Home - Corporate Governance Awards

Meet the judges

Anna Catalano
A member of the board of directors
Willis Towers Watson, Kraton Corporation, HollyFrontier Corporation, Frontdoor and Appvion

Anna Catalano manages an active board portfolio, serving as an independent director for public and private corporations and not-for-profit organizations. She is currently a member of the board of directors of Willis Towers Watson, Kraton Corporation, HollyFrontier Corporation, Frontdoor and Appvion. Ms Catalano is a director of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Corporate Directors Institute, and president of the NACD Texas TriCities Chapter. She is co-founder of The World Innovation Network and has significant experience in the not-for-profit sector having served as a board member of the Alzheimer’s Association and the Houston Grand Opera.

With over 30years of corporate experience including 18 years of service on public boards, Ms Catalano is an expert on the topics of board governance and leadership, and an outspoken champion of women in business. Her extensive career spanned three continents in marketing, retail operations and international business development at Amoco and subsequently BP.

Ms Catalanois a graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and has been recognized on Fortune’s ranking of ‘The Most Powerful Women in International Business,’ Directors and Boards’ ‘Directors to Watch,’ and Women Inc’s ‘Most Influential Board Directors.’ She is a frequent speaker on a variety of topics including board governance, leadership, innovation and the advancement of women in business. Her thoughts on various aspects of leadership can be found on her blog, www.shades-of-leadership.com.
Joan Conley
Senior advisor on corporate governance & ESG programs
Nasdaq

Joan C. Conley is currently a Senior Advisor on Corporate Governance & ESG Programs at Nasdaq, Inc., a role she assumed in January 2021 and a Board Member.

In February 2021, Ms. Conley was elected to the Board of EJF Acquisition Corp., where she also serves as Chair of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee. In July, 2021, Ms. Conley was elected to the Board of Tigo Energy, a private company providing smart module technology for the solar industry. Ms. Conley also serves on the Advisory Board of Harvestly.co, an entrepreneurial initiative started by Cal Poly students focused on feeding the community by connecting local farmers and consumers in San Luis Obispo, California. Ms. Conley is a member of Executive Women on Boards (EWOB).

On December 31, 2020 Ms. Conley retired from her role as the Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary of Nasdaq, Inc., where she was responsible for the Nasdaq Global Corporate Governance Program and the Nasdaq Global Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program and the Nasdaq Educational Foundation following nineteen years at Nasdaq, Inc. and nineteen years at NASD, now FINRA. In her former role at Nasdaq, Inc. Ms. Conley also served as and Managing Director of the Nasdaq Educational Foundation from 1994 – 2020 a founding Board Member of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center from 2014 – 2020. Ms. Conley is a long-standing mention of entrepreneurial men and women.

Prior to joining Nasdaq, Inc. in 2001, Ms. Conley was the Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary at the NASD (now FINRA) from 1994 – 2001 and the Director of Human Resources from 1986 – 1994, having joined NASD as a Management Trainee in the fall of 1982.

Ms. Conley began her career in 1978 as a Business/Human Resource Analyst at Bentley, Barnes & Lynn Advertising Agency in Chicago, Illinois, and in 1980 moved to Washington D.C. to join the National Academy of Science as a Research Associate/ Writer.

Ms. Conley holds a Master of Science, with honors, in Industrial & Labor Relations from Loyola University of Chicago (1980) and an undergraduate degree (B.A. in Communications and Economics from Dominican University (1978).

A longstanding member of the Society of Corporate Governance Professionals, Ms. Conley is also an initial member of the Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Forum and a member of the Economic Club of Washington D.C.

In November 2020, Ms. Conley received the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award for Corporate Governance and the 2020 Best Proxy Statement for a Large Cap Company Award by Corporate Secretary Magazine. In 2021, Ms. Conley will serve on the panel of judges reviewing submissions for the annual Corporate Governance Awards.

Ms. Conley has served for decades, on the Board and Audit Committees of several non-profit organizations in Washington D.C. including the Board of Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School.
Lucy Fato
Executive vice president, general counsel and global head of communications and government affairs
American International Group

Lucy oversees AIG’s global legal, compliance and regulatory groups. She is also global head of communications and government affairs.

Prior to joining AIG, Ms Fato was managing director, head of the Americas and general counsel of Nardello & Co, a global private investigative firm, where she remains on the advisory board.

Previously, Ms Fato was executive vice president and general counsel of S&P Global. Prior to that, Ms Fato was deputy general counsel and corporate secretary at Marsh & McLennan Companies. Ms Fato began her legal career at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell where she spent 14 years, including five as a partner in the capital markets group.

Ms Fato is a member of the Department of Financial Services state insurance advisory board and a member of the Life Insurance Council of NY board of directors.

Each year since 2018, Ms Fato has been included in NACD Directorship magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the boardroom community. In 2015 and 2017, she was named by Ethisphere magazine as one of the ‘Attorneys Who Matter’ for her dedication to furthering corporate ethics.

Ms Fato serves on the board of directors of Advocates for Children of New York, a non-profit organization that works to ensure a high-quality education for children who are at risk for school-based discrimination or academic failure. She also serves on the board of directors of the Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation, the board of trustees of the Randall’s Island Park Alliance and is as a member of the board of the Coalition for the Homeless, the nation’s oldest advocacy and direct service organization helping homeless men, women and children.
Matthew Geekie
Senior vice president, secretary and general counsel
Graybar

Matthew W Geekie is senior vice president, secretary and general counsel at Graybar, an employee-owned Fortune 500 distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products. Over the course of his 34-year career, Matt has developed broad-based experience in management, strategic planning, corporate governance and risk management, human resources and M&A. His extensive educational background, proven leadership skills and strategic vision enable him to achieve optimal business results.

Matt began his career in 1987 as a trial attorney defending product liability lawsuits. He took his first in-house position with Siegel-Robert, a family-owned, tier-one supplier to the automotive industry in 1992. While at Siegel-Robert, Matt expanded his skill sets to include labor and employment, as well as M&A. Returning to private practice in 1997 at Peper Martin, Matt built on his M&A experience, began securities work and continued advising clients in the areas of employment and labor relations. In 2000, Matt moved to Emerson Electric as associate general counsel for the Emerson Process Management group of companies. At Emerson, he continued to hone his skills, while taking on responsibilities in corporate governance, export and import compliance and international law. In 2005, Matt became general counsel and secretary of a Berkshire Hathaway company, XTRA Lease, where he became involved in transportation and logistics.

Graybar hired Matt as its associate general counsel in February 2008 with the intent of his succeeding to his current role, which occurred within six months of his hire. In August of 2008, Matt was elected to Graybar’s board of directors and named senior vice president, secretary and general counsel. He sits on Graybar’s executive, audit, compensation, contributions, disclosure, finance, employees’ benefits and information technologies committees. In addition, Matt is chairman of the board of Graybar’s Canadian subsidiary.

Matt holds an undergraduate degree in history and a Juris Doctor, both from Saint Louis University. He has attended executive education and board training at Harvard Business School, the University of Chicago and the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Matt currently serves on the board of directors of CK Power, a private company that is a leading manufacturer of power units and power generation solutions, as well as the St Louis/Chicago advisory board of FM Global, a global insurer of commercial real estate.
Matt is a past president of the Saint Louis Zoo Association board of directors, currently siting on its government relations, investment and long-range plan implementation committees, as well as being a member of the zoo’s Marlin Perkins Society. He is also past chairman of the board of directors of the Oasis Institute, a current board member as well as a member of its executive, finance and major gifts committees. In addition, Matt is chairman of the board of the St Louis Community Foundation, chair of its executive and gift acceptance committees, and a member of its finance and audit committee. He is a member of Vistage Worldwide and a former president of the Missouri Law Institute.

Throughout his career Matt has written or spoken on various topics including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, cyber-security and enterprise risk management.
Matt’s experience, business achievements and community involvement helped him earn several recognitions, including OnCon Icon Top 50 Corporate Counsel 2021, Missouri Lawyer’s Media In-House Counsel Award 2017 and the St Louis Business Journal’s Corporate Counsel Award for Innovation 2015. In addition, with Matt’s stewardship, Graybar has been recognized for its excellence in corporate governance by Corporate Secretary for Best Overall Corporate Governance for a Private Company in 2015, 2016, and 2018 and by Private Company Director Magazine in 2019 in the category of Fiduciary Board/Closely Held or Employee-Owned companies.
Eileen Kamerick
Non-executive director
Associated Banc-corp, ACV Auctions, Hochschild Mining, Legg Mason Closed End Funds

Ms. Kamerick consults and lectures on corporate governance and compliance matters and is an NACD Board Leadership Fellow and has completed the NACD Director Certification exam. She previously served as CFO of such leading companies as BP Amoco Americas, Leo Burnett, Heidrick & Struggles, and Houlihan Lokey.

She began her career as a lawyer at the law firm of Skadden Arps and she holds a JD and an MBA, with honors, in Finance and International Business from the University of Chicago. She holds a BA from Boston College where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was valedictorian. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Associated Banc-Corp, ACV Auctions, Hochschild Mining, plc, and 23 closed end Legg Mason mutual funds. She served on the Board of Directors for ServiceMaster and IRI before both companies were purchased by private equity firms. She qualifies as an SEC financial expert and chairs three audit committees and one corporate governance and social responsibility committee.

She was profiled as a Director to Watch in 2016 by Directors and Boards magazine and in The Board Game: How Smart Women Become Corporate Directors. She was named among the Most Influential Corporate Directors for 2019 by Women Inc magazine. She also serves on the National Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association.

She is a lecturer at University of Chicago Law School, Georgetown Law Center, and University of Iowa College of Law and for the NACD Battlefield to Boardroom board readiness program.
Ben Ashwell
Editor
Corporate Secretary & IR Magazine

Ben Ashwell is the editor at IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary, covering investor relations, governance, risk and compliance. Prior to this, he was the founder and editor of Executive Talent, the global quarterly magazine from the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants. Before moving to the US, Ben was the vice president and editor at Executive Grapevine, overseeing a daily news website, ten annual supplements and HR Grapevine, the UK’s leading HR and talent management magazine. In his spare time, Ben writes fiction, poetry and arts and culture reviews. Eyewear Publishing recently named him in their list of the Best New British and Irish Poets.
Ben Maiden
Editor-at-large
Corporate Secretary

Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Corporate Secretary, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. He had previously been managing editor of Compliance Reporter since January 2007, covering regulatory and compliance issues affecting broker-dealers and asset management firms. Before that, Ben was editor of International Financial Law Review and IFLR’s Americas editor, working in London and New York.

Awards categories

For our awards, individuals and companies are given the opportunity to submit written entries, free of charge, to be put forward to a panel of expert judges made up of corporate governance professionals and Corporate Secretary editorial team members.

The entry deadline for 2021 nominations has now passed and we are no longer accepting entries. We will be in touch with successful short-listed companies from September.

If you have any queries please contact Priscilla Lim at [email protected] or call +44 20 8004 4989.

Please note that categories are subject to change based on the final number of submissions received. Some categories may be split by market cap size.

Nominees announced: view the entire list here

Categories
How winners are chosen

Best AGM

In this category, the judges will be looking at the work of corporate secretaries, general counsel and governance teams in preparing for and running annual meetings – either in-person, virtual or hybrid – that meet the governance needs of both the company and shareholders. Consideration will be given to fulfilling regulatory obligations, training and preparing management and board members, and ensuring shareholders have the opportunity for engagement before and during the AGM.

Nominees

Barrick Gold Corporation
BlackRock
Brown-Forman
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Sponsored by

Best compliance and ethics program (large cap)

This award will look at coordination of governance, compliance, ethics and risk management processes across the entire corporation (including all subsidiaries). The judges will consider the level of understanding and integration of good governance principles across all disciplines and a truly non-silo approach to achieving an ethical governance environment. Market cap definition: Small cap = below US$2 bn / Mid-cap = between US$2 bn - US$20 bn / Large cap = US$20 bn and over

Nominees

Honeywell International
Ingersoll Rand
Uber Technologies

Sponsored by

Best compliance and ethics program (small to mid-cap)

Nominees

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings
Coeur Mining
Harsco Corporation
Robert Half International
United States Steel Corporation

Sponsored by

Best ESG reporting (large cap)

This entry should comment on the quality and robustness of ESG-related reporting. This includes exposure to environmental risk factors such as global warming, employee health and safety, foreign corrupt practices, consumer safety, social responsibility and corporate sustainability. The judges will also look at a company’s understanding of the role it plays in the community, both locally and globally. Market cap definition: Small cap = below US$2 bn / Mid-cap = between US$2 bn - US$20 bn / Large cap = US$20 bn and over

Nominees

Freeport-McMoRan
IBM
PayPal
PepsiCo
Philip Morris International

Best ESG reporting (small to mid-cap)

Nominees

Coeur Mining
Hannon Armstrong
SL Green Realty Corp

Best global entity management

In this category, the judges will be looking at the work of general counsel, corporate secretaries and their teams in creating and running effective and innovative global entity management programs that ensure the organization remains in compliance with all local laws. Issues for consideration include: using technology in new ways, ensuring efficiency in the program and adapting to new circumstances, rules and conditions.

Nominees

Chevron Corporation
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Tronox Holdings
Willis Towers Watson

Sponsored by

Best governance around a corporate transaction

**NEW FOR 2021** In this category, judges will be looking for innovative and effective governance work carried out before, during and/or after a corporate transaction such as an IPO, M&A deal or restructuring. This might include, for example, overhauling a company’s governance structure, combining the best elements of two companies’ arrangements or managing the regulatory and other risks arising from a transaction.

Nominees

First Horizon Bank
Huntington Bancshares
Willis Towers Watson

Best proxy statement (large cap)

This award will examine the completeness of legal disclosures, effectiveness of communication elements, readability, timeliness of filing, visual design elements and overall layout. Specific elements such as compensation discussion and analysis, MD&A, director profiles and ESG challenges will be given particular consideration. Market cap definition: Small cap = below US$2 bn / Mid-cap = between US$2 bn - US$20 bn / Large cap = US$20 bn and over

Nominees

Cognizant
General Motors
IBM
Nasdaq
The Allstate Corporation

Sponsored by

Best proxy statement (mid-cap)

Nominees

Allegheny Technologies
Coeur Mining
Healthpeak Properties
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Zendesk

Sponsored by

Best proxy statement (small cap)

Nominees

Amyris
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings
Kelly Services
Koppers
Orion Engineered Carbons

Sponsored by

Best shareholder engagement

Engaging in dialogue with shareholders around governance issues has taken on new importance in the era of say-on-pay. This category, introduced in 2014, will focus on ways that companies are reaching out to proxy decision-makers, often outside of proxy season, to discuss their compensation strategy and other aspects of corporate governance. Formal programs, which may include governance roadshows, shareholder forums, independent director participation, surveys and other means of engagement, will be assessed for both qualitative and quantitative results such as strengthened relationships with institutional investors or a measurable increase in proxy voting support.

Nominees

Bank of America
Honeywell International
HP
IBM
PepsiCo
The Allstate Corporation
Uber Technologies

Sponsored by

Best use of technology

The use of technology is becoming an integral part of the way corporate secretaries and other governance professionals communicate with their colleagues and with investors. Entrants should be able to show how their use of new technological tools, social media and the internet has helped to advance governance within their firm. Areas of consideration include, but are not limited to: the use of technology in board communications, shareholder engagement, company meetings, records management and information governance and the successful use of technology to facilitate transactions. The judges will also consider the accessibility of the corporate secretary, general counsel and board of directors using technology, and the quality of information distributed.

Nominees

Benchmark Electronics
Clearwater Paper Corporation
Univar Solutions

Sponsored by

Governance professional of the year (large cap)

The judges will be looking for the most outstanding individual in a governance, compliance or legal function. Entrants should be able to show exceptional performance in advancing governance and compliance activities at their company. Areas of consideration include, but are not limited to: board structure, shareholder communications, regulatory filing, annual reports and all other areas of the company’s governance operations. Market cap definition: Small cap = below US$2 bn / Mid-cap = between US$2 bn - US$20 bn / Large cap = US$20 bn and over

Nominees

Victor Miller, Honeywell International
Kate Brennan, Marsh McLennan
Keir Gumbs, Uber Technologies

Sponsored by

Governance professional of the year (small to mid-cap)

Nominees

Derek Windham, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Richard Buchband, ManpowerGroup
Evelyn Crane-Oliver, Robert Half International

Governance team of the year (large cap)

The size and scope of teams involved in achieving sound governance are growing. Some companies have dozens of people working solely on compliance and governance. This award will look at the best overall governance team in the country, and what it has achieved in the past 12 months. How does the size of the team compare with the size of the company? How have team numbers changed in recent years? Who is involved and what training do they get? Market cap definition: Small cap = below US$2 bn / Mid-cap = between US$2 bn - US$20 bn / Large cap = US$20 bn and over

Nominees

Bank of America
General Motors
Honeywell International
Marsh McLennan
PepsiCo

Sponsored by

Governance team of the year (small to mid-cap)

Nominees

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings
Harsco Corporation
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Robert Half International
Voya Financial

Sponsored by

Rising star

The judges will be looking for the best newcomer to a governance or compliance role. This person will have been in the profession less than five years, achieving demonstrable success in driving good governance or implementing change at his or her company, advancing academic thinking or making a significant contribution to the governance community at large.

Nominees

Bruna Lawant, Amyris
Allison Mahaney, First Northwest Bancorp
Justine Bensussen, Nuance Communications

Sponsored by

The judging process consists of three simple phases:

Phase one: Once the entry deadline has passed, the Corporate Secretary editorial team reviews all submissions and produces the short list

Phase two: The short-listed entries are shared with an independent judging panel made up of industry experts. The judges review each short-listed entry and select their top two picks per category

Phase three: The judges come together to discuss, debate and select the final list of winners who will go on to win an award

The judges’ votes are not made public, but their comments may be published in articles or reports after the event. Judges are not required to make comments against every submission.

Market cap definition

Small cap = below US$2 bn
Mid-cap = between US$2 bn – US$20 bn
Large cap = US$20 bn and over

Lifetime achievement award

We are pleased to announce that this year’s lifetime achievement award winner is Holly Gregory.

Holly Gregory is co-chair of Sidley Austin LLP’s global Corporate Governance and Executive Compensation practice, and also co-leads its ESG and Crisis Management teams. She counsels publicly held, private and not-for-profit corporations on the full range of governance issues. While most of the matters she works on are highly confidential, high-profile matters that are in the public record include advising the Business Roundtable on its 2019 Statement on the Purpose of the Corporation, advising on governance and accountability mechanisms of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to replace U.S. government oversight, and advising the Board of The Pennsylvania State University on governance reforms.

Holly played a key role in drafting the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and has advised the Internal Market Directorate of the European Commission on corporate governance regulation, and the joint OECD/World Bank Global Corporate Governance Forum on governance policy for developing and emerging markets. She also drafted the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Key Agreed Principles of Corporate Governance.

Holly is a founding trustee and current President of The American College of Governance Counsel, and is a member of The American Law Institute. She served as chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Corporate Governance Committee, and currently serves on the ABA Business Law Section Council. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and has been a member of multiple NACD Blue Ribbon Commissions.

In addition to her legal practice and policy efforts, Holly has lectured extensively on governance topics and writes the governance column for Practical Law: The Journal. A summa cum laude graduate of New York Law School, she clerked for the Honorable Roger J. Miner, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Holly is widely recognized for her work, including as: among the “100 Most Influential Players in Corporate Governance” (NACD/Directorship 100), Directorship Magazine, 2021 and all prior years (15 years total); a “Leading Practitioner in Corporate Governance” in the International Who’s Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers, 2021 and prior years; and a “Thought Leader” in the Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – M&A and Governance 2020.

What our virtual attendees say

"Everyone had a great seat (I know I did). was able to hear everyone clearly. Ceremony moved along at a comfortable pace. The Best Dressed Viewer and sweepstakes at the event make it fun. I really enjoyed it!"

PepsiCo

"I enjoyed the Corporate Governance Awards very much. Thank you for the invitation. It was a lot of fun and very well organized. Congratulations!"

Quanta Services

"The awards are very difficult to do virtually but your advance planning and pacing made it professional, but fun as well. "

Corporate Governance Partners

"A great production!"

Broadridge

"The awards are external validation for the work being done by the governance groups within companies whose work might go unseen by the average employee. Having a physical trophy is a good representation of the hard work of those teams"

Lockheed Martin Corporation

"It is important that the good work done by many members of the corporate governance community be highlighted, and I particularly appreciate the opportunity for recognition offered to smaller companies and rising stars."

Argyle

"As was said by many, compliance is a critical function in today’s corporate world. Yet, those engaged in that effort receive insufficient attention. Corporate Secretary, generally, and this event in particular, shine appropriate light on not only the substance of ethics, compliance and good governance, but also put faces to the names who lead in this field."

Graybar Electric Company

Who attends?

Attendees at our awards are leading practitioners from across the US. Each participant is someone with an established track record and a strategic GRC role within their company. In addition to our nominees, some of our past attendees include:

Job title	Company	Job title	Company
CCO	MMA Securities	SVP, associate GC & assistant secretary	Bank of America
CEO	Ethisphere	SVP, chief compliance officer	Visa
CEO	Everest	SVP, corporate governance	Columbia Bank
Chief corporate counsel	MMC	SVP, corporate secretary & deputy GC	AIG
Chief legal officer & corporate secretary	Dawn Foods	SVP, deputy GC & corporate secretary	Verizon Communications
COO	International Elite Capital	SVP, GC & corporate secretary	Clearway Energy
Director	Evergy	VP & assistant corporate secretary	BlackRock
Director, global ESG reporting & insights	AT&T	VP & associate GC	Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Director, corporate securities	HP	VP & chief ethics & compliance officer	3M
Director, governance and securities	Owens Corning	VP, assistant GC & secretary	IBM
Director, legal entity services	Mastercard	VP, corporate secretary	MVC Capital
EVP & chief legal officer	Nuance Communications	VP, associate GC	At Home
EVP & GC	MF Global Holdings	VP, corporate development, GC & CHRO	Columbus McKinnon
EVP, GC, secretary & CCO	B&G Foods	VP, corporate secretary	TD Bank Group
Senior director, global sustainability	Clarivate	VP, governance	Prudential
SVP & corporate secretary	Discovery	VP, assistant GC & assistant secretary	Coeur Mining
SVP	PepsiCo	VP, associate GC, corporate	Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings
SVP, deputy GC	Healthpeak Properties	VP, chief sustainability officer & group GC	The Travelers Companies
SVP, GC & corporate secretary	Avangrid	VP, learning & development	Change Healthcare

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Why partner with us?

The Corporate Governance Awards brings together some of the most influential people in the GRC community.

Partnering with us is the perfect way to raise your organization’s profile and cement your position in the GRC community.

The unique buzz we create at our virtual awards enables you to:

Reach thousands of industry leaders through our multi-channel marketing campaign
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Align yourself with those who excel in the industry
Put your brand in the spotlight and benefit from months of targeted, high profile publicity across multiple channels pre- and post-event.

We’d love to have a chat with you about how you can get in front of a truly engaged and motivated audience through the Corporate Governance Awards. Get in touch with Ian Richman or call +1 212 430 6895.

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Corporate Governance AwardsCelebrating excellence

Thursday, November 11, 2021

About the awards

Event timings

Meet the judges