Atlanta’s third annual client advisor awards program recognizes, economic impact, ethics and professionalism in relationships between companies and their professional advisors.
ATLANTA (December 3, 2008) – In its third year the Client Advisor Awards, the country’s only Award program honoring the impact of Professional Services Firms, yesterday recognized six companies who set the standard for Client Advisor Professionalism. Through its new Community Involvement Award, the program also celebrated the client advisor pair which demonstrated the most significant community impact.
Los Angeles is the center of the country’s entertainment industry. Silicon Valley has the technology start-up/venture capital corridor. Atlanta is increasingly drawing attention for the impact of its professional services firms. Professional advisory firms continue to serve as one of the most significant sources of job growth in the City and the concentration of professional services workers in Atlanta is nearly fifty percent higher than it is in the rest of the US economy.
“Even in a slow economy, professional services firms continue to be one of the strongest sectors in Atlanta,” says Andrew Dietz, Managing Partner of Creative Growth Group, Inc., which first conceived of the Awards program. “The Client Advisor Awards celebrates and rewards the impact of this essential part of our business ecosystem. In our third year of this important program, the Atlanta business community has responded with great enthusiasm to recognize the vital role of trusted advisors and their clients of choice,” Dietz explained.
It was a natural extension of Atlanta’s professional services strength that the City was host to the first recognition program of its kind, the Client Advisor Awards. Developed in partnership by Creative Growth Group, Inc. and Atlanta Business School Alliance (ABSA), the Client Advisor Awards hosted its third annual award event on December 2, 2008, to recognize those companies who have demonstrated a world-class approach to the relationship between professional services firms and their clients. Held at Atlanta’s exclusive Piedmont Driving Club, the Client Advisor Awards achieved near-capacity attendance as well as continued growth in the quality and quantity of nominations and sponsors.
The theme of the third annual Client Advisor Awards focused on ethics in the relationships between professional services firms and their clients. “It’s more important than ever for client-advisor relationships to be personal and ethically based as strains are added from economic tightening, increased regulation already in place and expected to be expanded by the next Congress, and by companies involving arms-length procurement organizations in decisions to hire high end professional advisors which can interfere with the personal client-advisor relationship,” noted Barry Trout, Executive Director of the Atlanta Business School Alliance. “In times of scarcity, clients and advisors need to be especially mindful of the ethical nature of their interactions,” Trout added.
Given the ethical susceptibility of the professional services market in the current economic turmoil, the 2008 Client Advisor Awards featured as its keynote speaker a world-class expert on business ethics: Dr. Paul Voss, President of Ethikos – a business ethics consultancy – and Associate Professor of Literature at Georgia State University. Dr. Voss’ speech addressed ethics in the relationships between clients and their advisors and proposed key organizational measures of cultural health which can guide best behavior. Dr. Voss said, "While the immediate future remains fraught with uncertainty and angst, one thing appears clear: Companies and Firms that engage in unethical behavior will be punished in the marketplace. Healthy, successful businesses can only become healthy and successful if they demonstrate a steadfast commitment to leadership, integrity, and an ethical culture.”
In its third 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: AJC Media Solutions, The Atlanta Business School Alliance, Business Wise, Cbeyond, Harleysville Insurance, Georgian Bank, The Chubb Corporation, Creative Growth Group Inc., Grant Thornton, and Soloflight Design. A new Award, sponsored by Cbeyond, honoring collaborative community involvement between one professional services firm and client pair, was launched this year.
2008 Client Advisor Award Winners
Small Professional Services Firm (presented by Cbeyond)
Winner: TopRight
Finalists: Argus Benefits, Pathbuilders
Small Client Organization (presented by Cbeyond)
Winner: WordRake
Finalist: Soteria Imaging Services
Mid-Sized Professional Services Firm (presented by Chubb)
Winner: TM Capital
Finalists: Brightworth, HLB Gross Collins
Mid-Sized Client Organization (presented by Harleysville Insurance)
Winner: LeasePlan USA
Finalists: ArborOne Financial, Medical Doctor Associates
Large Professional Services Firm (presented by AJC Media Solutions)
Winner: Ford & Harrison LLP
Finalists: Alvarez & Marsal, Public Consulting Group
Large Client Organization (presented by AJC Media Solutions)
Winner: Intercontinental Hotels Group
Finalists: Cbeyond, Radiant Systems
Community Involvement Award (presented by Cbeyond)
Winners: Randstad North America with Ford & Harrison LLP on behalf of Everybody Wins!
< 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.