SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and its chairman and administrator Wilma T. Eisma have been named finalists in the Stevie Awards, a set of business awards given annually by the American Business Awards organization to recognize accomplishments and contributions of companies and business people worldwide.
The 15th annual Stevie Awards cited the SBMA as finalist for Organization of the Year under the government or non-profit organization category, while Eisma was named finalist in this year’s category for Female Executive of the Year in a government or non-profit organization.
Eisma said the twin nominations bring honor for the whole agency, and serve as recognition of the efforts of the SBMA employees to make the Subic Bay Freeport Zone a premier investment center and a catalyst of economic growth.
“The SBMA has grown to be a better organization due to the culture of ‘malasakit’ in the agency, which this administration has actively promoted,” Eisma said. “When we give our all because of this concern for the common good, we are bound to give our best performance and this recognition is one result of this hard work that SBMA employees are doing,” she added.
Finalists in the Stevie Awards were selected by the average scores of more than 200 professionals worldwide on five specialized juries.
The winners for the gold, silver and bronze Stevies will be announced in the 15th annual awards dinner on November 16 in New York City. More than 600 women and their guests from around the world are expected to attend the presentations, which will be broadcast live on Livestream.
Along with Eisma, the finalists in the Female Executive of the Year in the government or non-profit organization of more than 2,500 employees are: Deanna Wise, EVP & CIO of Dignity Health, San Francisco, California; and Maria da Glória Guimarães dos Santos, president-director of Serpro of Brasilia, Brazil.
On the other hand, the finalists for Organization of the Year, government or non-profit with more than 10 employees, are: the SBMA; Bob Woodruff Foundation of New York; Plan International Canada of Toronto, Canada; and The Welsh Air Ambulance Charitable Trust in Wales, United Kingdom.
Organizers said that the Stevie Awards for Women in Business event will be complemented by a new one-day educational and networking event called the Women|Future Conference, also at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel on November 16.
More than 1,500 entries were submitted this year by organizations and individuals around the world for consideration in more than 90 categories of the Stevies that include Executive of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Startup of the Year, Women Helping Women, and Women-Run Workplace of the Year.
Nominations were submitted by organizations in 33 nations including Angola, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Maldives, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.
Last year, Eisma was adjudged a winner in the search for the “100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World” (Global FWN100), which recognizes women of Philippine ancestry who are influencing the face of leadership in the global workplace. She received the award during the 14th Filipina Leadership Global Summit in October 2017 Canada.
Meanwhile, the SBMA was recognized in the International Finance Awards 2017 given out by the London-based International Finance Magazine for its “Best Social Responsibility Initiative” while the Subic Bay Freeport Zone was named the “Fastest Growing Free Trade Zone” in Asia. (Dante M. Salvana)