Inaugural professional services award program debuts in Atlanta to tremendous response from corporate and professional services communities.
DR. JAG SHETH, AUTHOR OF “CLIENTS FOR LIFE,” TALKS ABOUT THE ECONOMIC ENGINE BEHIND ATLANTA’S RELEVANCE AS A LEADING CITY FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Country’s First Award Program Recognizes Six Companies Who Set the Standard for the Relationship Between Professional Service Firms and Their Clients
ATLANTA (December 11, 2006) – New York has Madison Avenue where the country’s leading advertising agencies reside. Silicon Valley has the technology start-up/venture capital corridor, and Atlanta is now drawing the attention for its quality of professional services firms. Attracted by the rich business climate boasting the third most Fortune 500 headquarters and the presence of 70 percent of the Fortune 1000, professional and business services firms represented the largest share (26 percent) of 2005 job growth in Atlanta, bringing the total number of professional services firm employees in the city to nearly 400,000 according to the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
It was a natural extension of Atlanta’s growth and significance of the professional services firms to host the first recognition program, the Client Advisor Awards. Developed in partnership by Creative Growth Group, Inc. and Atlanta Business School Alliance (ABSA), The Client Advisor Awards hosted its first award event, December 5, 2006, to recognize those companies who have demonstrated a first-class approach to the relationship between professional services firms and their clients.
“The Atlanta business community has responded with great enthusiasm, as we pioneer a very important program to recognize the relationship between trusted advisor and client,” explains Andrew Dietz, president of Creative Growth Group, Inc., which first conceived of the Awards program. “As professional services firms and their client relationships play an increasingly bigger role in the Atlanta economy, we created this program to help set the standards for professionalism on both sides of the table. Client Professionalism is as important as Advisor Professionalism in ensuring optimal engagement outcomes and we recognize that through the Client Advisor Awards,” says Dietz.
Adding to that sentiment is Dr. Jag Sheth, professor of marketing at Emory’s Goizueta School of Business, who was the keynote speaker at the Client Advisor Awards ceremony, “The average lifespan of a CEO in Corporate America is trending downward, from years to quarters, if performance and ROI is not evident. It’s the executive coach and service firm advisor (i.e., legal counsel and financial consultants) whose role is becoming the executive’s most trusted advisor.” At the ceremony presentation, Dr. Sheth spoke of the direct correlation between Atlanta’s booming economy and the increasing influence of the professional services firms and the significance of the professional service client - advisor relationship.
In the inaugural year, the Client Advisor Awards received tremendous response from entrants and sponsors alike. The Client Advisor Awards are divided into six categories: Large, Midsize and Small Professional Services Firms and Large, Midsize and Small Client Organizations. Nominees were evaluated on their excellence in five areas: collaboration, creativity, content and value orientation, capability and credibility. Sponsors included: Business Wise, Cbeyond, The Chubb Corporation, Luckyfish Studios, The One Ninety One Club, Trevelino/Keller Communications Group and UBS.
Client Advisor Award Winners
Small Professional Services Firm (presented by Cbeyond)
Winner: The Abovo Group
Finalists: Arketi Group, Advocate Networks
Small Client Organization (presented by Cbeyond)
Winner: Colliers Spectrum Cauble
Finalist: Primus Builders
Mid-Sized Professional Services Firm (presented by Chubb)
Winner: Aarons Grant & Habif, LLC
Finalists: HLB Gross Collins, PC, MDI IT, TM Capital
Mid-Sized Client Organization (presented by Chubb)
Winner: Miele
Finalist: Swerdlin & Company
Large Professional Services Firm (presented by UBS)
Winner: Tatum LLC
Finalist: Grant Thornton LLP
Large Client Organization (presented by UBS)
Winner: InterContinental Hotels Group
Finalist: Acuity Brands, Inc.
< Back to Past Winners
About Creative Growth Group
Creative Growth Group, Inc. is the leading consultancy that helps build more profitable client advisor relationships for professional services firms and the companies they serve through research, consulting, connections and coaching. For more information, contact Andrew Dietz at 404-664-7484 or adietz@creativegrowthgroup.com.
About Atlanta Business School Alliance
The Atlanta Business School Alliance is an alliance of Atlanta-area alumni groups from the top-ranked MBA programs including Harvard Business School, Yale School of Management, Ross School of Business at University of Michigan, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Duke University Fuqua School of Business, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, the Johnson School at Cornell University, New York University Stern School of Business, Emory University Goizueta Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the London Business School. For more information, contact Barry Trout at (404) 459-0890 or btrout@hgi1.com.