Women Execs Dominate First American Business Awards
Contact: Patrick Kowalcyzk,patrick@mkpr.com
Jill Feldman, jill@mkpr.com
Michael Kaminer Public Relations, 212.627.8098
WOMEN EXECUTIVES DOMINATE
FIRST AMERICAN BUSINESS AWARDSSM
Debra Lee of BET and Chris A. Davis of McLeodUSA Incorporated
Named Country’s Best Executives at New York City Ceremony
NEW YORK, NY - May 1, 2003 – American businesswomen took center stage last night as female executives dominated the first American Business Awards in New York.
The American Business Awards are the first national, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace.
Nicknamed the Steviesfor the Greek word "crowned," the awards were presented before a packed ballroom at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City. The ceremony was hosted by CBS News personality Charles Osgood and was broadcast nationwide on radio, and worldwide via the Internet, by Business TalkRadio.
Both of the winners for Best Executive, the top category for individuals, were women. Debra Lee, president and COO of BET, a division of Viacom, and Chris A. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer of McLeodUSA Incorporated, were accorded their Stevies to loud applause.
Other top female winners included Wendy Marlett, senior vice president of marketing with KB Home, as Best Marketing Executive, and Sue Powers, senior vice president of worldwide product solutions and CIO with Worldspan, an Atlanta-based travel-management software provider, as Best Product Development or Engineering Executive. Patti Wilmot, executive vice president of PeopleFirst, the Domino’s Pizza’s human resources department, accepted the Best Human Resources Team award for the company’s Prep School training program.
A total of 44 Stevies were presented in more than 40 categories. Almost 500 nominations from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration. Honorary Stevies were also presented to The Dow Chemical Company for sales, Johnson & Johnson for corporate reputation, and WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive for customer service and ROI.
Stevie winners for Best Overall Company were PIBH, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania non-profit, and R.R. Donnelley, the Chicago-based communications firm.
Nick Padgett, CFO of Inforte, a Chicago consulting firm, won the Stevie for Best Finance Executive.
Jerry Santos, senior vice president of corporate communications with Global Crossing, the telecommunications firm, walked away with the Stevie for Best Communications Executive, for his work in leading the firm's efforts to communicate with investors, customers, and employees.
Several of the winners earned their Stevies through association with the nation's war on terror. Spirit Airlines won the Stevie for Best Marketing Organization for its promotion of a program offering free flights to customers on the first anniversary of September 11th. The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey won for a newspaper campaign that remembered its employees who were lost in the attack. And BioReliance Corp., a Rockville, Maryland biotech firm, won a Stevie for its investor-relations efforts after it was awarded a contract to develop a smallpox vaccine.
Ultimate Software of Weston, Florida was the only company to walk away with two Stevies, winning for Best Salesperson and Best Product Development Organization.
Members of the Awards' Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs selected Stevie winners from among the finalists. The Board includes business luminaries such as Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes, Bruce Nelson, chairman & CEO of Office Depot, marketing gurus Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Anthony Robbins, Chairman & CEO of The Anthony Robbins Companies, Drew Schutte, publisher of Wired Magazine, Jeffrey Tarr, chairman & CEO of Hoover’s Inc., and Donald Trump, chairman, president and CEO of The Trump Organization. Finalists were selected by business professionals nationwide during February and March.
"With the Stevie Awards, business people now have the opportunity to win the same sort of positive attention that up till now only entertainment celebrities could get," said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of The Stevie Awards, the organization that runs The American Business Awards. "Tonight we took a giant leap forward in recognizing companies and the people who work for them for their positive efforts, accomplishments, and contributions to both their communities and our nation."
A full list of winners and summaries of their backgrounds can be found at: www.americanbusinessawards.com.
About The American Business AwardsSM
A celebration of great performances in the workplace, The American Business Awards are the first national, all-encompassing business awards program. Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Awards recognize outstanding leadership, innovation, perseverance, creativity, teamwork, and integrity through more than 40 categories. The first American Business Awards – nicknamed The SteviesTM from the Greek word for "crowned" - were presented at an awards show in New York City on April 30. The program is overseen by a Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors, which includes leading business executives, authors, and academics. Sponsors of the 2003 American Business Awards included BusinessTalkRadio, DHR International, Empire Media, Forbes, Hoover's Online, Inc. Magazine, Miller Heiman, Selling Power Magazine, and Wired Magazine.
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