- Rachel Bennett - WINNER
Rachel Bennett
Director, Marketing
Gordian
My professional success has come from the
opportunity to work for incredible leaders who
have taken a considerable amount of time to invest
in my performance and future. I have learned the
importance of setting objectives. Whether it be the
outcome of a meeting or the results of a marketing
campaign, I learned quickly that defining objectives
is key for measuring your success. I also learned how
important it is to seek the feedback of others and
have leveraged this tactic to grow rapidly with more
frequent inputs. Now as a leader of the marketing
team, I endeavor to invest in those around me daily
just as I have been invested in, as it is the work and
ideas of my team members that will help me to meet
the organization’s objectives; gain new perspectives,
and earn additional areas of responsibility, thus
leading to newly founded successes.
"Rachel’s impact on the organization came
quickly, including several promotions
throughout her seven-year tenure with
Gordian. She is a quick learner with the ability
to effectively apply new information and skills,
such as stepping from a sales operations
coordinator position into the marketing
department and quickly rising to manager, and
now director. She leveraged her operational
experience with the sales organization to
help build a strong, effective marketing team
to include key functional groups — such
as communications, operations, events and
product marketing — to support the growing
company. She also identified and implemented
marketing automation tools, processes, and
regular email campaigns for the first time for
the company."
Angie Gunter VP, Marketing, Gordian
- Robert Dippell - WINNER
Robert Dippell
VP, Corporate Development
Praetorian Digital
My understanding of success has evolved quite a
bit over the course of my career. It is exciting to
realize this when you are genuinely motivated by
work and hope to have a long career far beyond this
current level of success, however you define it. The
way I approach creating that type of value for the
company really comes down to finding opportunities
that others haven’t capitalized on yet and working
harder or smarter than anyone else is willing to.
Before getting into business, I was a competitive
Lacrosse and ice hockey player for over a decade
and learned how to push myself one speed higher
than the people around me. I’ve also since learned
to value patience and critical thought as much as
aggressive drive. That balance is what I believe
creates the majority of my success to date.
"Robert has been with Praetorian for over
nine years and evolved his contributions
substantially during that time period. He
has excelled since that time in identifying a
variety of needs for our company, executing
against them, staffing up resources and then
moving on to the next challenge. The result
is a unique and comprehensive knowledge
of our business and a founder mentality.
As far as corporate contribution, Robert’s
most consistent role is as a change agent.
He is almost annoyingly relentless in driving
change within Praetorian when it is required
to serve a longer term, or larger scale goal.
That mentality inherently comes with risk and
requires comfort with handling the challenges
that come with spearheading new initiatives
within an organization. As Robert has matured
professionally he’s learned to manage these
challenges constructively and has become
incredibly effective in helping to drive change.
The most quantifiable metric for evaluating the
success of his efforts is his personal revenue
contribution, which now totals seven figures in
revenue per year."
Alex Ford, CEO, Praetorian Digital
- Roland Kanichuk - WINNER
Roland Kanichuk
Director of Product
SafetyNow
At the age of 15, my best friend and I bootstrapped a
company that displaced competitors, led our market
segment and cultivated an online community
with over 500,000 in membership with only a
team of four people. To lead such a small team
and achieve this result sounded impossible, but
we had a different mindset: it had to work. Doing
much with little requires being unfazed in the face
of constraints. This is when creative innovation is
forged that leads to success and disproportionate
results. As Director of Product at SafetyNow, through
coaching and mentoring, I get to see our small and
often remote teams radiate these principles as we
reinvent our product offering. Nothing brings about
feelings of success quite like being able to see the
people around you challenge the odds and come out
victorious after having put their trust in you.
"Roland has excelled and demonstrated
leadership skills in many ways. He has learned
to differentiate between want and need and
therefore manages his organization’s time
more efficiently, saving the business tens of
thousands of dollars in cash flow and product
cost. Roland’s client relations dialogue has
accounted for a large portion of our higher than
industry average client retention. He negotiates
with our suppliers and vendors in a positive
and professional manner, which helps us save
on product costs and keep our client pricing
competitive. Finally Roland has worked hard
to learn our industry and the unique market for
which we compete. SafetyNow was awarded
the 2016 SIIA CODiE award for Best Risk
Management and Compliance Solution, a direct
result of Roland’s tenacity and follow through
on developing the right product strategy for the
market at the right time."
Graham Beachum, CEO, Safety Now
- Chris Napolitan - WINNER
Chris Napolitan
Director, Business & Corporate Development
Everyday Health Professional
I have achieved success by hard work and the
mindset that I’m going to do whatever it takes
to achieve something I set out to do. I also take
on additional responsibilities and build close
relationships with my peers and senior members
of the management team. I ask the right questions
and listen to what others have to say to expand
my knowledge of the business and bring the
group together. In negotiations, I always try first to
understand the other side’s needs and make sure
they are met first.
"Chris was tasked with a review of all existing
partnerships to assess viability, profitability,
and growth potential, and he immediately
identified a need to restructure a multi-year
agreement with a legacy partner. He took the
lead on negotiations and was able to structure
a new agreement that grew Everyday Health
revenue by more than 90 percent, while also
increasing both revenue and engagement
for the partner. Overall Chris’s review and
management of existing agreements drove
more than 350 percent year-over-year growth
in revenue from our partner portfolio. Chris
also identified more than $300,000 of expense
optimizations in Q4 2015. In addition to his
other duties, Chris added a chief of staff role
in mid-2015 and in that position he is liaison
with editorial, sales, product and corporate
teams to oversee a roadmap for growth in all
departments."
Chris O’Brien, SVP and GM, Healthcare Professional Group, Everyday Health
- Shareen Pathak - WINNER
Shareen Pathak
Managing Editor
Digiday
‘Don’t always stare right into the sun. Sometimes
the path you seek is being illuminated by the
sun, you just need to turn your gaze sideways
to see that path.’ That’s how I’ve approached my
professional career to date — and the reason I’ve
been successful. Making decisions that may not
seem the most obvious has been a guiding principle
of my life. Unlike most kids growing up in Indianorigin
families, I chose not to become a doctor
or an engineer, but decided to pursue a career in
media, a decision that seemed destined for a career
in uncertainty, but to me, made sense because it
was who I was. Zagging while others zigged has
remained a constant theme throughout my career.
Coming to work at Digiday, the best decision I
ever made, was itself a risk: Who would have left
an old, established brand in favor of a brash young
media startup? But because I believed in the vision
of this company to create the best modern media
brand in the world, I did it. I grew up and worked in
four different countries across multiple continents.
Sometimes, being uncomfortable wasn’t a choice; it
was just a fact of life. But being able to be culturally
adaptable has been a large driver in my comfort
with risk-taking.
"Shareen is about fixing things. She has shown
the ability to move on from what doesn’t work
and try something new. She has shown the
characteristics of a leader by focusing on fixing
what’s wrong and not fixating on mistakes. Her
leadership has allowed Digiday’s audience to
expand by 50 percent in the past year. She
led the development of Glossy, a new brand
focused on the luxury and fashion industries.
Shareen led the development of Glossy’s
editorial vision and hired a staff to execute that
vision. She launched the Glossy Podcast, which
has become a must-listen weekly podcast for
the fashion industry."
Brian Morrissey, President/Editor in Chief, Digiday
- Ali Alati
Ali Alati
Sales Manager
SourceMedia
My rules to success have been to stay true to myself;
soak up every ounce of knowledge that you gain from
every individual at your company because it will make
you well rounded, and always be adaptable in every
work situation. And do not forget to befriend and work
cohesively with each department, whether you work
directly with them or not. I truly believe that flexibility
and tenacity are the keys to success for any individual
that is dealt with adversity.
"Ali is a natural competitor and pushes herself
to the limit on every opportunity. She is
willing to take the risks necessary to grow
her business and fight her way to the top in
finding the ultimate decision-makers. Ali is
not deterred by failures and challenges. She
was asked to handle many different roles and
responsibilities in a short period of time and
in every instance gave it 100% of her effort.
Each time she had a different sales leader she
reported to, so she easily adapts to change.
The fast pace changes, along with her resilient
personality has shined through to management
and the sales organization at SourceMedia,
which speaks for her success."
Dennis Strong, VP, Group Publisher, SourceMedia
- Caroline Celano
Caroline Celano
Executive Brand Manager
McGraw-Hill Education
One factor in my success has been maintaining
a strategic connection with customers and
understanding their needs better than the
competition. I work with potential customers
whenever they are available, which sometimes is
only at 9:00 at night. My competitors may have more
market share, but my willingness to be flexible with
my time has largely contributed to the list’s success
and presence as a key player in the market. Another
key factor is driving myself to constantly learn new
things and be curious in business. I took a course
on Design Thinking for Business and I learned how
to apply techniques that designers use to solve
business problems and create better products.
"Caroline has been an impressive performer in
her four years as Brand Manager here at MHE.
She has grown her Collegiate Math list from
near obscurity to a respected market player
and will have doubled the revenue from $5.6M
in 2013 to over $11M in 2016. Additionally,
Caroline has been a leader on several key
initiatives broader than her individual list,
including: Project Jellybeane, an analysis of
win/loss data measuring the ROI on events
and market development activities; Grow Math
Project working with the corporate strategy
team on analysis and investment to grow the
math list with key investments; and Project
Gibbs as business product manager for the
math and chemistry projects leading the way
for ConnectNextGen."
Jody Willging, HR Manager, McGraw-Hill Education
- Sarah Gefter
Sarah Gefter
Senior Analyst
Reorg Research
One of the first things I learned growing up is that I
learn the most when I’m not afraid to ask questions
— even seemingly ‘dumb’ ones — and to listen
carefully. Questioning and listening has allowed
me to excel in analyzing the esoteric, complex and
unique situations that arise in distressed debt —
with no two problems ever the same! A strong sense
of fairness and equality, and the notion that happy,
well-paid and fulfilled people are the most valuable
and productive employees, has also helped me. I am
a relentless advocate for equal pay among men and
women, and I believe that the problem-solving ability
of teams is much greater than of any individual. By
speaking up about things that I think could be better
(be they tech offerings, workplace issues or editorial
content), I have become a vital member of the Reorg
team. These efforts have led directly to the new
director role I am taking on, which marks a new
level of leadership and responsibility in my career.
"From the beginning of her finance career, art
history major Sarah has faced skepticism and
doubt about her abilities compared with her
peers, the lion’s share of whom have finance,
economics or business backgrounds. Before
her senior year, Sarah taught herself the basics
of finance and banking, joined an investment
club, and filled time between classes with
outside reading and relentlessly peppering
friends and family with questions. Ultimately,
she secured a summer internship in Lehman
Brothers’ restructuring group, marking her
first foray into distressed debt — for which
she quickly developed a passion. She was
excited to accept an offer to return after
graduation but just weeks later Lehman went
under in flames, filing for bankruptcy. After
an exhausting few years, she left a lucrative
career seeking something more fulfilling, that
would better tap into her potential. She took
a chance applying for an internship with Kent
Collier, who would become the CEO of Reorg,
and the rest is history."
Chrsitine Arax, Editorial Projects Director, Reorg Research
- Alexandra Hodges
Alexandra Hodges
Senior Marketing Manager
McGraw-Hill Education
It is an extraordinary moment in the education
industry, and being a leader in this space means
embracing and leading change every single day.
I’ve achieved success by working relentlessly to
promote those changes within our market, not only
as a leader amongst my peers, but out in the market
where it’s crucial that our solutions are making a
difference in the classroom. As a leader, I’ve become
an evangelist for the company’s goals and embody
that spirit of innovation in everything I do, whether
it’s using marketing automation to make data-driven
decisions at my desk, or earning the trust of decision
makers, often decades longer into their careers. As
a young emerging leader, I’ve got the extremely
important job of helping shape that culture of
change within the four walls of the company, while
ensuring that every prospective customer we touch
outside these walls understands who we are and
what our value is, so that the next crop of emerging
leaders will be able to carry that message forward,
and be successful too.
"Alex’s focus has been driving revenue in the
American History course, a top-10 course for
MHE and a growth vehicle for our portfolio. In
2015 she led the marketing efforts that led to
a 29 percent close-rate on top targets, which
resulted in $3M in closed business across
American and World History. This year she
has led the charge on sales strategy, built
deep customer relationships with key decision
makers and put in place market development
efforts to ensure we will close a majority of
this business. Her innovative strategy to focus
geographically on the largest segment of
business was risky. If it worked it could lead
to a massive year for History. If it didn’t work
the team wouldn’t be able to recover from the
miss in revenue. Alex ran it hard all spring to
ensure that this strategy would pay off. It did,
in a very big way. Always one to share best
practices and willing to coach others, she led
a town-hall discussion around the Anatomy of
the Win; a how-to when it comes to working
the biggest and hardest-to-work committees."
Jody Willging, HR Manager, McGraw-Hill Education
- Christina Karabetsos
Christina Karabetsos
Executive Vice President
QCSS, Inc.
I, alone, do not deserve recognition or reward.
My team deserves it. My bosses deserve it. Why?
Because they have afforded me each opportunity
I’ve been blessed enough to come across. They have
invested in my training and development because
they believed in me. Our customers deserve it, too.
They invest in me daily. They invest their trust in
my know-how, their brands to my care, and their
budgets to my team’s strategies. They make me
better, they teach me their businesses, they share in
my wins and they share in my learning — and they,
ultimately, deserve my success more than anyone.
"QCSS has grown 300 percent since Christina
has been in office. With her dedication to
serving our internal and external clients and
attention to detail, our organization has thrived.
Christina has a keen eye for talent and new
initiatives all while running day to day with
a hand selected team for continuous growth
and improvement. Each of her 20-member
team has been grown with a career path to
their current positions at her hand. Christina
directly throws herself in new opportunities
with tenacity and amazing stamina and grace.
She has become a renowned and sought after
speaker as subject matter expert in the call
center, help desk and BPO industry."
Catherine Karabetsos, President/CEO, QCSS, Inc.
- Bill Mulford
Bill Mulford
Senior Brand Manager
McGraw-Hill Education
The idea of success has evolved for me in different
ways since taking leadership roles at McGraw-
Hill Education. In the beginning of my career, I
thought success only meant never being wrong and
winning. But I soon realized when I started leading
a team that there is much to learn from the exact
opposite, and that I often learn even more from my
mistakes. Therefore, I created a culture for my team
where sharing ideas, failures, and learning from
mistakes are valuable, and the lessons learned are
celebrated! I work with my team to figure out what
questions needed to be asked and what problems
could be solved. I engrained my motto of ‘simple
solutions to complex problems’ with the team. We
have used this to great success in the education
market. We believe that we are making a difference
in students’ lives, and this has resulted in making
some of the most engaging content, exercises, and
learning resources in education.
"One quick story tells you everything you need
to know about Bill Mulford as a unique leader
in our business. In 2012, two brand manager
positions became open, and Bill was contacted
for both jobs. He quickly positioned himself
in the interview process as the top candidate
for either position. One job opening was on
an established program with great digital
products, strong market share, and proven
talent on the team. The other job offer was
the complete opposite. Products that where
suffering from poor development, no digital
offer, low market share, and a product group
that was going through major restructuring
and change. Bill was offered both positions. He
chose the job that was the bigger challenge.
Over the last three-plus years, Bill has
delivered some very impressive results that
reflect the great leader he is for the company."
Jody Willging, HR Manager, McGraw-Hill Education
- Jacob Perry
Jacob Perry
Database Marketing Manager
Business Valuation Resourcess
I think of an emerging leader as someone who isn’t
afraid to create a path and asks questions as they go;
learns from experience and brings others along; and
continuously reinvents because they are not content
with ‘good enough.’ They are motivated by constant
challenges, passionate about the work they do, and
seek success through collaboration instead of selfinterest.
These are all values I hold close and strive
to practice daily. I am proud of how far my colleagues
at Business Valuation Resources and I have come
during the past five years and honored to have played
a crucial role in our successes. As an emerging
leader, I understand that it is important for me to
cultivate leadership at every level inside and outside
of my own company as well as surround myself with
leaders who will help me along my own journey.
"Jacob demonstrates leadership every day in
his role as Database Marketing Manager. His
system and data knowledge make him the “goto-
person” with questions related to SalesForce
and customer data. He played a key role in the
successful launching of Pardot and bringing
on ReadyTalk as a new webinar provider. In
2016 Jacob took on an initiative related to KPI
development for marketing. Working with the
CMO, five initial top KPIs were identified and
Jacob gathered the data and built workflows
to support monthly reporting and presentation
within SalesForce. Jacob was innovative in his
approach to bringing in the data from outside
of SalesForce to support multiple levels of
reporting, beyond the KPIs. Jacob excels in
brainstorming sessions by asking the right
questions and proposing well-thought-out
solution options. His positive attitude, initiative,
and creative problem solving are noticed not
only by me, but also his peers and the rest of
the BVR Management team as well."
Lisa McInturff, CMO, Business Valuation Resources
- Kalani Rosell
Kalani Rosell
Vice President & Publisher
NewsRx
The roots of my success originate in my childhood. I
believed anything was possible, and my parents never
told me otherwise. That mindset put in motion my
infallible drive to make dreams a reality. I find success
presents itself in numerous forms and my notion of
being successful likely differs from yours, or that of the
man standing beside me in the grocery aisle, or even
that of the woman across the coffee shop fiercely typing
away. The idea of success elicits standards, rules, and
goals — all assets to a disciplined and accomplished
life. Simultaneously those notions imply success is a
destination, a fixed spot, and then what? My idea of
success is not static; my success is dynamic, vibrant,
and active. My success is a continuous journey not a
target. I have accomplished many goals I set for myself
throughout life. I have set state swimming records,
starred in ballet productions, put myself through Yale
undergraduate and graduate schools, and now I am
the vice president and publisher of an avant-garde
research and technology company. I have persevered
through many odds, and as anyone, I have slipped and
stumbled along the way. However to me those hiccups
were opportunities to reflect and learn, as opposed to
judging myself incapable. Through failure I improved
my skill sets and chipped away at my shortcomings. If
a singular notion must define my success, it is the fact
that I embrace failure as a step forward, not a step back.
"Kalani has a startup mindset. He doesn’t
approach strategy or product development
worried about failure; rather, he preaches that
we stay lean, iterate quickly, and if we fail,
then we learn and move on. He doesn’t waste
time lamenting product misses. He looks at
what worked and where we could improve.
Kalani spearheaded a project to develop a new
forward-looking research workflow, creating
Pubz, a platform that simplified the research
process and improved accuracy and efficiency
of decision-making. Over the next two years,
he reached a point of reckoning realizing the
platform needed a full facelift for it to be a true
success. That’s when BUTTER, our new flagship
product, was conceived. So, despite working
tirelessly for two years to create an improved
research workflow and platform, Kalani had the
humbleness and vision to concede that while
Pubz had done all right, it lacked something."
C.W. Henderson, President, NewsRx
- Tara Tesimu
Tara Tesimu
SVP - Digital Products and Audience
Development, Winsight, LLC
I began my career in print journalism as a crime
reporter in New Mexico in 2004 just as the digital
world was exploding. Within three years I went
from covering gangs and execution-style murders
to launching one of the Chicago Tribune’s most
progressive digital products. I quickly realized my
greatest skill is my ability to learn, constantly and
voraciously, finding opportunities where others
see gaps. I launched the Tribune’s inaugural social
strategy. I grew and fostered AOL’s highly successful
user-generated content model and successfully
revamped a product strategy to support that goal.
At Winsight I’ve led the charge in creating an
audience-first approach that uses metrics to help
us understand our users consume and serve them
accordingly. Each of these efforts were successful
because of a common methodology: Assess the
needs of the business, take strategic risks to use
digital tools to move forward, and measure metrics
of success often to iterate where necessary and
accelerate when possible. This unprecedented
speed of market often meant I was a 20-something
coaching teams through difficult change. I am
blessed with great mentors who taught me a
philosophy I strive to lead by: Kindness, coaching
and empowerment are the keys to progress.
"Even before Tara’s arrival, Winsight’s digital
business monitored and relied heavily on
metrics, both overall audience reach as well
as engagement. Since she came on board
almost every single one of these metrics has
experienced significant growth. We had high
expectations and to put it bluntly, she crushed
all of them and more impressively, within
a year’s time. In addition to digital product
development, Tara is also responsible for our
email list initiatives. In her short time with the
company each list has not only grown but at
the same time increased open and click rates.
Last but not least, Tara also introduced new
premier digital content types of sponsorship
that brought the digital storytelling abilities to
new levels. These new efforts also included
new single-sponsorship opportunities that
resulted in significant incremental revenue in
2016 (to the tune of nearly $1M)."
Ward Downing, President/Media, Winsight LLC
- Johanna Wetmore
Johanna Wetmore
CEO / Co-Founder
EvoText Inc.
EvoText has just passed its fourth year in business
in which team size, number of projects, awards,
and revenue continue to increase. My biggest
accomplishment thus far has been continuing that
upward improvement while still maintaining the
culture of our company. We are a company of doers
and teammates who continue to prove ourselves
day after day. There is no room for politics. We keep
our heads down to research, build, and refine for
our customers. No code or design is considered
precious. If something doesn’t work, it gets ripped
out and redone. We are producers and we produce
effectively and with a great deal of care and
experience. The industry recognition for our work
is wonderful and we are thrilled to have it, but we
measure our success in daily usage and number of
continued satisfied customers.
"Johanna has spent her entire professional
career devoted to education: first, as a
teacher, then as publisher and educational
product developer. Four years ago, along
with co-founder Chris Robert, Johanna
created EvoText, a full-scale educational
software company that creates customdesigned
eLearning applications. As chief
executive officer, Johanna oversees this
young, innovative company that has built
eLearning products that are used by millions
of students across the U.S. She drives product
development that empowers educators by
taking a holistic approach to the eLearning
process tools that can assess knowledge,
increase comprehension, and make learning
more impactful."
Jon Levangie, Director, Social/Community, EvoText Inc.