2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

As we approach the entry deadlines for the 2013 competition we'll look back at some of the women who have won Stevie Awards over the past decade.  We'll catch up with them on their current activities, and learn what their Stevie win meant to them and their careers.

Today's profile is of 2008 Stevie winner Atsuko Matsumura.

As president of Actia Inc., Atsuko Matsumura was the first Japanese women in the history of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business competition to win a Gold Stevie Award.

Matsumura is the creator of a type of bandana cap for use by hospital patients, which received several awards in Japan for its design and utility. The production was done at a plant located in Hiroshima, Japan, and it was marketed only to some very specific medical institutions in the Kansai area.  Since that time, Matsumura added production sites in Osaka and in Sasebo (in Kyushu).  Sales have now expanded to major hospitals and department stores all over Japan.

Since receiving the Stevie Award, Matsumura has appeared in several popular Japanese magazines and on prominent TV shows. This third-party endorsement of her business and success has helped elevate awareness of her and her Actia.

Matsumura lectures at universities in Japan and abroad (in Taiwan last year and in Shanghai later this year). 

As a result of the Best Asian Entrepreneur Stevie Award achievement, Matsumura's business has grown, based on the increased confidence others now see in her company and its operations.  While Actia was recognized as one of the best entrepreneurs in Asia by the Stevie Awards, Matsumura never loses sight of the fact that she started her business not to make profits but simply to try to help patients as she had first done with her mother-in-law when she was suffering from side effects of medications.

"Since earning the Stevie Award, my business has grown. As the first Japanese woman to win, I am humbled and honored to have earned this award. It continues to positively impact the success of my business.  I try not to forget my initial purpose for starting my business -- to give joy and comfort to many people --  so I donate the profits to organization’s such as the Pink Ribbon Project.  I believe the Stevie Award judges recognized and appreciated the good faith efforts and mission of my business. I had never expected that I would win the Stevie Award as there were many prominent executives in the competition, and I was honored to be recognized.”

The entry deadline for the 2013 edition of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business is August 28, and late entries will be accepted through September 25 with payment of a nominal late fee.  Get complete entry details at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

As we approach the entry deadlines for the 2013 competition we'll look back at some of the women who have won Stevie Awards over the past decade.  We'll catch up with them on their current activities, and learn what their Stevie win meant to them and their careers.

Today's profile is of 2004 Stevie winner Myrna Hoffman.

Myrna Hoffman is Managing Director of OOZ & OZ, an innovative optical illusion toy company, and was one of the handful of winners in the very first year of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.  Prior to winning the Stevie for the Best New Product of the Year in 2004, she was focused on growing her small business. Hoffman’s unique products were earning national toy awards (13 top honors), and she personally had received two business honors.

The Stevie Award was a stimulus to her business growth.  Seven months after winning the Stevie and relocating from Virginia to Seattle, Wash. USA, Hoffman rebranded and expanded both her concept and product line. Hoffman’s science-based art toys and activities -now called “Morph-O-Scopes” (shortened from the formal technical term “anamorphoscope”) currently consist of more than a dozen engaging anamorphic products and services.  Recognition within the toy sector has doubled to 25 coveted top toy awards. Universal kudos from kids, parents, educators and child development experts alike continue to flow in.

After Hoffman produced her first anamorphic party activities, a friend asked her to create a special set to keep her young daughter entertained on their long transoceanic flight. That request became the genesis of Hoffman’s first Mirror-aculous Circus Art Activities Kit.  The child, now in her 20s, recently went to work for Spark Publications and learned that her new boss, too, was a Stevie Award recipient.  This further cemented the level of respect given to the Stevie for Hoffman.

“The awareness of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business program is spreading.  I am honored to have been recognized for my company’s creativity and was intrigued to find out that my when my friend’s daughter (who knew I had won a Stevie) entered the workforce, she began working for another Stevie Award recipient.  This increasingly popular platform is helping take women in business further and creating more opportunities for acknowledgement of their efforts.”

The entry deadline for the 2013 edition of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business is August 28.  Learn how to submit your nominations at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

MAC Presents of New York, New York USA won the Gold Stevie® Award for Small-Budget Marketing Campaign of the Year in the communications and marketing awards categories of the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run.  (Another MAC Presents campaign also won a Gold Stevie for Small-Budget Marketing Campaign of the Year in The 2013 American Business Awards.) The entry deadline for the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business is August 28 - get the entry kit here.)

Here we look at the highly successful AT&T/Samsung sponsorship that MAC Presents put together with the New York fashion label rag & bone.

For the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note, AT&T and Samsung wanted to target the creative, fashion-forward mobile consumer, who would not only want the latest in advanced technology but would also view the device as a fashion accessory.

A custom promotion solution was needed that would establish a Galaxy Note social community within the fashion world during New York’s Fashion Week. Ideally, this social platform would integrate the phone into the daily life both of a fashion designer partner and of respected fashion bloggers.

The Ideal Collaboration

MAC Presents worked with AT&T and Samsung's marketing teams to select the ideal designers for them to collaborate with, and to create the unique marketing that would effectively reach the Galaxy Note's target audience.

MAC Presents developed a custom program that enabled AT&T/Samsung to partner with rag & bone, one of today's leading fashion brands based in New York City. To help reach the Galaxy Note’s influential target audience, MAC Presents worked with rag & bone to create an exclusive case for the Galaxy Note device.

The Galaxy Note was integrated into rag & bone’s 2012 fashion show during New York Fashion Week with signage and an exclusive, branded VIP area backstage. Additionally, influential fashion bloggers such as Bryan Boy, Leandra Medine, and Susie Bubble were given Galaxy Note devices to use for posting to their blogs and tweets during New York Fashion Week.

Comprehensive Media Plan
MAC Presents developed a comprehensive media plan that included print, outdoor, and online advertising as well as social media and public relations outreach. Bus shelter advertising was utilized to promote the partnership in key locations around New York City.

All creative featured the still photography of New York-based photographer Danny Clinch. Danny also shot a :30 commercial for the Galaxy Note featuring rag & bone's designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville. The pair also hosted a private Galaxy Note launch party in New York City that included a performance from Band of Horses. With many celebrities in attendance, the event attracted millions of press impressions.

MAC Presents’ combined media outreach efforts garnered over 114,000,000 million consumer impressions.

Online Campaign

An extensive online campaign was implemented to increase awareness of the collaboration between AT&T/Samsung and rag & bone. MAC Presents partnered with fashion publications Front Row Daily and WWD to create rich, online advertising opportunities. Additionally, MAC Presents partnered with Billboard.com to reach the fashion, music oriented consumer.

Facebook Advertising

A daily Facebook advertising plan was put into effect to launch the campaign and build awareness of the Samsung Galaxy Note.

In total, over 4 billion consumer impressions were garnered through online efforts.

The Value of Social Media

Marcie Allen, president of MAC Presents, comments: “Social media has opened up brand involvement beyond tour sponsorships.” Allen points to MAC Presents' launching of Nokia Music with AT&T through a sponsorship with Green Day that has garnered more than 165 million social media impressions, as well as a Gold Stevie in the 2013 American Business Awards. “All the programs we put together in 2012 were heavily based in social media,” she says. “There has to be value. You have to be able to measure and track sales. You can do that with social media.”

Inspiring Women

“As a woman in the music industry, recognition in the Stevie Awards has proved an effective tool for me to encourage more women to enter this industry,” continued Allen. “As someone who has been in the music industry for 18 years, I want to inspire women and show them that anything is possible.  All power to the Stevie Awards for Women on its 10^th Anniversary!”

About Marcie Allen
Marcie Allen is President of New York City-based sponsorship and fulfillment agency MAC Presents. Allen leverages her eighteen years of music industry experience to negotiate high profile sponsorships between the world’s leading brands and artists. Allen has executed partnerships on behalf of brands including Jeep, Microsoft, Samsung, CITI, AT&T, and Nokia.  She is a seven-time nominee and two-time winner of Billboard Magazine's Concert Marketing and Promotion Award. Allen was named to Billboard’s Women in Music in 2010, 2011, and 2012 and Billboard’s 40 under 40 in 2013.

In April 2013, The White House honored Allen as one of their Hurricane Sandy "Champions of Change." The event highlighted people and organizations directly involved in response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy. Allen directed a documentary short, “Beach 119,” about her efforts in Rockaways, New York, after the storm.

Prior to starting MAC, Allen owned and operated MAD Booking & Events, which booked and produced music festivals across the country including On the Bricks in Atlanta, GA. Allen is on the board of directors for Musicians on Call and the TJ Martell Foundation.

About MAC Presents
MAC Presents is an award-winning sponsorship and fulfillment agency based in New York City that executes partnerships between the world’s leading brands and artists. With expertise in the music industry, MAC creates authentic brand connections that produce unique experiences and ignite consumer passion.

2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

As we approach the entry deadlines for the 2013 competition we'll look back at some of the women who have won Stevie Awards over the past decade.  We'll catch up with them on their current activities, and learn what their Stevie win meant to them and their careers.

Today's profile is of 2007 Stevie winner Dr. Laureen Wishom.

Dr. Laureen Wishom is a growth, success and acceleration coach, author and international speaker with a growing business focused on helping others succeed in career, business and life.  Her clients range from high-achieving women (and enlightened men) executives, entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders and career professionals who want to reap drastic results in the areas of business, branding and marketing.
 
At the time of her winning the Stevie Award in 2007, Wishom was looking to expand her nationwide footprint and heighten her social presence in the marketplace.

The recognition from the Stevie Awards has helped Wishom reach new highs.  She is now an internationally acclaimed speaker and best-selling author on Amazon.com, with a hugely successful entity focused on helping others take their businesses and careers to a "whole new level."
 
The Stevie Award helped catapult Wishom’s company's performance as well as elevate her own self-growth and self-worth. She has further solidified her expert position in the areas of career and business, healthy living and a life by design.

Since winning the Stevie Award, many doors have opened that led to Wishom receiving many national, regional and local accolades and establishing herself as a prominent national speaker.
 
“Outside of being recognized as a best-selling author on Amazon.com, the Stevie Award has been my most recognized accolade.”

The entry deadline for the 2013 edition of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business is August 28.  Complete entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

As we approach the entry deadlines for the 2013 competition we'll look back at some of the women who have won Stevie Awards over the past decade.  We'll catch up with them on their current activities, and learn what their Stevie win meant to them and their careers.

Today's profile is of 2012 Stevie winner Brooke Denihan Barrett of Denihan Hospitality Group.

Brooke Denihan Barrett is co-CEO of Denihan Hospitality Group, along with her brother and co-CEO Patrick Denihan.   With offices in New York and San Francisco, the firm is a nationally recognized, independent owner and operator of boutique hotels in top U.S. urban markets.

Denihan Barrett focuses on daily operational responsibilities at Denihan, which involves leading the company and spearheading its expansion plans. Mentoring up-and-coming employees and advocating for the advancement of women in the hospitality industry are also initiatives extremely important to Denihan Barrett and the company, and were complimented by her recent Stevie Award win.  Denihan Barrett has made a point of participating in a variety of events and panels to inspire and motivate the industry’s next generation of leaders.  

After winning a Stevie Award, Denihan Barrett noticed a direct uptick in interest in both her personal endeavors as well as in the operations at Denihan. Not only did colleagues and friends reach out to congratulate her, but there were also many emails and phone calls from hotel owners, vendors and potential industry partners. The Stevie Award win significantly helped broaden Denihan Barrett's overall awareness.

Winning the Stevie Award has provided Denihan Hospitality Group with incredible feedback from colleagues, friends and longtime acquaintances. The award has had a very positive effect on the company, helping it to garner much attention from new owners, investors and developers. It has been a great motivator for the firm's 2,000+ member team and continues to enhance the organization’s credibility as a leading owner/operator of boutique hotels.  

“Being honored by the Stevie Awards for Women in Business was an extremely beneficial experience." said Denihan Barrett.  "Not only did I meet many talented and interesting individuals at the awards ceremony, but being bestowed with this award has helped garner very positive feedback from friends, associates and potential business partners.”

The entry deadline for the 2013 edition of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business is August 28.  Complete entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

As we approach the entry deadlines for the 2013 competition we'll look back at some of the women who have won Stevie Awards over the past decade.  We'll catch up with them on their current activities, and learn what their Stevie win meant to them and their careers.

Today's profile is of 2011 Stevie winner Gwen Rhys, founder and CEO of Women in the City.

Women in the City is a London-based organization that promotes, recognizes and rewards female talent.  Women in the City started from a small idea – to host a luncheon for like-minded women working in a very male-dominated environment in the City of London, the city's financial center.  By 2011, when Rhys won a Stevie Award in the Women Helping Women category, her organization had grown into a well-respected entity with a strong voice representing women working in the professions.    

Women in the City has since had a successful 10th anniversary year with a sold-out luncheon attracting nearly 400 attendees in November 2012.  This year, Women in the City published a handbook for career-focused women, entitled Project Diamond: Bringing Brilliance to Business. 

Women in the City stages its own awards program, so Rhys knows firsthand just how important external validation can be in helping women to raise their profile both internally and externally.  

“Winning the Stevie Award made me feel very proud of what my team and I have achieved during the past decade," Rhys said.  "Women in the City partners with global corporations, and being able to describe my organization as ‘award-winning’ has elevated our position and enables us to play with the big boys.  What’s more, having dipped my toe into the water, I’ve now entered some other awards. My new motto is ‘if you’re not in it, you can’t win it.'  Putting yourself up for any award takes courage as you need to critically assess what you’ve done and then put yourself forward for judgment by complete strangers.  This also makes the achievement all that more credible. When I have a difficult moment I remember that I’m a Stevie winner, and things don’t seem nearly so bad.  Thanks to the Stevies, we are definitely  in it.” 

The entry deadline for the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business is August 25.  Complete entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

All Female Entrepreneurs, Executives and Employees Worldwide Are Eligible; Entry Deadline August 28, 2013

The Stevie® Awards for Women in Business have issued the call for entries for its 10th annual competition.  Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business will celebrate its 10^th anniversary by continuing to honor women in more than 50 categories including, among others, Best Entrepreneur, Best Young Entrepreneur, Best Executive, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Employee of the Year, Best Overall Company of the Year, and Most Innovative Company of the Year.  The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards. 

All female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible for nomination.

The entry deadline is August 28 and late entries will be accepted through September 25 with payment of a small late fee.  Winners of the 10th annual competition will be announced at a gala awards dinner in New York on November 8, 2013.  

New categories in 2013 include Innovator of the Year, Woman of the Year and Event of the Year

Vicki Batten, chief executive officer of FSG Australia and a 2012 Gold Stevie winner, commented on the impact of her win:  “FSG Australia is now known to people on the other side of the world, and that is an important result of winning the Gold Stevie.  This experience was a most unexpected and humbling one.  The event is a high-profile and sparkling one, and it certainly made me feel very special, even to be nominated, let alone to take away the coveted gold statue.”

Other winners of the 2012 Stevie Awards for Women in Business include, among others:

-          Kanchan Naikawadi, Director of Indus Health Plus Pvt. Ltd., Maharashtra, India

-          Dr. Akudo Anyanwu Ikemba, Founder and CEO of Friends of the Global Fund Africa, Lagos, Nigeria

-          Brooke Denihan Barrett, co-CEO of Denihan Hospitality Group, New York, N.Y.

-          Bethany Mayer, Senior VP and General Manager of HP Networking, HP, Palo Alto, Calif.

-          Emer Timmons, President of BT Global Services UK, BT, London, United Kingdom

-          Linda Clement-Holmes, Senior Vice President of The Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio

-          Christiane Schulz, Member of the German Executive Board, Global Partner, MD of Ketchum Pleon, Berlin, Germany

-          Mitchell Baker, Chairperson of the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation, Mozilla, Mountain View, Calif.

-          Weili Dai, Co-Founder, Vice President and General Manager of Communications and Consumer Business of Marvell Technology Group Ltd, San Francisco, Calif.

-          LittlePINKBook.com, Atlanta, Ga.

-          Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, Inc., El Segundo, Calif.

-          Vodafone Istanbul, Turkey

The 2012 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 included Accenture, Creative Catapult, LLC, eCycle LLC, Friends of the Global Fund Africa, Oncology Rehab Partners, Sentis Pty Ltd, Susan Davis International, and Vaco Los Angeles.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are judged by many leading women entrepreneurs, executives and luminaries across businesses worldwide. 

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, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  A fifth program, the Asia-Pacific 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 Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. 

2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

As we approach the entry deadlines for the 2013 competition we'll look back at some of the women who have won Stevie Awards over the past decade.  We'll catch up with them on their current activities, and learn what their Stevie win meant to them and their careers.

Today's profile is of Isabelle Duston, Founder of Apps of All Nations, LLC.

Isabelle Duston founded Apps of All Nations, LLC, a company for which she won two Gold Stevie Awards in the 2010 edition of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.  After selling more than 500,000 apps, Duston tended to her dream of teaching reading in developing nations through the use of technology.  She created a non-profit organization, ilearn4fun, focused on providing reading in such areas.  In her leadership role there, she presented at many conferences; among them the mobile learning week at Unesco and Online-Educa. In 2011, she earned an innovation award from Region 2000.

Duston then created a social enterprise with a similar mission, called Et4d (Education Technology for Development) and made all the investments in this enterprise using the funds she reaped from Apps of All Nations.

Through a partnership with World Education, she won a partial grant from USaid to create the application smart4kids in Khmer for Cambodia, marking her first viable contract.  Recently, immigration laws have made it a little bit easier for entrepreneurs to obtain a green card but proving recognition as an entrepreneur was critical to this process for Duston.  She obtained her green card for the deployment of this education project. Duston’s winning two Gold Stevies marked this point of achievement in her career, and has since served as a springboard to her current role and successes.

This project is still Duston’s main focus, and she believes that in the coming years she will truly be able to make a difference in education while teaching reading in her mother tongue.  She attributes much of her ability to make these dreams come true to her Stevie wins and the recognition she earned as a consummate female entrepreneur.

“Earning the Stevies had a significant impact on my credibility as a founder and leader in business as well as that of the organization I was heading at the time I won.  I believe it played a role in allowing me get recognized in other awards competitions, and aided in my ability to secure a green card to work on my next project.  The Stevie Awards have helped me feel more confident in my capacity as an entrepreneur and an innovator, and has had great influence on the pursuits I continue to chase.”

The entry deadline for the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business is August 28.  Complete details on how to enter are at www.StevieAwards.com/Women. 

2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

As we approach the entry deadlines for the 2013 competition we'll look back at some of the women who have won Stevie Awards over the past decade.  We'll catch up with them on their current activities, and learn what their Stevie win meant to them and their careers.

Today's profile is of Vicki Batten, CEO of FSG Australia.

Vicki Batten serves as CEO of a large, highly respected not-for-profit organization in Australia.  Throughout her career, Batten enjoyed some recognition as the recipient of local and state awards.  However, being nominated for a global Stevie Award and subsequently winning the Gold, was a source of great pride for Batten.

Once Batten earned the 2012 Gold Stevie Award for Female Innovator of the Year in the Government or Non-Profit category, things around her changed.  In addition to the voluminous recognition and accolades she earned from colleagues, throughout the community and in business, she was soon presented with many requests to speak at several events. 

The Gold Stevie Award, coupled with the increased interest in Batten’s speaking appearances, elevated her role in the community in which the non-profit she heads serves, and also helped spread the word about the prestige of the Stevie Awards on the Gold Coast. 

According to Batten: “Any recognition of what you do when you give your all -- whether it be to a job or to a cause -- is a lovely feeling.  In this case, the recognition that meant the most to me was for the service I head.  FSG Australia is now known to people on the other side of the world, and that is an important result of winning the Gold Stevie.  This experience was a most unexpected and humbling one.  The event is a high-profile and sparkling one, and it certainly made me feel very special, even to be nominated, let alone to take away the coveted gold statue.”

Learn more about the Stevie Awards for Women in Business at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.  The entry deadline is August 28.

August 28 is the entry deadline for the 2013 (10th annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world's premier business awards for women executives, entrepreneurs, and the organizations they run. 

If you haven't already done so, you can request an entry kit here and it will be emailed to you right away. The entry kit contains all of the information you'll need to be able to prepare and submit entries.

All female entrepreneurs, executives, and the organizations they run, worldwide, are eligible to be nominated. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business feature more than 80 categories to recognize achievement in many facets of worklife. Business award categories include entrepreneur awards, executive awards, management team awards, company of the year awards, PR awards, marketing awards, new product awards, website awards, app awards, and more.

The eligibility period for 2013 entries extends from July 1, 2012 - your entries should describe achievements since that date.  The only exceptions to this rule are the Best New Company, Lifetime Achievement, and web site categories - there is no eligibility timeframe period for these categories. You can begin by registering here.

We've also just published a new video entitled "How to Enter the Stevie Awards for Women in Business" to help you make the most out of your entries. Watch it here.

If you can't make the August 28 entry deadline, September 25 is the last day that entries will be accepted with payment of $35 late fee per entry. Finalists will be announced on October 9 and 2013 winners will be celebrated at an awards gala on November 8 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

Don't hesitate to contact us with questions regarding the 2013 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.  Email us at help@stevieawards.com  or call us at + 1 703-547-8389 and we'll get back to you right away.