Company: Sparta Systems Inc., Hamilton, NJ, U.S.A.
Company Description: Sparta Systems Inc, an industry pioneer and global leader in enterprise quality management software (EQMS) solutions, helps businesses to safely & efficiently deliver products to market by avoiding costly recalls. If a company has a quality incident, Sparta’s solutions can help them to investigate and determine the causes of the incident and create action plans to ensure they never happen.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Products –11 to 2,500 Employees

Nomination Title: Eileen Martinson, CEO

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated entrepreneur since the beginning of July last year (up to 525 words):

As CEO, Eileen Martinson provides Sparta Systems with focused vision, leadership and strategic direction, leading the company to significant growth, profitability and innovation. Through her efforts, Sparta implemented a highly successful adjacent market strategy and released industry leading enterprise quality and compliance management solutions, as well as developed a revolutionary cloud-based supplier quality management system. In June 2013, Martinson was named a NJ Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award recipient. Martinson is a highly accomplished enterprise software industry veteran with 20+ years of executive leadership experience.

CORPORATE GROWTH

In her first full year as CEO, 2012 software license revenue was up 22%. During this period, the company earned over 25% EBITDA even as it made significant investments in the Go-To-Market Strategy and doubled R&D spending. Also in 2012, Martinson’s adjacent market strategy helped to yield 29 new corporate customers .

In September 2012, Sparta was named the Software Company of the Year by the New Jersey Technology Council, validating its ability to provide global organizations quality management solutions needed to deliver their products and services to market, safely and efficiently.

To help support growth initiatives and reinforce Sparta’s corporate culture of innovation, in November 2013 Martinson spearheaded the opening of the company’s 35,000 sq foot state of the art training facility and corporate headquarters, bringing a Silicon Valley feel to an East Coast based technology firm.

PRODUCT INNOVATION

In 2013, The Sparta Innovation Program was created to foster new ideas and to bring those ideas to fruition. A co-patent holder herself, Martinson understands the importance of a company’s intellectual property. This year, Sparta will release three new products, focused on analytics, mobility, and cloud-based quality solutions.

CORPORATE CULTURE

Under Martinson, the company created Sparta Values, an embodiment of its commitment to customers’ success, direct and respectful communications, winning as a team and empowering employees. Employees, through a recognition program, are encouraged to exemplify and call out peers exhibiting the “Values.”

Recently, the Sparta Leadership Program was announced to help develop first-line managers into the next stage of their careers. Additionally, Martinson holds First Fridays with Eileen once a month with a group of cross-functional employees to promote two-way communication with employees, and to meet with every employee personally at least once a year.

The corporate culture is being transformed to emphasize growth through customer focus, fact-based decision-making and results. With a 98% customer retention rate, Sparta is succeeding.

INDUSTRY RECOGNITION

In March, 2013, Martinson was recognized by NJBIZ as one of New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business, based on her dedication to business growth, professional and personal accomplishments, community involvement and advocacy for women.

Martinson was again honored in June 2013 when she was selected as the first female keynote at the NJTC’s CFO Awards ceremony, where Maxine Ballen, President, Founder and CEO of NJTC, said, “We are pleased to have an executive of Ms. Martinson's caliber offer her insights on what it takes to lead a profitable, accelerated growth company such as Sparta Systems. As an accomplished executive, with a proven track record, we are excited to have Eileen share her vision and strategies for success."

Provide a brief biography of the nominated entrepreneur (up to 125 words):

Whether as the CEO of an accelerated growth technology company or as a philanthropist creating innovative charitable programs, Eileen Martinson exudes passion and vision in everything she does.

At Philadelphia University, Martinson graduate summa cum laude after 13 years of night school while working full-time. Today she is the Chair of the Board of Trustees and PhilaU 2012 Innovation Medal recipient and has funded Capstone Projects in which cross-discipline teams of engineers, designers and business majors come together to solve business cases.

Martinson is also an active member of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton Board of Directors, the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce Board and was recently appointed to the Thomas Edison State College Foundation Board.