the entries that nearly 300 judges around the world deemed to be the best in their categories.  They are a treasure trove of case studies about how organizations of all types around the world are innovating, growing, or operating at peak performance.  (If you plan to enter the IBAs in 2014 - entries open in late January, join the mailing list for the entry kit - they are great examples of entries that the judges scored highly.)

Here are some examples of the great stories of achievement you'll find among the 2013 IBA Gold Stevie Award winners:

• Finland's Rovio Entertainment, the people who addicted you to Angry Birds, the winners for Company of the Year in Media & Entertainment
  
  
• The impressive and innovative management team of Best Doctors, Inc., winners of a Gold Stevie for Management Team of the Year
  
  
• Globe Telecom of the Philippine's highly effective marketing campaign, a Gold Stevie winner in the marketing awards categories
  
  
• A groundbreaking technology by Spain's Jofemar, incorporated into their Gold Stevie-winning new product awards nomination
  
  
• The impressive entry in the HR awards categories by India's Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, a Gold Stevie winner for Human Resources Department of the Year
  
  
• The sparkling website of Korea's Hyundai Motor Company, Gold Stevie winner in the website awards categories.

What will you learn from reading Stevie Award winning entries?

1. You'll develop a sense of the types of entries that judges score highly

2. That Stevie Award-winning entries are compelling and well-written

3. That they aren't always about world-shaking or industry-changing innovations

4. If you win a Stevie Award you'll be in very prestigious company!

Join the mailing list now for The 2014 International Business Awards and you'll receive the entry kit by email as soon as it's issued in January.

Stevie Awards president Michael Gallagher visited Seoul, South Korea the week of December 2 (see related stories in the December 5 issue of Stevie Awards Update).  He was the interview subject on the daily half-hour program "After 10" on English-language Arirang TV on Thursday, December 5. 

Watch the program here.

Gallagher spoke about the Stevie Awards in general, about the new Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, and about the global competitiveness and reputation of Korean companies.

We have decided to change the schedule for the 2014 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, to allow more time to solicit entries, recruit judges, and ensure that the first edition of these awards are a success.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the first new Stevie Awards program to be launched in seven years.  The competition is open to all organizations operating in the 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region.  The website at Asia.StevieAwards.com is available in seven languages, and entries may be submitted in, and will be judged in, all of those languages.  The competition features 18 categories.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be chosen on a national basis, and Grand Stevie winners on a regional basis.

Here is the revised schedule:

The entry deadline that was originally scheduled for December 4 has been changed to February 19.

The late entry deadline, originally scheduled for January 21, has been changed to March 31.

The first round of judging, to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners by nation, will begin after the March 31 deadline.

The announcement of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners by nation will be made on April 23.

The second round of judging, to determine the winners of the Grand Stevie Awards in each category, will begin the week of May 5.  Grand Stevie winners will be announced at the awards banquet.

The first Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards banquet will take place in late May in Seoul, South Korea, the date and setting to be determined.

Get your entry kit and full details on the competition at Asia.StevieAwards.com.

Questions about the competition?  We have representatives in a number of Asian nations to help you - check out the list of them here.

♦ Download the awards dinner program book (6 MB PDF)
♦ Browse and download photographs of the awards presentations
♦ Watch video clips of interviews with Stevie Award winners

Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations run by women, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business announced the results of its 2013 competition on Friday, November 8.

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 400 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 Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A.  The presentations were broadcast live across the U.S.A. by the Business TalkRadio Network.

More than 1,200 nominations from organizations and individuals in 16 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 Best New Company of the Year, among others.  More than 240 professionals around the world participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and then the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements.

For the first time, 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.  The Grand Stevie Award winners are, in descending order:

-          Melissa Sones Consulting, New York, NY U.S.A.

-          Accenture, Chicago, IL U.S.A.

-          Deborah Mitchell Heaven Health & Beauty Limited, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom

-          VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA U.S.A.

-          Child’s Play Communications, New York, NY U.S.A.

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

-          Karen Drexler, Founder and Executive Chair, CellScape Corp., Newark, CA U.S.A. - Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Services – Up to 2,500 Employees

-          Giovanna Pozzi, VP Business Development and Energy Management, RTR Rete Rinnovabile, Rome, Italy- Female Executive of the Year – Business Products – Less Than 2,500 Employees

-             Carolyn McCall, Founder & CEO, easyJet,  Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom - Female Executive of the Year in Europe, the Middle East & Africa

-          Frieda Caplan, Founder, Frieda's Inc., Los Alamitos, CA, U.S.A. – Lifetime Achievement

-          Jamila Suliman Khanji, Family Development Foundation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates- Female Employee of the Year – Government or Non-Profit

-          Procontent Sp. z.o.o., Warsaw, Poland and their campaign on behalf of Saxo Bank Poland- Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Reputation/Brand Management

-          RedBalloon, Sydney, Australia - Company of the Year – Consumer Products or Services

-          Women Presidents’ Organization, New York, NY U.S.A.- Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit

-          Eileen Martinson, CEO, Sparta Systems, Inc., Hamilton, NJ U.S.A. - Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Products – More Than 10 Employees

-          She Takes on the World Inc., Kitchener, ON, Canada- Website of the Year

-          Cenergy International, Houston, TX U.S.A.- Fastest Growing Company of the Year

-          Pivot Communications, Salt Lake City, UT U.S.A. - Management Team of the Year – 10 or Less Employees

The 2013 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, Child’s Play Communications, Final Salute Inc., CVS Caremark, FCi Federal, Influence and Co., Laserfiche, other, Pivot Communications, TalkSession, Inc., and VerticalResponse.

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

Entries for the 2014 edition of the awards will open next May.  Join the mailing list to receive the entry kit by email as soon as it's available.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in five programs: The American Business Awards, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  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.

Jessica Eaves Mathews is CEO of Leverage a Lawyer LLC in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA and chaired the final judging committee for the Company/Organization categories of the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.  We talked to Jessica about judging, the law, and what motivates her day-to-day life.

Jessica Eaves Mathews was enthusiastic about the Stevies judging process.  “It was amazing to win several Stevie Awards last year, but an even greater honor to be asked to chair the final judging committee for the categories in which we were honored,” Jessica told us.

“It wasn’t until I did the judging this year that I realized how truly incredible it was that my company and I both won awards last year.  The caliber of companies and women who were Finalists in this year’s Women in Business Awards was staggering.  I found myself inspired to do more and make a bigger impact as a result of the work they are doing in the world.  What an accomplished, amazing group of women!”

Legal Advice

As the founder of Leverage a Lawyer, we couldn’t let Jessica go without asking for legal advice, specifically what working women should know about the law that could contribute to their success.

“I always say that addressing the legal foundation for your business makes a powerful and profound statement,” said Jessica.  “It is sending the message to the world that you are to be taken seriously, and it is honoring your hard work as a business owner or innovator.”

According to Jessica:  “Building a business without making sure your legal ducks are in a row is like building a house on sand.  It might looks nice for a while, but it isn’t sustainable.  Long-term and sustainable success requires attention to your legal foundation.  It is not something to be feared or avoided: it is something to embrace and celebrate.  Through Leverage a Lawyer and Leverage Legal Group, we have helped women business owners protect themselves and their companies for years, and we are very proud of that legacy.”

Winning Experience

Leverage A Lawyer was named New Company of the Year in the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and Jessica won the Silver Stevie for Female Entrepreneur of the Year-Business Services.  “Winning these Stevie Awards has been an incredible experience,” commented Jessica.  “It immediately gave us a national and international platform, and credibility in the marketplace. I know it has enabled us to grow as a business and a brand in ways we could not have done without the recognition.”

Travel Tips

Jessica travels a lot on business and tells us that the two business apps she can’t live without when on the road are Evernote, an app that helps you to remember everything across all your computers and devices; and Tripit, an all-in-one travel organizer.

Motivation and Inspiration

Finally, we asked Jessica what makes her hit the ground running in the morning.  Her response: “I know my why.  I know why I do what I do and for whom I do it, namely my little girl.  I have spent a lot of time getting clarity on my calling and what I am meant to do on this planet.  When you know your purpose, it is easy to jump out of bed each morning.”

Jessica’s two passions early in life were to become either a professional singer or an actor, but now Jessica wouldn’t change a thing. She has ended up doing exactly what she wants to be doing because she made some radical changes a few years ago that enabled her to follow her heart and her passion for the law.

Jessica concluded:  “I surround myself with incredible colleagues and friends who also are living their purpose.  It has been said that you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and I take that seriously.  By being in daily contact with people whom I admire and who inspire me, I can find motivation even on tough days.”

About Jessica Eaves Mathews
Jessica Eaves Mathews is America’s Advocate for Women in Business®, an award-winning entrepreneur, intellectual property and business lawyer, best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and leading authority on helping women entrepreneurs and executives step into their power and create a brilliant business, career and life on their own terms.

Jessica has spent her legal career representing all types of businesses, from solopreneurs to Fortune 500 companies. Before launching her own firm, she was the head of litigation and compliance for Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft.   Jessica is the founder and CEO of Leverage Legal Group®, an intellectual property and business law firm.

Jessica is founder and CEO of several other companies, including Grace & Game® and Untoxicating Beauty®. She is an adjunct professor at University of New Mexico Law School, a member of the New Mexico Economic Development Council, co-founder and Chief Legal Officer for The Virtual Accelerator™, a virtual business accelerator for startups, and co-founder of Hautepreneurs™, the Premier Peer Network for New Mexico's Women Entrepreneurs.

About Leverage a Lawyer and Leverage Legal Group
Leverage Legal Group® is a global intellectual property and business law firm for the new economy. Jessica’s team of exceptional, experienced attorneys provides world-class, flat fee legal services, virtual general counsel and in-sourced legal services to companies of all sizes. The firm’s award-winning, entry-level program, Leverage-a-Lawyer®, provides budget-friendly, flat-fee legal services, information, and education for first-time business owners or start-ups who don’t yet have the budget for full-blown legal counsel.  For more information go to www.leveragelegalgroup.com and www.leverage-a-lawyer.com.