Winners of Stevie awards for women in business unveiled

Shining a spotlight on more than 60 outstanding women executives, business owners and organizations, the winners of the 2009 Stevie Awards for Women in Business were unveiled on Friday, November 13 in categories including Best Entrepreneur, Best Executive, Most Innovative Company and Best Overall Company.

With over 300 businesswomen in attendance, the winners of the 6th annual awards competition were announced at an awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.  More than 1,100 nominations were submitted for consideration in 54 categories.

HR-related winners include:
  • Mentor of the Year: Nancy Long, Chief HR Officer and Senior VP-Human Resources, Hitachi Data Systems, Santa Clara, CA

  • Best Executive-Service Businesses-up to 2,500 Employees-All Other Services: Eleni Antoniou, Director of Human Resources, High Performance Technologies, Inc., Reston, VA

  • Employer of the Year: Michael C. Fina, New York, NY. Michael C. Fina provides innovative solutions to improve the effectiveness of an organization's employee recognition strategy.

  • Best Overall Company of the Year-Service Businesses-up to 100 Employees - Business Services: APT, Inc., Darien, CT. APT is the only leading human resources consultancy that builds world-class talent management strategies and is nationally recognized for its employment litigation support services.

  • Best Executive-Service Businesses-up to 2,500 Employees-Advertising, Business Service, Marketing and Public Relations: Jamie Minier, President, The RightThing, LLC, Findlay, OH. The RightThing is the number one recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) provider.


Other notable Stevie Award winners from this year’s competition include:

  • Best Executive: Anna Chagnon, President and CEO of Bitstream Inc.
  • Best Canadian Entrepreneur: Shabnam Rezaei, Managing Partner, Big Bad Boo Studios
  • Best Latin American Executive: Griselda Hernandez, General Manager of UPS Mexico
  • Best Asian Entrepreneur: Shunee Yee, President and CEO of CSOFT International Ltd., China
  • Best Entrepreneur: Lindsay Phillips, Founder of SwitchFlops by Lindsay Phillips
  • Best Young Entrepreneur: Melissa Fields Tugwell, Founder of PetRays Veterinary Telemedicine Consultants 
  • Best Overall Company of the Year: Camp Bow Wow
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Jennifer Openshaw, Founder & President, WeSeed & Women's Financial Network 
  • Mentor of the Year: Nancy Long, Chief HR Officer and Senior VP-Human Resources of Hitachi Data Systems
  • Fastest Growing Company of the Year: The Bioengineering Group, Inc.

The 2009 honorees reflect a diverse group of large and small organizations from around the world.  Additional Stevie Award winners include: Reading Room (London), iRobot Corporation, Canada Post and more. Eulogy! Public Relations (London) was the only organization to win two Stevie Awards this year, for Best Overall Company of the Year (Services Businesses – up to 100 Employees) and Best Executive in EMEA (President Lara Levanthal).  For a complete list of honorees and more information, visit: www.stevieawards.com/women.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an international competition recognizing the accomplishments of outstanding women executives, business owners, and the organizations they run.   The awards are produced by the creators of the prestigious American Business Awards.  The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are governed by a Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors that features many leading women entrepreneurs and luminaries in business. 

Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.  Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. 

Sponsors of the 2009 Stevie Awards for Women in Business include the Business TalkRadio Network, which broadcast the November 13 awards presentations live across the U.S.A., Covario, Inc., and KeyBank.  Localization partner of the 2009 Stevie Awards is Lionbridge.

Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.stevieawards.com.