Annual 2017 Women in Business and the Professions World Awards

10th Annual 2017 Women in Business and the Professions World Awards

Female Individual Awards

Female Entrepreneur of the Year – 1 – 10 Employees
Gold Winner
Melina Hwang (Hwang Yoong Li), General Manager and Co Founder – Asia Online Publishing Group (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Media & Entertainment)
Silver Winner
Tanya Bakalov, CEO and Founder – BetterSkills (Boston, MA USA – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Human Resources)

Female Entrepreneur of the Year – 11 – 99 Employees
Gold Winner
Candy Shaw, Founder & CEO – Sunlights Balayage, Inc. (Atlanta, GA USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Others: Beauty Industry)
Silver Winner
Christina Khater, Founder and Managing Director – Kristie’s (Beirut, Lebanon – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Business Products and Services)
Bronze Winners
Elnaz Sarraf, Co-Founder & President – iBaby Labs, Inc. (San Jose, CA USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Consumer Products and Services)
Suneera Madhani, Founder & CEO – Fattmerchant (Orlando, FL USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Business Products and Services)

Female Entrepreneur of the Year – 500 – 2,499 Employees
Gold Winner
Wendy Lewis, Co-Founder and COO – Jeunesse (Lake Mary, FL USA – 500 – 2,499 Employees – Industry: Consumer Products and Services)

Female Executive of the Year – 11 – 99 Employees
Gold Winner
Stina Ehrensvard, CEO and Founder – Yubico (Palo Alto, CA USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Information Technology Hardware)
Silver Winner
Erin Krehbiel, ACI Specialty Benefits (San Diego, CA USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Business Products and Services)
Jaye Connolly-LaBelle, President/CEO – RippleNami, Inc. (San Diego, CA USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Cloud Computing/SaaS)

Female Executive of the Year – 100 – 499 Employees
Gold Winner
Lena Requist, President – ONTRAPORT (Santa Barbara, CA USA – 100 – 499 Employees – Industry: Cloud Computing/SaaS)
Silver Winner
Stephanie Wernick Barker, VP of Sales – Mondo (New York City, NY USA – 100 – 499 Employees – Others… Technology Staffing and Recruiting)
Susana De Abrew, Vice President Sales and Marketing – Foxit Software Inc. (Dublin, Ireland – 100 – 499 Employees – Industry: Others… PDF Solutions)
Bronze Winner
Julie Bernard, Chief Marketing Officer – Verve (New York, NY USA – 100 – 499 Employees – Industry: Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations)
Marsha Couch, CFO – Creative Lodging Solutions (Lexington, KY USA – 100 – 499 Employees – Industry: Hospitality, Travel, Recreation, and Leisure)

Female Executive of the Year – 500 – 2,499 Employees
Gold Winner
Sharon Rowland, CEO – ReachLocal, Inc. (Woodland Hills, CA USA – 500 – 2,499 Employees – Industry: Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations)
Silver Winner
Bethany Mayer, President and CEO – Ixia (Calabasa, CA USA – 500 – 2,499 Employees – Industry: Others: Industrial Technology)

Female Executive of the Year – 2,500 or more Employees
Gold Winner
Jennifer Biry, Chief Financial Officer of AT&T Technology and Operations – AT&T (Dallas, TX USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Telecommunications)
Silver Winner
Darcy Brito, Business PR Manager – Aflac (Columbus, GA USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Insurance)
Hannah Grove, CMO – State Street (Boston, MA USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Financial Services and Banking)
Bronze Winner
Dr. Ilham Kadri, President – Sealed Air (Diversey Care division) (Charlotte, NC USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Business Products and Services)
Michelle Finneran Dennedy, Chief Privacy Officer and Vice President – Cisco Systems, Inc. (San Jose, CA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Security Software) for Chief Security Officer, Global Value Chain

Female Professional of the Year
Gold Winner
Shani Oulton, Director of Data Services – National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) (Boca Raton, FL USA – 500 – 2,499 Employees – Industry: Insurance)
Silver Winners
Nadia Garcia Bornfleth, Senior Director of Learning and Development – Creative Lodging Solutions (Lexington, KY USA – 100 – 499 Employees – Industry: Hospitality, Travel, Recreation, and Leisure)
Shauna Son, Director of Operations – Motive Interactive, Inc. (San Diego, CA USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations)

Woman of the Year – Lifetime Achievement
Gold Winner
Wendy Lewis, Co-Founder and COO – Jeunesse (Lake Mary, FL USA – 500 – 2,499 Employees – Industry: Consumer Products and Services)

Woman of the Year – Maverick of the Year
Gold Winner
Sarah Brown, Vice President of Marketing – Creative Lodging Solutions (Lexington, KY USA – 100 – 499 Employees – Industry: Hospitality, Travel, Recreation, and Leisure)

Woman of the Year – Mentor or Coach of the Year
Gold Winner
Carolyn Hundley, Chief Culture and Development Officer – Creative Lodging Solutions (Lexington, KY USA – 100 – 499 Employees – Industry: Hospitality, Travel, Recreation, and Leisure)

Woman of the Year – Women Helping Women
Gold Winner
Dr. Ilham Kadri, President – Sealed Air (Diversey Care division) (Charlotte, NC USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Business Products and Services)
Silver Winner
Candy Shaw, Founder & CEO – Sunlights Balayage, Inc. (Atlanta, GA USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Others: Beauty Industry)
June Howard, Senior Vice President of Financial Services & Chief Accounting Officer – Aflac (Columbus, GA USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Insurance)
Bronze Winner
Heather Brunner, Chair and CEO – WP Engine (Austin, TX USA – 100 – 499 Employees – Industry: Cloud Computing/SaaS)
Sara Hirsh Bordo, Founder & President – Women Rising (Austin, TX USA – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Media & Entertainment)

Female Innovator of the Year
Gold Winner
Marie Hattar, CMO – Ixia (Calabasa, CA USA – 500 – 2,499 Employees – Industry: Others: Industrial Technology)
Silver Winner
Julia Davis, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer – Aflac (Columbus, GA USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Insurance)
Bronze Winner
Cristiana Tudor, Social Media Manager of the Healthcare and Wellness Portfolio – Blueliner Marketing (Jersey City, NJ USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations)
Tanya Bakalov, CEO and Founder – BetterSkills (Boston, MA USA – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Human Resources)

Excellence in Business Woman of the Year
Gold Winner
Edna Conway, Chief Security Officer, Global Value Chain – Cisco Systems, Inc. (Merrimack, NH USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Information Technology Software) for Earning the trust of Cisco’s customers
Silver Winner
Brenda Ware, Founder, CEO – Your Balance Sheet LLC (Mukilteo, WA USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Accounting, Banking, and Financial Services) for Bring financial structure to not so structured businesses
Bronze Winners
Della Deerfield, VP of Finance – Creative Lodging Solutions (Lexington, KY USA – 100 – 499 Employees – Industry: Hospitality, Travel, Recreation, and Leisure) for Automating hotel invoice processing, providing a faster billing turnaround and eliminating data entry errors
Mindy Gibbins-Klein, Founder and CEO – Panoma Press (Hertfordshire, United Kingdom – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Media & Entertainment) for Publishing company sees profit after several years of loss

Female Team of the Year
Gold Winner
Shagun Malhotra, CEO & Founder – SkyStem (New York, NY USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Accounting, Banking, and Financial Services) Team members include: Shagun Malhotra, Nancy Wu, Jennifer Stein, Liz Frederick, and Aine Condon

Female Department of the Year
Gold Winner
Daniella Harkins, Vice President of Marketing – Verve (New York, NY USA – 100 – 499 Employees – Industry: Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations)

Female Achievement of the Year
Gold Winner
Nancy Wu, Head of Sales and Support – SkyStem (New York, NY USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Accounting, Banking, and Financial Services) for Customer Support Achievement of the Year

Best Overall Company of the Year
Gold Winner
Press Kitchen (Santa Monica, CA USA – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Advertisement, Marketing & Public Relations)
Silver Winner
LECMPA (Southfield, MI USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Insurance)

Business Expansion of the Year (e.g. new markets, new partners, new regions, etc.)
Gold Winner
iMiller Public Relations (Mamaroneck, NY USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Advertisement, Marketing & Public Relations)

Company Growth of the Year (e.g. new products, new offices, new employees, etc.)
Gold Winner
Jeunesse (Lake Mary, FL USA – 500 – 2,499 Employees – Industry: Consumer Products and Services)

Startup of the Year – 2013
Gold Winner
Women Rising (Austin, TX USA – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Media & Entertainment) January 2013

Startup of the Year – 2014
Gold Winner
Bowlus Road Chief LLC (Oxnard, CA USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Manufacturing) April 2014
Silver Winner
Community Policing (Gurgaon, Haryana, India – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations) June 2014
Bronze Winners
davies + dixon (Seattle, WA USA – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Advertisement, Marketing & Public Relations) December 2014
KMS Designs Inc. (Portage, MI USA – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Consumer Products and Services) July 2014

Startup of the Year – 2015
Gold Winner
Womenincharg3 (Atlanta, GA USA – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Media & Entertainment) September 2015
Silver Winner
The Association for Women in Events (Alexandria, VA USA – 1 – 10 Employees – Industry: Non-Profit or Government Organizations) March 2015

New Product, Service, Upgrade, and Innovation of the Year
Gold Winner
iBaby Labs, Inc. (San Jose, CA USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Consumer Products and Services) for AirSense Smart Wi-Fi Air Quality Monitor and Ionic Purifier

PR, Marketing, and Corporate Communications Achievement of the Year
Hybrid (consisting of members from both an Agency and In-House)
Gold Winner
Aflac (Columbus, GA USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Insurance) and FleishmanHillard (Atlanta, GA USA) for Successfully building corporate social responsibility (CSR) profile
Silver Winners
State Street (Boston, MA USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Financial Services and Banking) and Ogilvy Public Relations (Chicago, IL USA – 2,500 or more Employees) for Investing Capital to Create Change: SHE Gender Diversity ETF Campaign
Nestlé USA (Arlington, VA USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Food & Beverage) and Interfuse (Ketchum) (New York, NY USA) for #Nestle150for150: Connecting to Communities Around the U.S.

Training or Educational Event
Gold Winner
SkyStem (New York, NY USA – 11 – 99 Employees – Industry: Accounting, Banking, and Financial Services) for SkyStem Webinar Series

Milestone of the Year
Gold Winner
Nestlé USA (Arlington, VA USA – 2,500 or more Employees – Industry: Food & Beverage) for #Nestle150for150: Connecting to Communities Around the U.S.

Champion of the Year
Gold Winner
Wendy Lewis, Co-Founder and COO – Jeunesse (Lake Mary, FL USA – 500 – 2,499 Employees – Industry: Consumer Products and Services)