The celebration might have been postponed by a month, but the environment was festive on Thursday evening as In Business Madison honored exceptional finance and human resources professionals at its annual Executive Excellence Awards ceremony.
Winners and finalists were nominated by their peers and colleagues and reviewed and chosen by magazine staff for their leadership, innovation and commitment to excellence that help drive their respective organizations forward. The event brought together 200 people to Madison’s Edgewater for an evening of networking and an awards program.
“The finalists and winners we honored tonight are instrumental in the success of their private or public sector organizations,” said Katie Dean, editor-in-chief of In Business Madison. “They influence financial health and workplace culture, and without quality managers leading both areas, an organization’s performance suffers.”
Their just due
The program was moderated by outgoing Regional Publisher Dave Neill, who officiated his last IB event, assisted by IB staff journalist Brittney Kenaston and Tony Balistreri, a partner in the Madison office of the professional services firm Forvis Mazars, which was the presenting sponsor of the event.
Ashley Kowalchuk, senior human resources manager for Iconica, a design-build architecture, engineering and construction management firm, took home the Rising Star award in human resources.
This award category recognizes the accomplishments of younger professionals who are on track to be future leaders.
“I was very honored and surprised,” Kowalchuk said. “I didn’t expect it, but it’s a great honor.”
Kowalchuk said her biggest professional challenge in the current business environment is finding and retaining the best talent.
“It’s just trying to find top talent and keeping them engaged and retaining them at our organization, something that we strive to do with how we interact with each other,” she said. “Our culture is really huge and it’s about being kind of a big family at the end of the day.”
Sylvia Ramirez, executive vice president-finance and administration for Madison College, was the winner in the public sector finance category. She was nominated by Jennifer Berne, president of the college.
“Oh, my gosh, it was such an honor, and I was teasing Dr. Berne,” Ramirez said. “She’s an English teacher by training and so it’s a pretty special thing to get nominated by your boss and by somebody who writes for a living.”
Ramirez said there is a difference between serving in finance for a college and working in the same capacity for a business.
“You’re regulated in a really different way, so you have to maneuver in unique ways and really honor the taxpayers and the students who give you their money,” she said. “You come at it with the same kind of commitment to caring for the dollars, but there’s an extra layer of that care for your community.
“That’s part of what I love about getting to work at Madison College and in finance in the public sector.”
Mark Schuster, vice president of organizational development for Rural Mutual Insurance Co., won the Executive of the Year award in the human resources category.
“I’m very humbled,” he said. “I’ve had a 45-year career in human resources and 41 of those are with my current company, Rural Mutual Insurance, so it’s very gratifying.”
Referring to today’s business environment, Schuster said, “Probably the biggest challenge is trying to find good talent and then control benefit costs, but finding good talent is really the key.”
Elizabeth Holmstrom, chief financial officer for Starion Bank, won in the large business-finance category.
“I’m more than excited, pleased and honored to have received the award,” she said. “Living in Wisconsin and having a business that has headquarters in North Dakota, I love representing the Wisconsin and Madison areas, and it’s just been an honor here tonight.”
As a bank CFO, the current uncertainty about the direction of the economy and what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates are top-of-mind.
“The biggest challenge I have is what’s going on with the economy and interest rates and how we leverage our financials and our balance sheet to make sure that we are prepared for both increasing and decreasing rates,” she said.
Roster of honorees
All finalists for the Executive Excellence Awards were profiled in the August edition of In Business Madison. The complete list of winners is presented here.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Executive of the Year
Winner: Mark Schuster, Vice president – organizational development, Rural Mutual Insurance Co.
Finalists: Kari Davis, Chief talent officer, Lake Ridge Bank; John Lange, director of human resources, Veridian Homes Madison
Large Business
Winner: AnnMarie Kreitzer, chief human resources officer, TDS Telecom
Rising Star
Winner: Ashley Kowalchuk, senior HR manager, Iconica
Finalist: Jackie Aguilar, director of people and culture, Attic Angel
FINANCE
Executive of the Year
Winner: Robert Durian, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Alliant Energy
Finalists: Steve Kelley, managing director-wealth management, Choreo; Tom Newell, chief financial officer, ETE Reman; Lisa Wiedenfeld, chief financial officer, Sound Devices
Large Business
Winner: Elizabeth Holmstrom, chief financial officer, Starion Bank
Small Business
Winner: Matt Altenberger, chief financial officer, Wind River Payments
Finalists: Wes Kane, vice president, Thompson Kane & Co.; Kristi Khan, finance/HR, Threshold Development Group
Public Sector
Winner: Sylvia Ramirez, executive vice president-finance and administration, Madison College
Finalists: Carolyn Clow, deputy director-finance and administration, Alliant Energy Center of Dane County; Marc DeVries, finance director, Jefferson County
Rising Star
Winner: Rachel Schultz, manager of financial analysis and strategic planning, TDS Telecom
