The Stevie Awards | |
---|---|
Awarded for | Excellence in Business |
Sponsored by | Stevie Awards, Inc. |
Country | International |
First awarded | 2002 |
Website | stevieawards.com |
The Stevie Awards are a set of eight[1] business awards competitions staged annually by Stevie Awards, Inc. Entrants can be nominated, or nominate themselves for awards and approximately 30-40% of entrants receive an award. They were created in 2002 for companies and business people. Its first program, The American Business Awards, was staged in 2003; in 2004, The International Business Awards debuted.
Michael P. Gallagher, an American businessman, conceived the Stevie Awards as a way to "restore public confidence and investor trust"[2] after the Enron scandal in 2001. Gallagher left his job in 2001 and founded American Business Awards to administer the Stevies.[citation needed] When launched in 2002, the awards were described by the New York Post as being intended to "distinguish the good guys from the scoundrels" during a period of heightened scrutiny and distrust of managers and CEOs.[3] The first Stevies were awarded in 48 categories in April 2003,[4] and were judged by a panel that included Rich Karlgaard, the editor of Forbes magazine, Pierre Subeh, a business author,[5] and Richard Klimoski, Dean of the School of Management at George Mason University.[2]
In 2022, the Stevie Awards celebrated their 20th anniversary of recognized exceptional business achievements around the globe.[6]
In 2020, a team of investigative reporters from Korea managed to receive several Stevie Awards after submitting fake nominations and were accepted as judges even though they did not confirm their identities.[citation needed] In a blog post, Stevie Awards announced that they had rescinded the awards and that the reporters had "paid more than $1,000 in entry fees for their nominations, created fake LinkedIn profiles, and wrote lengthy award nominations".[7]
Stevie is taken from the name Stephen, which is derived from the Greek for "crowned".[8]
There are entry fees in six of the Stevie Awards competitions, and winner fees in two.[9][10] Entry fees for a Stevie in 2003 ranged from $200 to $400.[4] As of 2023, entry fees range up to $600.[11] There is an additional fee for attending the optional awards ceremony.[12]
Each year figures in business participate in an evaluation process of nominees. Their recommendations for winners are announced at annual awards ceremonies held in New York City and other locations.[2] According to the organization, awards are given in hundreds of categories, and 30-40% of entrants receive an award.[12][13] In The 2017 American Business Awards, there were 14 main categories for which awards were given including: company/organization, customer service, human resources, IT, live event, management, marketing, mobile website & app, new product, public relations, publications, support, video, and website.[14]
The trophy was designed by R. S. Owens as a 16-inch tall, hand-cast statuette finished in 24-karat gold, holding a crystal pyramid representing Maslow's hierarchy of needs.[15][non-primary source needed]