Jamie Entzminger, CEO of Mach 1 Global Services in Tempe, Arizona, won the Stevie Award for Best Executive in a Service Business with up to 2,500 employees in the 2008 Stevie Awards for Women in Business. She will be on the final judging board for the 2009 awards.

Jamie Entzminger, Chief Executive Officer of Mach 1 Global Services, leads the daily activities of this $90 million domestic and international freight forwarding company, based in Tempe, Arizona. In her ten years at the company she has impacted the organization by optimizing performance in key areas of marketing, sales, and operations.

As one of the largest privately held firms in the state of Arizona, Mach 1 has a client list that includes Coca Cola, Sony, Ford Motor Company, Honeywell and General Motors.

In the current economic climate, however, Entzminger has found that one challenge facing her business is the increasing demand for slower and cheaper freight services. When the economy was stable, many companies preferred quick shipments--a Mach 1 specialty.  But "we're seeing a shift in our customers using time-critical services," she said. "They're now looking to options in lower levels of expedited services."

Entzminger also said fewer of Mach 1's clients are focusing their manufacturing operations in Asian markets and many are favoring “near sourcing” instead.

All-round Experience
The company has been a part of Entzminger’s life for as long as she can remember.  Her parents founded Mach 1 in 1988, and since high school, Entzminger has held various jobs in the company, holding positions in administration and accounting. After graduating cum laude from Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business in 2006 with a degree in business administration, Entzminger went to work as director of marketing for Mach 1.

Entzminger said the key to her career path was gaining a solid understanding of the company's inner workings. "You really need to immerse yourself in all aspects of the business. Don't confine yourself," she said.

Now, as CEO, she oversees its domestic and international operations.

Business Achievements
Over the past couple of years, Entzminger has improved employee performance, maintained the highest standards of customer satisfaction, and “green lighted” a capital improvement project to upgrade the company’s worldwide operating systems, enabling functional improvements that propelled Mach I toward attaining record revenues for 2008. Additionally, Entzminger has overseen the relaunch of the company's website and corporate branding campaign.

Mach 1 Global Services is known for its ability to act almost as a travel agent for difficult-to-ship large items and specialty merchandise. Capitalizing on this
specialty within the industry, Entzminger worked with managers internally to create incentive programs that rewarded employees at every level of the organization for outstanding performance. She has been instrumental in developing employee reward programs that are as diverse as flying top producers to Asia for first-hand tours of the Chinese manufacturing plants, to encouraging key salespersons to ramp-up their personal sales volume by adding "one more" order to incoming orders placed by key customers.

These programs have resulted in increased sales growth for the year of more than $1 million dollars, even within industry sectors that are experiencing production lags.

State-of-the-Art Freight Management
Entzminger led the company’s strategic management team to invest significant capital into software upgrades that have given Mach 1 a state-of-the-art freight management system for international and domestic freight shipments. From any point in the process, Mach 1 is able to instantaneously track freight shipments in real time, providing total shipment visibility at all times.

Environmental Stewardship
Entzminger has been central in leading the Mach 1 Global Operations team in their adoption of stringent guidelines for environmental stewardship. Not only have they reduced paper billing and launched company-wide power conservation initiatives, they have reduced their consumption of diesel fuel in their trucking fleet by some 35,000 gallons over the previous year. In 2008, the company signed on as a partner in the prestigious U.S. EPA SmartWay program, and Entzminger anticipates this will save an additional 30% in resources over the next 3 years.

Corporate Citizenship
As Mach 1’s spokesperson and community liaison, and a steward for corporate-citizenship, Entzminger has overseen charitable programs that have included transporting blankets to third-world infants, sending recreational cargo to U.S. Iraqi troops, and sending school supplies to hurricane-torn areas in the Caribbean.

Entzminger is a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization, and is active with Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a Washington, D.C.-based, non-partisan advocacy group. As one of a handful of female CEO’s in the transportation industry, Entzminger, through WIPP, has sponsored the Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship Program, which rewards young business owners. Through the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, Mach 1 sponsored the Green Symposium, held in Scottsdale, Arizona, a summit that promotes best practices in areas of environmental stewardship for women business owners.

About Jamie Entzminger:
Jamie Entzminger, CEO, Mach 1 Global Services, Inc., is responsible for implementation of the organizational strategies, goals, policies, and growth-based initiatives within marketing and sales, with an emphasis on national accounts. Entzminger serves as leadership development counsel, community liaison, and corporate spokesperson. She divides her time between the Tempe headquarters and field offices in the U.S., Mexico, and Asia. Over the past decade, Entzminger has held management positions at Mach 1 in administration, operations, and accounting. She graduated cum laude with a B.S. in global business and strategic management from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

About Mach I Global Services, Inc:
Mach 1 Global Services, Inc. is a domestic and international air cargo freight forwarder and logistical and supply chain solutions provider. Based in Tempe, AZ., they have 31 worldwide offices in major manufacturing regions of China, Mexico, and throughout the U.S. Established in 1988, Mach 1 is Arizona’s 31st largest privately held corporation with 185 employees and revenues of $90 million annually. For more information go to www.mach1global.com.

Thyme Out of Rockville, Maryland won the Stevie Award for Best New Service of the Year in the 2009 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

With the start of the new school year, “mompreneur” Missy Carr is doing her best to help moms-on-the-go.  Dinnertime can be stressful for working parents these days, and a recent survey by Restaurants & Institutions magazine shows that 68% of Americans wait until 4 p.m. on weekdays to decide “what’s for dinner.”

Thyme Out, Carr’s independent meal-assembly store in Rockville, Maryland, understands the challenge that parents face in getting a healthy, home-cooked dinner on the table every single night.  In February 2008, the company launched “Thyme for School,” a dinner delivery service that offers a contemporary twist on the meal-assembly concept by introducing the ultimate convenience: bringing nutritious family dinners right to moms waiting in the carpool line at school.

After School Pick-Up
The concept is simple. Parents pick up healthful, ready-to-cook family dinners at the same time as they pick up their kids up from school. Moms simply pre-select entrées from Thyme Out’s rotating monthly menu, and Thyme Out delivers the meals to participating schools for pick-up.

And while the economic downturn may worry some potential customers, says Carr: "If you do it regularly…your grocery bills should go down." The balanced meals average $4 per portion—cheaper than take-out or prepared meals from places like Whole Foods, for example.

“Thyme for School” also serves as a school fundraiser. The company donates 10% of sales to each school. In addition, recognizing the important role educators play in children’s lives and knowing how valuable their time is, Thyme Out provides teachers with an “educator’s discount” on meals.

The service is getting national attention. The New York Times called it “the ultimate for moms-on-the-go,” and in addition to  a Stevie Award in 2008, Thyme Out  won a number of awards in the Reader’s Choice Poll in Washington Families magazine, including “Best Quick Dinner.”

Most important, though, is that Thyme Out’s customers appreciate the company’s willingness to go the extra mile, even to the carpool line, in order to make their lives easier.

Dedicated Staff
Carr is supported by a number of longtime staff members who support the mission of Thyme Out to always provide the highest quality meals and best customer service bar none.  As a result of their dedication, Thyme Out has an excellent reputation in the Washington, D.C. region and throughout the food industry.  

“Our success couldn’t be made possible without the hard work of the Thyme Out team,” said Missy Carr on receiving her Stevie Award last year. “They all strive every day to make dinnertime as easy as possible for our customers and ensure that they have fresh, healthy, home-cooked meals—effortlessly.”   

About Missy Carr:
Founder of Thyme Out, a meal-assembly company based in Rockville, Maryland, Missy Carr is a true “mompreneur,” who is raising her family while running a small business. With more than 15 years of professional culinary experience, Carr’s innovative, fresh approach to food and unwavering commitment to high-quality ingredients and customer service has propelled Thyme Out to become a national leader in the industry. Carr is a graduate of the prestigious L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Carr has worked in every facet of the food industry, from professional chef to private cooking instructor to running her own successful catering business. 

In 2006, Carr was inspired to merge her lifelong passion for food with the need to help time-starved people enjoy fresh, delicious meals, and realized her dream with the opening of Thyme Out.  As a mother of three, Carr understands the needs of her customers. She has continuously adapted Thyme Out to best meet the needs of busy families who are quality- and health- conscious about the food they serve. Since opening Thyme Out in May 2006, Carr has evolved the concept to be more convenient for customers—without sacrificing quality—by implementing new techniques and services. These include vacuum-sealing meals for increased freshness and quick thawing, home and business delivery, curb service, and smaller portion sizes.

Thyme Out began serving lunch and catering in Spring 2009, doubling revenues in 3 months.  By offering only fresh, made-to-order salads, panini, wraps, sandwiches, and pastas Carr has attracted an entirely new demographic to the company: busy professionals. 

Carr lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband, a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps, and their three children.

About Thyme Out:
Missy Carr opened Thyme Out, one of the Washington D.C. area’s first
meal-assembly stores, in 2006. The company evolved to become a new-concept dinner market, combining the best elements of meal assembly with the full- service options of an upscale dinner market.   Since opening, Thyme Out has been singled out in the New York Times as an industry trailblazer. Within the first 12 months of business, Thyme Out climbed to the top 10% of the industry nationally. Thyme Out has also has received rave reviews from the Washington Post, The Washingtonian, and Bethesda Magazine, and recently won a number of awards, including “Best Quick Dinner” in the 2008 Reader’s Choice Poll in Washington Families magazine and the 2008 “Best of Gaithersburg Award” in the Personal Chefs category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA). For more information, please visit www.thymeout.com or call Thyme Out at +1 240-221-2777.

Core Spirit of London, England won the Stevie Award for Best New Company of the Year in The 2009 International Business Awards. Founded in 2007, Core Spirit designs, manufactures and distributes high-quality fashion to 20-35 year olds. The company was founded by Nelli Mackenzie, Managing Director and owner. Born in Russia, Nelli is a graduate of Moscow’s Plekhanov University, where she obtained MAs in both Economics and Information Systems in Economics. 

		Read Core Spirit's Stevie Award-winning Entry ...

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