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A.B. Data, Ltd.

2011 SAWIB WinnerCompany: A.B. Data, Ltd.
Company Description: Founded in 1980, A.B. Data has earned an international reputation for expertly managing the complexities of all varieties of class action administration cases. Dedicated professionals deliver A.B. Data’s services, including pre-settlement strategy and consultation, notice administration and settlement fund administration, effectively, efficiently, and affordably, regardless of size or scope.
Nomination Category: Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Executive – Service Businesses – up to 2,500 Employees

Nomination Title: Anya Verkhovskaya, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated executive during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):

Anya Verkhovskaya is the Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Class Action Administration Company of A.B. Data, Ltd., located in Milwaukee, New York, San Francisco, and West Palm Beach. Verkhovskaya, the only female Chief Operating Officer in the industry, manages all aspects of class action administration and leads a team of legal, finance, information systems, information technology, claims administration, and facilities and operations professionals. Verkhovskaya manages the administration of all types of class actions, including civil rights, consumer, environmental, employment, discrimination, securities, and antitrust cases.

In February 2011, Verkhovskaya was appointed the Administrative Director of Project HEART (Holocaust Era Asset Restitution Taskforce) to spearhead all efforts to provide the essential tools, strategy, and information that will ultimately enable the Government of Israel and its partners to secure a measure of justice for eligible Jewish victims and their heirs.

Since February 2011, Project HEART has become one of the most comprehensive multilingual notice campaigns ever undertaken, covering 126 countries and including the use of paid media, earned media, direct mail notice, internet notice, organizational outreach, targeted outreach, as well as a video message displayed every half hour on the electronic billboard over Times Square. Under Verkhovskaya’s direction, A.B. Data launched a multilingual, interactive website (heartwebsite.org), with close to 2 million activities since April 2011, established a 24-hour call center in 13 languages, distributed more than 500,000 documents to potentially eligible families of Holocaust victims, handled over 80,000 calls, conducted archival research, and created the most comprehensive on-line repository in history with more than 1.5 million looted Holocaust era properties. In addition, A.B. Data reached out to 15,000 non-governmental organizations that are now engaged in the Project, assisted thousands of Holocaust victims and their heirs, established an active social media campaign, held numerous press conferences, participated in dozens of radio programs, and processed tens of thousands of claims. To date, over 60,000 articles worldwide have been written about Project HEART.

In addition to Project HEART, Verkhovskaya currently oversees more than $2.5 billion of settlements in various stages of administration, leading A.B. Data to become one of the premier class action administration companies in the country. In 2011, more than 130 jobs were added in Milwaukee, tripling A.B. Data’s Class Action Administration Company in size and advancing A.B. Data’s number of employees to over 500.

Furthermore, as a result of Verkhovskaya’s tireless efforts to prevent claims administration fraud, she was recently selected by Professor of Law, Francis McGovern of Duke Law School to lead an industry wide taskforce on fraud prevention and detection. The Fraud Prevention and Detection Task Force (FPDTF), comprised of leaders in the claims administration industry and former class action attorneys, was formed to discuss and address the increasing problem of the filing of fraudulent claims in class action administrations and SEC fund distributions. Verkhovskaya will work with the FPDTF to establish uniform standards and practices to prevent funds from being paid out to fraudulent filers from settlement distribution funds.

List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqvlkRYT53g&feature=related
http://www.jewishchronicle.org/article.php?article_id=12726
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/middleeast/03holocaust.html?_r=1
http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/23440/Project_Heart_to_Take_Over/
http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/times-square-advertising-initiative-lauched-to-support-holocaust-era-property-restitution/
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11196930/1/project-hearts-comprehensive-archive-of-jewish-holocaust-victims-assets-now-contains-15-million-records.html


Provide a brief biography of the nominated executive (up to 100 words):

Anya Verkhovskaya came to the U.S. as a political refugee in 1990. She has worked with Steven Spielberg, heading European and Asian operations of the Shoah Foundation, was a producer of the Oscar-wining Best Documentary Feature, The Last Days, and won the 54th Annual Christopher Award in Television& Cable. Verkhovskaya served on the Advisory Committee for New Émigrés, is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Archive: Institute of Russian Jewish American Diaspora, and supervised notice in the Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation, German Forced Labour Compensation Programme, and International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims.