Ernst & Young LLP is proud to announce the nine winners of the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women(TM) competition, an annual program designed to accelerate the growth of high-potential businesses founded by women entrepreneurs. The winners were selected from a competitive pool of applicants residing across the US by a diverse group of independent judges. They will participate in a customized program designed to build and foster critical relationships, enhance leadership skills and expand business know-how. For more information on the competition, visit www.ey.com/us/entrepreneurialwinningwomen.
"Ernst & Young LLP created the annual Entrepreneurial Winning Women program to help successful women entrepreneurs realize the full potential they envision for their companies," said Maria Pinelli, Americas Director, Strategic Growth Markets, Ernst & Young LLP. "Through the program, we aim to give outstanding female entrepreneurs targeted and customized knowledge and business insights as well as access to highly influential networks of investors, advisors, and top entrepreneurs to quickly accelerate the growth of their businesses."
The nine winners receive complimentary participation in the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum 2009, which takes place November 11-15, 2009 in Palm Springs, Calif. The Strategic Growth Forum, dubbed by Forbes.com as one of the "Seven Get-Ahead Executive Retreats," brings together more than 1,300 of the nation's most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders to share growth strategies and discuss current economic challenges. Speakers this year include business luminaries such as Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com; Angela Braly, President and CEO, Wellpoint Inc.; David Liu, CEO of The Knot Inc.; Patrick Lo, Chairman and CEO of NETGEAR; Jim McCann, Founder and CEO of 1800flowers.com; and H. Lee Scott, Jr., Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
This year's Entrepreneurial Winning Women award recipients are:
Carole Borden | C.B. Transportation (Chester Springs, Penn.) provides single-source trucking and distribution management services throughout North America. By linking major manufacturers and retailers with an extensive network of trucking companies, railroads and warehouse facilities, C.B. Transportation offers price stabilization and greater visibility and control with a broader range of equipment and services than carriers alone provide. With the company experiencing double-digit growth in the last three years, Carole expects C.B. Transportation to triple in size over the next five years and to be among the most prestigious transportation providers in the nation.
Michelle Tunno Buelow | Bella Tunno (Charlotte, N.C.) is a baby and children's "necessory" company dedicated to the balance of fashion, function and philanthropy. With three fully owned brands, a licensing partnership and multiple international distribution partners, the company offers funky and fun baby basics that are sold in more than 4,000 upscale boutiques and department stores internationally. With benevolence at its core, Bella Tunno donates a portion of all proceeds to the Matt Tunno Make a Difference Fund. Moving forward, Bella Tunno intends to introduce its disposable baby product line in grocery and restaurant channels, launch additional subbrand partnerships and create a celebrity-designed charitable line.
Sherry Stewart Deutschmann | LetterLogic (Nashville, Tenn.) is a premium letter shop providing printing and mailing services for businesses nationwide. Since starting operations out of a basement in 2002, the company now occupies a 27,000-square-foot facility and serves clients in 41 states. LetterLogic's mission and culture of putting employees first has resulted in unprecedented success and growth with 100% client retention. Entrepreneur magazine named LetterLogic one of the Top 50 Fastest-Growing Female-Led Businesses in North America in 2007 and 2008. Sherry expects to grow the company to annual revenues of $100 million by 2018.
Talia Mashiach | Eved Services (Chicago, Ill.) is a software-enabled service company providing comprehensive, event and destination management. Having operated as an in-house partner for more than 30 Chicago-area venues since 2004, Eved uses its proprietary technology to work seamlessly with event companies and hotels to select and manage vendors on a one-stop basis. Customers range from major corporations and destination planning companies to small, independent hospitality businesses. Eved is now evolving into a software-as-a-service company. Talia expects that nationwide and global deployment of the company's proven technology platform will lead to significant growth over the next five years.
Karen Pecora-Barbour | The Barbour Group LLC (Westminster, Md.) is a commercial insurance and bonding agency specializing in construction bonds and related services. As the first woman-founded surety agent in the state of Md., The Barbour Group provides bonding and insurance to contractors for projects located throughout the US and internationally through the U.S. Department of State. The company has initiated, authored and driven landmark legislation in Md. and on Capitol Hill to open up the barriers to bonding faced by many small business contractors. The Barbour Group has been named among the Top 100 Minority Business Enterprises in 2006 and 2008, with Pecora-Barbour awarded the U.S. SBA Person of The Year Award in 2008.
Vicki Raport | Quantum Retail Technology (Minneapolis, Minn.) creates and delivers advanced software solutions to solve the demands of modern retail. The company's proprietary inventory management solutions quickly optimize forecasting and advanced order planning, replenishment and allocation and assortment and product range planning activities. With its customers typically achieving significant and measurable return on investment within six months of implementation, Quantum enables large retailers to improve the performance of every product at every store to drive sales and profits, increase service levels and release working capital. In 2009, Inc. magazine ranked Quantum Retail the eleventh fastest-growing, privately-owned software company -- with a three-year growth rate of 963.4%.
Shabnam Rezaei | Big Bad Boo (New York, N.Y.) is a media production and distribution company dedicated to teaching children about different cultures through entertainment. With offices in New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver, the company's first animated TV series, Mixed Nutz, will debut on PBS and many other stations worldwide this January. The creative team's first direct-to-DVD product, Babak & Friends - A First Norooz, told the story of little Babak who is stuck between his Iranian and American cultures and featured Emmy Award winner Shohreh Aghdashloo. Big Bad Boo is currently in production on 26 episodes of a new series, 1001 Nights, and is launching its online retail distribution channel at oznoz.com.
Jennifer L. Scully | Clinical Resources LLC (Atlanta, Ga.) is a healthcare staffing company specializing in the growing senior care market. The company places experienced nurses and healthcare professionals in permanent, temporary and interim positions nationwide in hospitals, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Clinical Resources continues to expand its customer base among health payers, pharmaceutical companies, and health information technology companies. For 2010, the company is on pace to build critical mass in its service areas and to expand its presence in large corporations providing occupational health nurses, as well as pursuing government contracting opportunities.
Susan Wilson | The Judgment Group (Stevensville, Md.) purchases, enforces and recovers portfolios of unpaid court-ordered money judgments. Having pioneered the recovery of distressed assets to support the civil justice system, The Judgment Group's proprietary solution combines advances in personal information and technology to locate where judgment debtors bank, work and own property. The company then navigates and leverages the power of the legal system to garnish, lien and levy those assets to get judgments paid and justice served. A winner of American Express and Count Me In's Make Mine a Million $ Business award, The Judgment Group was named one of Working Mother magazine's Best Women-Owned Companies for 2008. Looking ahead, the company is focused on creating a secure technology-driven trading platform to buy and sell personal information.
"Our research and experience clearly demonstrates the benefits of experienced role models and access to business-building networks for women entrepreneurs looking to jumpstart their company's growth and success," noted Billie Williamson, Ernst & Young LLP's Americas Inclusiveness Officer. "This competition merges Ernst & Young's long-standing support of entrepreneurs worldwide with the firm's internal and external efforts around inclusiveness and women's advancement."
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women program is conducted in collaboration with several women's business organizations and universities including the Women's Presidents Organization, Women's Business Enterprise National Council, the Committee of 200, Babson College and its Center for Women's Leadership and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. For more information on the program, visit www.ey.com/us/entrepreneurialwinningwomen.
The distinguished panel of judges for the 2009 competition included:
Renee Amoore, President and CEO, The Amoore Group
Nancy Briefs, President & CEO, Eleme Medical
Janet Chien, Founder & Principal, Dyad Systems and Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women 2008 participant
Lyn Kirby, President & CEO, ULTA
Pamela O'Rourke, President, ICON Information Consultants
Laura Pearl, Managing Director, Ceres Venture Fund
Bernee Strom, Chairman and CEO, WebTuner
Kathleen Utecht, Founder, Cahootie by Green Rock Entertainment and Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women 2008 participant
About Ernst & Young's Strategic Growth Markets Practice
The Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practice guides high-growth companies to market leadership worldwide. Our multidisciplinary teams of dedicated professionals provide perspective, advice, and insights to help our clients accelerate their growth. Ernst & Young is the undisputed leader in guiding Russell 3000 companies, IPO-bound companies and Forbes' largest private companies. SGM delivers assurance and advisory, tax, and transaction advisory services to thousands of companies in numerous, selected industries.
About Ernst & Young
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