Tania Hummel is Director of Thrive Coaching and Consulting in London, United Kingdom.  She assisted in judging the Company/Organization Awards categories for last year’s Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

The 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business is accepting late entries through the final entry deadline of Wednesday, September 21.  REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

Preliminary judging of the 2016 Awards has just commenced. Tania will be joining the final round of judging in October. If you are interested in being a judge this year, apply to judge here.

Following are some surprisingly moving comments Tania sent us on her experience of judging in 2015.

This time last year, I was approached by an old friend to judge the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.   Not knowing what to expect, I gamely applied and was accepted. At the allotted time and date I accessed the judging website to view entries.

The first thing I discovered was that there were many more entries than I had expected– and from all over the world.  

The next thing I discovered was just how challenging judging could be.

Pressure to Succeed

Some submissions were about women who had scaled the heights of corporate giants, landing in senior roles where the competition and pressure to succeed could scarcely be imagined. Closer inspection of supporting documents to these applications showed that these were often “winners” from childhood–starting in their earliest school days, often mentored or supported by other high achievers, and given the best education money could buy.  In some cases, the question wasn't how could they succeed, but how could they possibly fail?  Yet the pressure to succeed, the perfectionist standards, and the constant striving made clear that success was without doubt hard won.

Rising from Obscurity

Then there were women who rose from complete obscurity, with no advantages at all, who told stories of how they worked during the day, and studied at night, sometimes working more than one job just to make ends meet.  They also scaled the corporate heights, sometimes in areas you might expect such as NGOs and charities, where sheer pluck and strength of character might get you places, but also in more conventional and male-dominated industries.  They added a quality of sheer grit and determination, inspiring others to believe that they, too, could make it, against all odds.  I identified with these women, as their story was my story–but I was careful not to allow my conscious bias to affect my objectivity.

Building Businesses from Scratch

I noticed there were women from all kinds of backgrounds: corporate refugees; stay-at-home moms; apparently ordinary women who started up businesses from their living rooms.  Sometimes they succeeded first time, sometimes they didn't.  Some of them had succeeded so well they had more than one entry, as they were running more than one business.  This demonstrated the power of the Internet to create new businesses, but these entries didn't shy away from illustrating the long hours, moments of doubt and despair, and sheer commitment and sacrifice needed to build a business from scratch.

Turning Weakness into Strength

Then there were the women who defeated the odds by overcoming their personal demons, and in so doing had succeeded beyond all expectations. These were women who had been given harsh feedback because of some personal flaw, but had not given in to either self-pity or self-loathing. Instead–with courage, determination, and the will to work on themselves–they had turned things around, and turned those weaknesses into strengths.  

Harnessing Technology to Solve Suffering

And then there were the women in technology roles, who started out in global organizations but who managed to use their positions of power to lobby their organizations to use their technology for a purpose beyond profit.  One such example was a woman who showed how her company brought first-line medical care to the remotest parts of the world via telecommunications in a way that made me rejoice at the limitless possibilities of harnessing technology to solve suffering in the world.

The Capacity to Care

Finally, there were the stories that made me stop in wonder at the human capacity to care.  One woman had started an obscure charity in a faraway country to which she apparently had no personal links. As an example of what must have been pure altruism, she showed the difference she had made–with no personal gain that I could see–to a group of blind and disabled people in a developing country, who, as a result of her efforts, were able to earn a living in a supportive community.

Mentoring and Inspiring

How clever, how kind, how determined, and how creative these ladies were. And how wonderful that so many of them cited other women as mentors, and were mentoring young women themselves.  It shattered the myth of the Queen Bee who pulls up the ladder behind her, and renewed my gratitude to the great lady who gave me my own big break.  And how encouraging, too, that many cited as inspiration their fathers, the male bosses who mentored them, or the husbands and partners who provided much needed moral, practical, or financial support.

I was once asked in a consultation forum what was the one thing I thought a woman with a family most needed to be successful. Without hesitation I replied: “A quality husband!”  Looking around at my successful girlfriends, however, I note that these can be a rare commodity, which makes the women who succeed as single parents, or who recover from adversity, all the more to be admired and respected.  

At any rate, there is usually someone, whether male or female, who is prepared to take a step down while you take a step up. Someone who is prepared to be a little bit beta while you go a little bit alpha … because no one gets to have it all–at least not all at the same time. 

So, in celebration of all successful women and the people who helped make them so, here is an anthem to Women’s Day from Peter Gabriel & Youssou N’Dour to play us out. 

Read more of Tania’s views on the world of Coaching and HR on the Thrive Blog.

About Tania Hummel:

Currently the Director of Thrive Coaching & Consulting, for six years until 2014 Tania Hummel led the HR function of the Nature and Macmillan Publishing Group, one of the world’s most renowned scientific, academic, and education publishers, during a period of transformation from a regionally organized, traditional, print-based business to a global digital and data-driven information provider. She had strategic and operational accountability for over 5,000 employees in over 50 markets, dealing with complex people and organizational challenges in countries as diverse as Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Kenya, Mexico, Brazil, India, Japan, Australia, and the US. Her key experiences include managing complex employee relations issues in the UK and internationally, executive coaching, talent management, employer brand development, leadership and management development, communications, and global compliance and risk management.

Creative, pragmatic, and focused, Tania creates a safe space for teams and individuals to develop transformational goals whilst building confidence and increasing strategic capability. She is equally comfortable coaching groups, or individuals and is passionate about developing talent through strategic talent management initiatives. She uses innovative, award winning tools and techniques to create bespoke initiatives and has coached senior executives internationally via Skype or Google hangouts.

The Stevie^® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards programs, is accepting entries for its 2016 (13^th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The final entry deadline is Wednesday, September 21. Finalists will be announced on October 5. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be revealed at a gala awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 18, 2016.    

The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor the achievements of working women in more than 85 categories 

Today we will highlight the Company / Organization Awards categories:

These categories will recognize the achievements since July 1, 2015 of women-owned and -run organizations worldwide. To be eligible for these categories, an organization must be at least 50% owned by one or more women, and/or have a woman as its chief executive and at least 40% of its management team comprised of women.

Entries to these categories require the following:

1. An essay of up to 525 words describing the nominated organization's achievements in the category since July 1, 2015

2. A biography of up to 125 words of the leader of the nominated organization
3. Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges.

Note that employee totals are for the entire organization.

50. Company of the Year – Business Products – 10 or Less Employees
51. Company of the Year – Business Products – More Than 10 Employees
52. Company of the Year – Business Services – 10 or Less Employees
53. Company of the Year – Business Services – More Than 10 Employees
54. Company of the Year – Consumer Products – 10 or Less Employees
55. Company of the Year – Consumer Products – More Than 10 Employees
56. Company of the Year – Consumer Services – 10 or Less Employees
57. Company of the Year – Consumer Services – More Than 10 Employees
58. Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit– 10 or Less Employees (this category has no entry fee)
59. Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit– More Than 10 Employees (this category has no entry fee)

60. Startup of the Year: These categories will recognize the achievements since July 1, 2015 of organizations that began operations after July 1, 2014.  There are no entry fees for these categories.
      a. Business Products Industries
      b. Business Services Industries
      c. Consumer Products Industries
      d. Consumer Services Industries

61. Most Innovative Company of the Year – 10 or Less Employees
62. Most Innovative Company of the Year – More Than 10 Employees

63. Fastest Growing Company of the Year
64. Community Involvement Program of the Year

65. Management Team of the Year – 10 or Less Employees
66. Management Team of the Year – More Than 10 Employees

67. Women-Run Workplace of the Year - 10 ore Less Employees
68. Women-Run Workplace of the Year - More Than 10 Employees

Past winners in the Company / Organization Awards categories of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business include:

Company of the Year - Business Services - 10 or Less Employees
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
DemandLab, LLC, Jenkintown, PA USA
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
Irving Levin Associates, Inc., Norwalk, CT USA
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
Brookline Public Relations Inc., Calgary, AB, Canada
Jacobson Strategic Communications, Philadelphia, PA USA
KC Projects, Birmingham, AL USA
Tasman Consulting, San Francisco, CA USA

Company of the Year – Business Products & Services - More Than 10 Employees
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Vaco Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA USA
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
ALOM, Fremont, CA USA
Consultants 2 Go, Newark, NJ USA
Grow Marketing, San Francisco, CA USA
Pink Elephant, Burlington, ON, Canada
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
DCR Workforce, Inc., Boca Raton, FL USA
eZCom Software, Englewood, NJ USA
HUYA Bioscience International, San Diego, CA USA & Shanghai, China
Stratus Interactive, West Chester, PA USA

Company of the Year - Consumer Products & Services - 10 or Less Employees
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Owl's Brew, New York, NY USA
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
ECLAT! on madison, New York, NY USA
MuTu System, Cornwall, United Kingdom

Organization of the Year - Government or Non-Profit- 10 or Less Employees
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Dream it. Code it. Win it., New York, NY USA
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
The Australian Charity for the Children of Vietnam (ACCV), Queensland, VIC, Australia
The Double Hit Lymphoma Foundation, Chicago, IL USA
Miss America's Outstanding Teen, Inc., Clearwater, FL USA
BRONZE STEVIE WINNER:
The Mentoring by Example Foundation, Inc., Bowie, MD USA

Organization of the Year - Government or Non-Profit- More Than 10 Employees
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Enterprise Community Partners, Columbia, MD USA
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
The Connecticut Open, New Haven, CT USA: The Connecticut Open Tennis Tournament and Its Ability to Connect the Community
Pathways Community Interest Company, Crewe, Cheshire, United Kingdom: Impacting Health Through Work

...and more. See all of the 2015 Stevie-winners here.

All Female Entrepreneurs, Executives and Employees Worldwide are Eligible

The Stevie^® Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards programs, has issued the call for entries for its 2016 (13^th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Entry kits and complete details on the competition are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards.

REVIEW THE ENTRY KIT HERE.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor the achievements of working women in more than 85 categories including, among others, Best Entrepreneur, Best Executive, Mentor or Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Women Helping Women, Employee of the Year, Woman-Owned or -Run Company of the Year and Innovator of the Year. All female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and the organizations they run, anywhere in the world, are eligible to be nominated.

The early-bird entry deadline is July 20 and includes reduced entry fees. The final entry deadline is August 24, but late entries will be accepted through September 21 with payment of a late fee. Finalists will be announced on October 5. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be revealed at a gala awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 18, 2016.    

Most categories require the payment of an entry fee for the submission of a nomination. Several categories, such as most honoring women in the non-profit and governmental sectors, and the Startup of the Year categories, do not have a fee.

Susan LaPlante-Dube and Maureen Condon, principals at Precision Marketing Group and 2015 Gold Stevie Award winners, commented on the impact of their win.

“Being recognized as one of the first-ever Women-Run Workplace of the Year winners was truly an honor. We’ve worked hard to balance our commitment to being responsive to our clients with our vision of maintaining a flexible, supportive work environment for our team. It’s important to us that our employees are engaged and challenged every day—and winning this Gold Stevie Award was a great testament to the team and the way the company culture allows employees to have  rich, fulfilling personal lives."

Other winners of the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women in Business include, among others: 

•     Debbie Madden, CEO, Stride, New York, NY
•     Stephanie Mitelman, President, Founder and Inventor, Senseez Pillows, Montréal, QC, Canada
•     Brittany Stresing, Prosthetist / Orthotist and President, LimBionics, Durham, NC
•     Gorkem Özkan, HR Director, Calik Energy, Ankara, Turkey
•     Carrie Rich, CEO and Co-founder, Global Good Fund, Arlington, VA
•     Kerri Evans, Senior Director, DHL Express (Canada), Ltd, Brampton, ON, Canada
•     María Esteve, Managing Director, LLORENTE & CUENCA in Colombia and Madrid, Spain
•     Heather Magaha, Senior VP and National Client Services Manager, Wells Fargo, San Francisco, CA
•     Dream it. Code. Win it., New York, NY
•     Family Development Foundation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
•     Ooredoo, Doha, Qatar
•     Virtual Legal Pty Ltd, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

The 2015 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflected a diverse group of large and small organizations around the globe. The 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business will be judged by more than 200 leading professionals around the world, and nominees will have access to the judges’ comments and suggestions about their nominations.

I Change Her Life, a social business enterprise that is creating phenomenal changes in the lives of women in conflict-ridden regions of Pakistan and among the refugees in Turkey, won the Stevie Award for Community Involvement Program of the Year in the Company/Organization Awards categories of the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Dr. Ambreen Zaman Riaz, the founder of I Change Her Life, was in New York for the gala awards presentations at the Marriott Marquis on November 13, 2015. Just before the presentation, however, she gave a talk at TEDxKinnaird, Lahore, Pakistan, outlining her beliefs and motivations.   She has shared the official link to this presentation with us, and you can view it at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYb2TtEmSdc

The objective of I Change Her Life is to create positive change in the lives of disadvantaged women by employing and training them. The induction program has been updated over the past year to include a breakthrough “Life Coach” training manual that helps women overcome their suffering and enables them to become productive contributors to their communities.

In Pakistan, the outreach and visibility of I Change Her Life increased tremendously thanks to a collaboration with local non-profits and sister organizations. As a result of relentless efforts to improve the socio-economic conditions of vulnerable and weak women, the organization was able to increase the scope of positive social impact from 20 to 85,849 women in Pakistan.

Dr. Ambreen Zaman Riaz, the founder of I Change Her Life, tells us that this expansion was the direct result of collaboration with many organizations already working in the region such as Nida Pakistan, Blue Veins, and Sawera Pakistan.

“We are also in the process of initiating a joint program with the prestigious Agha Khan Foundation to work alongside their organization CIQAM to increase the scope of social impact,” added Dr. Zaman.   “In Pakistan, we have increased our presence and visibility, and managed to penetrate into the heart of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) region in the Northwest, by establishing close ties and creating relationships based on mutual trust and a strong belief in the process of positive social change.”  

Continued Dr. Zaman: “In Turkey, we have formed key alliances with Women Entrepreneurship group Kadiger Turkey, and with Macka and Flying Bloom. The vision and goals of these organizations are closely aligned with our own values and beliefs.”  

I Change Her Life is using these platforms to fight against gender violence in Pakistan. “We are actively involved in the process of drafting a legislature to modify the bill against honor killings and Sharia law in Pakistan that demeans the status of women in society and constricts their rights and civil liberties,” Dr. Zaman told us. “We are now actively involved in the process of social and legal change to create a positive atmosphere for women to flourish. Through our cooperation with WEF (Women Empowerment Forum) in Pakistan, we have been able to bring about subtle changes in the network of Pakistani society and institutions. The subject of gender violence is our priority, but it must be handled very delicately so as to not offend certain segments of society.”

“We have learned to create small but meaningful changes through our workshops, to create awareness against gender violence, and to focus on gender development,” concluded Dr. Zaman. “Our unique approach has helped us win over critics as well as conservative members of the institutions that we want to change. This is an unprecedented accomplishment: most other organizations have failed because they could not negotiate and ended up being attacked or abolished by fundamental groups. By combining good negotiation skills with open dialog, rather than pushing our agenda in the face of rigid opposition, we have managed to dissolve the boundaries of gender discrimination, leading to an overall change in the perception of the general population.”

I Change Her Life is also using its platform to voice concerns about the violation of the rights of minorities living in Pakistan.

About Dr. Ambreen Zaman Riaz:

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

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

About I Change Her Life:

I Change Her Life is a Social Business Enterprise committed to changing the lives of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Pakistan and refugees in Turkey. The organization creates positive social impact in the lives of the vulnerable and weak. Its aim is to create awareness about issues such as gender violence and the rights of minorities. To find out more, go to: www.ichangeherlife.com

Mireille Gillings, Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Chairman of HUYA Bioscience International in San Diego, California, USA, won a Gold Stevie Award in the Management Awards categories of The 2015 American Business Awards. HUYA Bioscience International also won the Bronze in the Company/Organization Awards categories of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

We asked Mireille what winning her Stevie Awards has meant to her and her company.

“Winning a Stevie Award was a resounding endorsement of HUYA’s business model,” Mireille told us. “Our aim is to enable and accelerate global development of innovative biopharmaceuticals originating in China.”

“This prestigious award, with its recognition of outstanding performance in the workplace, came at a pivotal point in HUYA’s evolution,” added Mireille. “Our novel anticancer therapy, HBI-8000, had entered clinical trials in Japan, plus it had been approved as Epidaza^® by the Chinese FDA. HUYA’s drug has immunomodulatory properties, which are important to the clinical development of immuno-oncology therapeutics. The Stevie award was a much-appreciated affirmation for our team, and represented another stepping stone towards HUYA’s future success.”

The 2016 American Business Awards will be accepting entries through February 18 and late entries (with payment of a late fee) through March 16. Find out how to enter here.

The 2016 Asia-Pacific Awards is now open and will be accepting entries through March 23. Find out how to enter here.

The Benefits of Additional Exposure

Mireille was also appreciative of the broader awareness a Stevie Award can provide. “As we continue to build our presence in the Asia-Pacific region, the additional exposure that the Stevie award has given HUYA continues to be extremely helpful,” she told us. “Since receiving the award, HUYA has opened new offices in South Korea, taking our proven business model to that country. The recent agreement between HUYA and the Korean Drug Development Fund (KDDF) will facilitate partnerships with local companies and research institutions to accelerate the development and commercialization of Korean pharmaceutical discoveries for global markets.”

“This expansion into South Korea adds to our presence in the U.S., Japan, and eight strategic locations throughout China,” continued Mireille. “This builds on HUYA’s overall strategy to be the partner-of-choice for innovative pharmaceutical companies in emerging centers of excellence worldwide.“

Wellspring of Innovation

We asked Mireille what new areas of biopharma innovation her company would be working on in the coming year. “Looking ahead, we see China and other Asia-Pacific countries as a wellspring of innovation. In the coming year, HUYA will continue to implement its uniquely cost-efficient, reduced-risk model for drug development to advance promising molecules from this region,” she explained. “This model includes using preclinical and clinical results from tests carried out in China to create the most time, cost, and risk efficient therapies to be brought to the United States and other major markets. We will also continue to expand our activities in other Asian centers of biopharma research excellence, including South Korea and Japan, to source and add value to promising molecules.”

Continuing Success

In addition to her successes at the beginning of the year, Mireille went on to win two Silver and one Bronze Stevie Award in the 2015 International Business Awards, presented in Toronto, Canada, in October; and two Silver and one Bronze Stevie Award at the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women in Business in November.

“Warmest congratulations to Mireille on this well-deserved recognition," said Clem Gingras, HUYA’s Chief Technology Officer & Chief Operating Officer Asia. “As the first person to identify China’s potential to meet global demand for innovative medicines, Mireille founded HUYA to increase the speed of development and value creation for China sourced innovations in worldwide markets. These awards acknowledge several major recent milestones that have been achieved by HUYA.”

Accelerating & Streamlining Global Development

Mireille founded HUYA to accelerate development and value creation for China-sourced innovations worldwide. Many such compounds have been validated through a rigorous discovery, selection and development process in China, so this model streamlines and accelerates development globally, while lowering risk. HUYA has:

• A database of ~14,000 China-sourced compounds–the world’s largest;
• 110 agreements with Chinese academic & commercial organizations;
• 80 scouts in China, more than top 5 global biopharma firms combined;
• Access to 55% of the biopharma innovation in China;
• Eight strategically located offices across China (Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, China Medical City [Taizhou], Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Wuhan);
• Joint headquarters in Shanghai and San Diego, California.

HUYA opened an office in Japan in September 2014 to support future expansion in that country.

The Value of Cooperation

Looking ahead, Mireille will lead HUYA’s efforts to continue building relationships to make candidate compounds more accessible internationally, bringing value for both innovators and developers. Mireille and HUYA aim to be recognized as a main driving force that brings out the value of the Tripartite Cooperation between China, Japan, and South Korea in developing novel therapeutics to benefit patients in the three countries and worldwide.

Building Momentum in the Asia-Pacific Region

“I am inspired every day by the talented people who surround me, including HUYA’s dedicated employees and the world-class advisory boards who share their passion and talents,” explained Mireille. “In future, it will be exciting to watch as biopharma R&D continues to build momentum in the Asia-Pacific region. The HUYA teams in San Diego, Tokyo, Seoul and our eight China offices remain committed to globalizing Asian innovation.”

Concluded Mireille: “By building relationships and employing approaches such as in-licensing, alliances, co-development, research funding, and creative financial partnerships, HUYA is poised to bring pharmaceutical discoveries to benefit patients around the world.”

About Mireille Gillings:

Mireille Gillings, Ph.D., a visionary leader with 22 years of scientific and operational experience in the biotech sector, has been the driving force in establishing HUYA Bioscience International. At Quintiles, a Fortune 500 company, she was the first woman to be appointed to the Board of Directors since the company’s privatization and subsequent IPO. Mireille is Co-founder of GHO Capital, a private equity fund specializing in global health opportunities. She serves on the Board of Senté Inc., a science-based skincare company, and is a member of the U.S. Pasteur Foundation Board. Mireille has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and has held post-doctoral fellowships at Bordeaux University and Scripps Research Institute. She speaks fluent English, Dutch, French and Spanish.

About HUYA Bioscience International:

HUYA Bioscience International is a leader in enabling and accelerating the global development of novel biopharmaceutical product opportunities originating in China. HUYA has established extensive collaborations with Chinese biopharmaceutical, academic and commercial organizations to speed development and value creation in worldwide markets for China-sourced product candidates. With the largest Chinese compound portfolio covering all therapeutic areas, HUYA has emerged as the partner of choice for building and maximizing the value of biopharmaceutical innovation in China. HUYA has offices in the U.S., Japan, and eight strategic locations across China, with joint headquarters in San Diego and Shanghai. With the largest team of scientists working with Chinese innovators, HUYA identifies and advances promising drug candidates globally. For more information, go to www.huyabio.com.

Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations run by women, the Stevie® Awards for Women in Business announced the results of its 2015 competition on Friday, November 13.

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 Afghanistan, Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the U.S.A. and Venezuela. The presentations were broadcast via Livestream.

Find the event photos here.

More than 1,300 nominations from organizations and individuals in 26 nations were submitted to the awards this year for consideration in categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, and Startup of the Year, among others. More than 160 professionals around the world participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and then the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements.

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

•             DP DHL, Worldwide (#1)
•             Digital Risk, Orlando, FL U.S.A. (#2)
•             iFinance Canada, Toronto, ON Canada (#3)
•             Accenture, New York, NY U.S.A. (#4)
•             Pink Elephant, Burlington, ON Canada (#5)

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

•     Virtual Legal Pty Ltd, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Startup of the Year - Consumer Services    
•     Sunshine Farzan, Head of Marketing and Communications, MetLife Hong Kong, Female Executive of the Year in Asia, Australia or New Zealand    
•     Stephanie Mitelman, President, Founder and Inventor, Senseez Pillows, Montreal, QC, Canada, Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Products
•     Kate Barton, Vice Chair EY, New York, NY U.S.A., Woman of the Year - Business Services    
•     Axonify, Waterloo, ON Canada, Management Team of the Year – Business Services    
•     I Change Her Life, Lahore, Pakistan & Istanbul, Turkey, Community Involvement Program of the Year
•     Pivot Point Marketing, Larkspur, CA U.S.A., Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Marketing - Consumer Services
•     Ooredoo, Doha, Qatar    , Smartphone or Tablet App of the Year
•     Kanchan Naikawadi, Director, Indus Health Plus Pvt Ltd., Pune, Maharashtra, India, Female Executive of the Year – Health Products and Services
•     Owl's Brew, New York, NY USA, Company of the Year – Consumer Products

The 2015 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 AMN Healthcare Services, Inc., AT&T, Cisco Systems, ClearPeople, Collectively, Creative Lodging Solutions, DHL Express, Digital Risk, Just for Pets Pty Ltd, Kim Flynn Consulting, Luvo, Inc., Lynn University, Roshan, Stride, and Synchrony Financial. For a complete list of Stevie Award winners and more information, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Entries for the 2016 edition of the awards will open next May.

About the Stevie Awards
The Stevie Awards are conferred in six programs: The American Business Awards, the German Stevie 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 http://www.StevieAwards.com, and follow the Stevie Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards.

More than 400 finalists and their guests from around the world will gather this Friday, November 13 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City for the 12th annual Stevie Awards fror Women in Business. These are the world’s top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

Grand, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced. More than 1,400 nominations from organizations and individuals in 26 nations were submitted to the awards this year for consideration in categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, and Startup of the Year, among others. More than 160 professionals around the world participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and then the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements.

The awards will be broadcast via Livestream at 7:30 pm ET via the Stevie Awards’ Facebook page. 

On your mobile device, watch the awards presentations on the Stevie Awards for Women in Business website.

Here is the list of organizations that will be represented at the event this Friday:

11mark

24Notion

6SensorLabs

97th Floor

Absolute Assistance - Virtual Assistant

Academic Achievers

Acorn: An Influence Company

Adello

Advanced Care Australia Pty Ltd

AECOM

Aflac

Allconnect

ALOM

Amadeus North America Inc.

AMN Healthcare Services Inc.

Amobee  

AT&T  

Autoscribe Corporation

Behringer

Beta Soft Systems

Blanks Boutique Inc

BMC Software

BrightPoint Security

Çalik Enerji

Cast & Crew

CBIZ Inc.

Center for Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership, Babson College

Cisco Systems

Classloom

Collectively

Company

Consultants 2 Go

Cree-Con Construction Inc.

Crocon d.o.o.

DemandLab LLC

Dental Assisting National Board Inc.

DHL Express

Digital Air Strike

Digital Risk

Dignity Health

Dr. Kate Siner Inc.

Dream it. Code it. Win it.

EMC

Enterprise Community Partners

EY

Fabric Innovations

Family Development Foundation

FIS

FocusVision

Goodwin Group PR

Hemsworth Communications

HGS

Hillstone Networks

Hy-Performance Fluid Power Pty Ltd

I Change Her Life

iFinance Canada Inc.

Improving Enterprises

Indigo Interactive

InMoment

Irving Levin Associates Inc.

iTalent Corporation

Ixia

Jacobson Strategic Communications

Jones Publishing (Citywealth)

Just For Pets Pty Ltd

Karrikins Group North Sydney

KC Projects

KeenAlignment

Kim Flynn Consulting

Level 3 Communications

Lightwave Inc

LimBionics of Durham

LiquidPlanner Inc.

LLORENTE & CUENCA

Lynn University

Lyons Consulting Group

MalikCo

ManpowerGroup

Mcor Technologies

MELILEA Internatioanl (Taiwan) Limited

Métier

New Family Organization

NF Global Corp

NuCompass Mobility Services Inc.

NurseWise

PharmaLogics Recruiting

Phenomenal PR & Events

Pink Elephant

Pivot Point Marketing

PMFTC Inc

Precision Marketing Group

Proforma SI

radius financial group inc

Rapid Allweiler Group

Red Hat

ReneSola America

REP Interactive

Resilient Systems

Resolute Forest Products

Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust

RevenueWire Inc

Rita Trehan LLC

Roshan

SABIC

Selling Energy

Senseez Pillows

Silverlink Communications

Simple Mills

SOPHIYA Corporation

Source Intelligence

SpeakerBox Communications

SpendWell Health

SPLICE Software

Strategic Medical

Stratus Interactive

Stride

Sungard Availability Services

Swiss Post Solutions

Synchrony Financial

Thai Island

The Art and Craft Gallery

The Luminations Group LLC

Tourism New Zealand

UPMC Health Plan

US Embassy Connect to Success Program

Valerie Herskowitz Palm Beach Gardens

Wells Fargo & Company

Women on Top Business Coaching

Word & Brown General Agency

Working Solutions

World Financial Group

Your Architect

YWoman

ZippedMe

ZON

Zuora Inc.

ZYTO Corporation

Photos and videos from the event will be available next week.

 

Finalists were announced today in the 12th Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, the world’s top honors for women entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

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

This year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced at an awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Friday, November 13. Tickets are now on sale.

More than 400 women and their guests from around the world are expected to attend. The event will be broadcast on Livestream via the Stevie Awards’ Facebook page from 7:30 pm ET, and the red carpet pre-show will air on the Stevie Awards’ Periscope from 6:00 pm ET.

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

Among the leading contenders with five or more Finalists are Accenture, Chicago, IL; AT&T, Dallas, TX; Collectively, San Francisco, CA; DHL Express Worldwide; Digital Air Strike, Scottsdale, AZ; Digital Risk, Orlando, FL; iFinance Canada Inc., Toronto, Canada; Jacobson Strategic Communications, Philadelphia, PA; LLORENTE & CUENCA, Madrid, Spain; Ooredoo, Doha, Qatar; Pink Elephant, Burlington, ON, Canada; Red Hat, Raleigh, NC; Roshan, Kabul, Afghanistan; and Synchrony Financial, Stamford, CT.

For a complete list of Finalists by category, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Finalists were chosen by more than 120 business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging. Members of five specialized judging committees will determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging that begins on October 19.

The following professionals participated in preliminary judging of the 2015 Stevie Awards for Women in Business in September and October.  Their average scores determined the 2015 Finalists.  We thank them for their time, insights and support.

Husam Mahmoud Abdallah, Sr. Specialist Strategy & Business Excellence, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai, United Arab Emirates             

Lisa Abeyta, Founder/CEO, APPCityLife, Inc., Albuquerque, NM USA                                                                                                                           
Lara Abrams, Managing Partner, Lara Abrams Communications, LLC, San Ramon, CA USA                                                                                                                     

Nicole Y. Adams, Marketing, PR and Corporate Communications Translator, NYA Communications, Bellbird Park, QLD Australia             

Megan Alarid, Chief Digital Officer, Cenergy, Houston, TX USA   

Maryam Al Hashmi, Deputy Representative of Quality, Fujairah Police G.H.Q, Fujairah, AlFujairah, United Arab Emirates

Huda Al-Husaini, Associate Engineer, Jordan Engineers Association, Shmisani, Amman, Jordan   

Karen Appleton, Founder, Box, Inc, Los Altos, CA USA

Elycia Arendt, Digital Strategist, Horizontal Integration, Minnetonka, MN USA    

Ani Atanasova, CEO, Pixelhunters, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Victoria Barnett, Senior Marketing Director, Royal College of Nursing, Epping, Essex, United Kingdom

Janet Beale, Managing Director, Sytor Enterprises Pty Ltd, East Lindfield, NSW Australia               

Dea Benson, Chief Accounting Officer, Realogy, Parsippany, NJ USA       

Denise Blasevick, CEO, The S3 Agency, Boonton, NJ USA              

Tya Bolton, CEO / Business and Event Strategist, Exceptional Business Solutions, LLC, Columbia, MD USA              

Jane Bryant, Director, Spire Communications, Potomac Falls, VA USA     

Carolin Buchardt, CEO and founder, CB Praxisberatung, Germany            

Cheryl Budd, Chief Communications Officer, National Council on Compensation Insurance, Boca Raton, FL USA 

Roman Bukary, VP Account Management, NetSuite, Denver, CO USA    

Beverly Butler, Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo, Treasury Management, San Francisco, CA USA  

Mj Callaway, Author, Coach, Speaker, Rock More Sales, Delmont, USA United States     

Etta Cohen, Founder, Forward Ladies, Leeds, United Kingdom  

Lebin Ebru, Cokisler, Head of Corporate Communication, Anadolu Group, Istanbul, Umraniye, Turkey    

Dr. Kate Darcy Hohenthal, Founder, The Birthday Club, Manchester, CT USA

Adriena Daunt, Public Relations, The Americas Tourism New Zealand | Manaakitanga Aotearoa, Santa Monica, CA, USA               

Robyn Davis, Owner, When I Need Help, Columbia, SC USA        

Danielle Di-Masi, Business Etiquette Expert, The Interactions Lab, Australia         

Teresa Dos Santos, Director, Business Interiors, Pensacola, FL, USA         

Eve Dumovich, Editor, Boeing/Snowline Publishing, USA              

Denette Dunn, S.W. Area Municipal Services Manager, Republic Services, Phoenix, AZ USA        

Tereson Dupuy, CEO, Fuzzibunz, LLC, Lafayette, LA USA

Lori Ericson, Product Planning and Development, Epicor Software, Littleton, CO USA      

Kharma Finley-Wallace, Principal, Hoverfly Media, Public Relations, Washington                DC, USA              

Dr. Hüsniye Firat, The Ministry of Customs and Trade, Turkey    

Patricia Garcia, User Experience Professional, Vixlet, Culver City, CA USA             

Lorretta Gasper , Owner/Principal, Wind Rose Communications, Atlanta, GA USA             

Linda Ginac, CEO, TalentGuard, Austin, TX USA

Barb Girson, President, My Sales Tactics, LLC, New Albany, OH USA

Marilyn Glazier, Social Media Director, Helen Doron Educational Group, Misgav, Israel    

Rashmi Gopinath, Sr. Director, Business Development, Couchbase, USA              

Danita Harn, COO, Harn and Associates Back Office Solutions, Ops, Woodstock, GA USA               

Charity  Herb, Online Content Administrator, American Greetings, Associate Communications, Cleveland, OH USA          

Deborah Herman, President, Fabric Innovations, Coral Gables, FL USA   

Joann Hizon, Vice President - Human Resources, SM Investments Corp, Pasay City, Philippines

Rosalie  Hopkins, President, Bianco Hopkins & Assoc., Inc., Peachtree Corners, GA, USA

Kimberly Howard, Vice President, Creative Director, The Thomas Collective, New York, NY USA

Craig Jacobsen, Founder, Open Spaces Marketing, Encinitas, CA USA     

Julie Jakopic, President/CEO, iLead Strategies, Alexandria, VA USA          

Anne Jefferies, Vendor Compliance Manager, AT&T Global Vendor Management, Biggar, United Kingdom         

Graham Jenkins, Chair - TEC 31 and KEY 112, The Executive Connection, Sydney, NSW Australia 

Zsofia Juhasz, Executive coach, Coaching Team - Australasia, The Gap, Qld Australia        

Rose Jurczewski, Owner, Funxion Fuzion, Roselle, IL USA

Peter Justen, CEO, Five Plus, Middleburg, VA USA           

Tsvetta Kaleynska, President, Girls Leading Our World, New York, NY USA           

Umut KEÇECIOGLU, DenizBank, Istanbul, Turkey              

Tammy Kronawitter, Executive Assistant, Clear Decisions, Sheidow Park, SA Australia    

Iwona Kubicz, President of the Board, Procontent, Global Reach PR, Warsaw, Poland     

Yamini Kurup, Vice President, Aditya Birla Financial Services, Mumbai, India        

Sharon Lachow-Blumberg, CEO, I'm Not Done Yet LLC, Charlotte, NC USA            

Joanne Lang, CEO, AboutOne CEO, Malvern, PA USA     

Susan LaPlante-Dube, Principal, Precision Marketing Group, Framingham, MA USA         

Jill Liberman, Founder, Videoglobetrotter, Inc., Boca Raton, FL USA        

Vanessa Lindeberg, Client Services Manager, OnStrategy, Reno, NV USA                                                                                                                            

Ivo Lukas, CEO/Founder, 24Notion, USA              

Lindsey Lux, Vice President of Operations, MDwise Inc., Operations/HR/Customer Service, Indianapolis, IN USA

Melissa Macaulay Federico, President/CEO, The B2B Branding Co., Medfield, MA USA

Anil Machado, Managing Director, T Nell, Sieradz, Poland             

Theresa Mack, Owner, PowerUp Partners, Torrance, CA USA      

Vanessa Maddox, CEO, TheGirlfriendGroup, Leesburg, VA USA

Jan Mano, Creative Director, Elf, Burlington, VT USA

Carol Marx, Past President, American Agri-Women, Rickreall, OR USA    

Renie McClay, Project Manager, Caveo Learning, Ozark, MI USA              

Robin McCoy-Ramirez, Owner, SoothEaze, USA

Colin McKillop, Vice President, WECAN, Windsor, Ontario, Canada           

Catherine McQuaid, Principal, Big Game Hunting, Toronto, Canada          

Debbie Moore, COO, Other Creative Ltd, LONDON, London, United Kingdom    

Rajendran Nair, VP, Marketing, Estuate, USA

Crystal  O'Connor, Founder | CEO, Moxie Entrepreneur, West Des Moines, IA USA         

Julie Pond, CEO, Sage Environmental Services, Inc., Seattle, WA USA

Toni Potter, Director, AMERICAN SYSTEMS, Chantilly, VA USA

Fabi Preslar, President, SPARK Publications, Matthew, NC USA

Lisa Preuss, Senior Director, Corporate Communications, Epicor Software Corp., Irvine, CA USA   

Jesintha Rajaratnam, Managing Partner, Money Garden, Bangalore, Karnataka, India    

Janelle  Raney, Principal Product Marketing Manager, Citrix, SaaS Division, USA

Julia Reid, New Business Consultant, 1000heads Inc, New York, NY USA

Dennis Reno, Corporate Vice President, Customer Success, Proofpoint, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA USA

Ritzi Ronquillo, Chairman, IABC Phillipines, Philippines   

Anupama Rosa, Marketing Executive, Lycatel Switchware Ltd, London, United Kingdom               

Catalina Rousseau, President & CEO, BDR Associates, Hill + Knolwton Strategies Associate, Bucharest, Romania

Liz Rowell, Managing Director, Red Ark, St Leonards NSW, NSW Australia             

Pearl Saadi, Client Strategy Director, Other Creative Ltd, London United Kingdom            

Amy Scarlino, President & CEO, Catchpole Corporation, Boston, MA United States          

Susan Schauer John, Head Honcho, SpiderWeb Connections, Easton, MD USA

Nora Senior, Executive Chair UK Regions and Ireland, Weber Shandwick, Edinburgh United Kingdom      

Ron Sereg, Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University at Shreveport, Shreveport, LA

Keira Shein, Partner, Shein Strategies, Owings Mills, MD USA

Kyle Sheldon-Chandler, Virtual Assistant, KSC Virtual Assistant Services, Grand Junction, CO USA

Tony Roland Silitonga, Board of Trustees, Indonesian Institute for Corporate Directorship, (IICD), Jakarta, Indonesia       

Aline Stanworth, Communications Leader Europe, SABIC, Corporate Communications, Bergen op Zoom, NB, The Netherlands      

Vickie Sullivan, Founder and President, Sullivan and Associates, TEMPE, AZ USA              

Letty Swank, Founder, Giftwrapperz, Los Gatos, CA USA            

Mahiette Tarrago, Creative Director, Tycoon Advertising Group, The Woodlands, TX USA            

Veronique Topping, Owner and Web Developer, I-NetUniq Technologies, Rockville Centre, NY USA

Aia Tulepbergenova, Business Analyst, Morgan Stanley, New York, NY USA        

Sarah Tumm, Owner / CEO, DimTec 3D, Fort Myers, FL USA        

Linda Varrell, President, Broadreach Public Relations, Portland, ME USA               

Sharon Vaz, CEO, Internet Marketing Angel LLC, Hendersonville, TN USA

Anne Walker, Founder & CEO, International Dance Supplies Ltd, Newton Abbot, Devon, United Kingdom            

Teresa Waller, Director of Business Development, Sanplicity, Bakersfield, CA USA  

Stacy Weil, Executive Director, PPD, Inc., Austin, TX USA

Joyce Weiland, President, SoftPro, Raleigh, NC USA       

Antonie  Whittier, Founder, Whittier Legal Consulting, Dallas, TX USA      

Marie Wiese, President, Marketing CoPilot Inc., Toronto, ON Canada     

Heather Wilde, CTO, ROCeteer, Las Vegas, NV USA

Leah Wilkinson, Partner, Wilkinson Shein Communications, Arlington, VA USA   

Becky Wilson, Chief Visibility Officer, WDS Marketing & PR, Overland Park, KS USA          

Young Kuk, Won, CEO/ECD, Solcom, Seoul, South Korea               

Dr. Brenda Wrigley, Associate Professor, Emerson College, Dept. of Marketing Communications, Boston, MA    

Yvonne Wu, Author Assistant and Publicist, The YP Publishing, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada     

Darya Yegorina, Founder, Skills2Fund, Dublin, Ireland    

Kathy Zwickert, Chief People Officer, NetSuite, San Mateo, CA USA      

 

Interested in becoming a judge for the 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business? Apply here.

The Stevie Awards are delighted to announce the  five distinguished women who will chair the final judging committees of the 2015 (12th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business competition.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees, and the organizations they run.

Finalists in this year's Stevie Awards for Women in Business will be announced on
October 7.  Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie placements from among the Finalists will be determined in final judging, to begin in late October.  Results will be announced at the 12th annual awards dinner in New York on November 13.  Tickets will go on sale October 7.

The five committee chair selections are based on the categories that will be judged. Final judging chairs helped to form their committees, each of which will be comprised of 10-20 other executives.  Here are this year's final judging committee chairs.

INDIVIDUAL/EXECUTIVE

Elizabeth Schillo, Senior Vice President, Sales
Dice, New York, New York, USA

Elizabeth Schillo serves as Senior Vice President for Dice and Clearance Jobs, leading all North American sales channels. She oversees account management, new business sales, customer-centric sales communication, sales training, new product sales, and strategic partnerships for business development to generate annual results of over $130M.

Prior to Dice, she held sales leadership roles with CareerBuilder, Ann Taylor, and McKesson Information Systems. Over the past thirteen years, Elizabeth has demonstrated her ability to lead multi-channel sales teams and to drive results. Her passion for training, leadership, and serving customers has enabled her teams to develop strong customer relationships.

Elizabeth holds an MA from Wheaton College and a BA in Communication and Psychology from Lee University.

INDIVIDUAL/ENTREPRENEUR AND MARKETING

Amber Olson Rourke, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer
Nerium International, Addison, Texas, USA

Amber Olson Rourke leads a team that is responsible for all of Nerium International’s™ branding, creative services, communications, public relations, events, digital marketing, and social media. As a member of the core executive team, Amber helped set and execute the strategy that led Nerium to be the youngest company ever to earn a place on the Direct Selling News Global 100 List in 2013, as well as receiving the prestigious Bravo Growth Award from Direct Selling News for hitting $100 million in sales during its first full year of business. In 2014, Amber was recognized as a 40 Under 40 by Direct Marketing News, and has also been profiled alongside Nerium International’s other top executives in both Direct Selling News and SUCCESS from Home magazines.

Amber also plays a key role in Nerium International’s culture and helps drive the company vision of “Making People Better.” She assisted in developing Nerium’s core values and leads a corporate culture committee which ensures that the core values are represented throughout the company. She launched a partnership between Nerium International™ and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, spearheading a fundraising effort that yielded over $500,000 in one year. She has also established a partnership with the Success Foundation to host teen workshops across the country. These workshops teach kids the skills needed to achieve their dreams. To date, thousands of teens have attended these free workshops.

Amber is enthusiastic about helping people achieve their dreams—especially women. A frequent keynote speaker at Nerium events, which draw audiences of 10,000 people or more, Amber encourages women to put their “calling before their comfort.” She has hosted women’s workshops and teen workshops across the country and is on the Advisory Board for Live Happy Magazine and the National Acts of Happiness campaign.

COMPANY/ORGANIZATION

Ann Kaplan, CEO & President
iFinance Canada Inc., Toronto, Canada

Ann Kaplan is the CEO and President of iFinance Canada, the parent company to iFinance Home Improvement, Medicard, Petcard, Dentalcard, and Earlybird Pay Day Loans–a national consumer finance Company. She is also the founder of Brix Exchange, Canada’s first Real Estate Crowd Funding Portal, regulated under the Securities Acts.

An award winning business woman, Ms Kaplan is the recipient of the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award 200 and is currently the winner of the central region for the Award of Excellence, CWEYA award and a finalist for the CWEYA Canada (November 2015); the Peak Award of Excellence in Finance, as well as nine times on the Canada’s Profit 100 list for growth and 9X placement on the Canadian W100 list; she was also recognized as one of Canada’s most inspirational women in 2007 and more recently as one of Canada’s top three Female Business Leaders. Ann has also been named in the WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame 3X and was inducted into the WXN Hall of Fame in 2014 and Recognized with highest honor as Rotman School of Business Top Women in Management/Entrepreneurship, 2015. Internationally, Ann is the recipient of numerous entrepreneurship awards, most recently for Woman of the Year in The 2015 International Business Awards.

Ms. Kaplan has an MBA, MSc, and a Corporate Governance Designation (ICD.d); and she is currently completing her Doctoral Thesis in finance at Henley Business School, University of Reading. Ann sits on three academic boards and committees; she is an eleven delegate with the Ontario Economic Summit; and in 2014 she was a co-chair in finance at the G-20Y summit in Geneva. Ann has hosted three televisions shows, written four books (If You Don’t Laugh, You’ll Cry”, “Best Practices”, “The InterNet,” and “Fashion Cares”), and is often profiled or quoted in the media. She is the mother of eight and resides in Toronto, Canada.

COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA

María Cura, Partner and Managing Director/Barcelona Office
LLORENTE & CUENCA, Madrid, Spain 

María Cura joined LLORENTE & CUENCA in April 2010 as Managing Director of the Barcelona office, and has been a Partner in the company since 2012. She has more than 20 years of experience in communications consulting, and has a broad knowledge of managing corporate and marketing communications for leading companies in sectors such as technology, tourism, finance, and pharmaceuticals.

Before joining LL&C, María worked for USP Hospitals as Corporate Director of Marketing and Communications, going on to be made a partner and member of the Executive Committee, and where she set up the CSR Department and the Alex Foundation. Prior to that, she spent five years at communications consultancy Gené & Asociados in Barcelona, representing institutional clients such as the Regional Government of Catalonia, the Government of Andorra, and F.C. Barcelona, amongst others.

María has a law degree from the University of Barcelona.

NEW PRODUCT & SERVICE

Katrinka McCallum, Vice President of Products & Technologies Operations
Red Hat, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Katrinka McCallum is the vice president of Products & Technologies Operations at Red Hat, a Fortune 500 company with close to $1.8 billion in revenue. Her team provides the operational backbone for Red Hat's product and technology operations, enhancing the development, commercialization, and lifecycle management of the company’s offerings. In addition to ensuring the business units are able to make data driven decisions, she is responsible for engineering operations that ensure development teams have the infrastructure & tools needed to deliver products. She is also responsible for the site management of Red Hat’s R&D facilities in Australia, China, Czech Republic, India, and Israel.

Katrinka describes her career path like a mosaic: up close it may not be clear, yet stepping back it’s a beautiful piece of art. Katrinka has led operations for publicly-traded companies where she has had a variety of responsibilities, including sales, marketing, technical support, product development, IT, HR, finance, operations, and the running of entire business units. She leverages her Wellesley and Duke education, as well as her CPA, as foundational elements for a solid footing in how to ask the types of questions that lead teams in the right direction.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business will continue to accept entries through Friday, October 2. No additional late fees will be charged, and late entries will not be penalized in any way in the judging process. Contact help@stevieawards.com with any questions