Austin Chamber unveils Greater Austin Business Award winners

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce is honoring business leadership, companies of all sizes and nonprofits for their contributions to the community.

The 21st annual Greater Austin Business Awards were announced Tuesday night at a ceremony at the JW Marriott.

In total, 48 companies were nominated for an award. Recipients were selected by an independent panel of judges with the Uniquely Austin Award being selected by public voting.

“We congratulate all of the nominees and award recipients and thank them for their outstanding contributions to our region during 2021,” Nikki Graham, chamber board chair said. “These companies have made impressive strides — from creating unique products and supporting our local community, to encouraging employee health, wellness and beyond. These organizations are representative of what makes Austin the global destination for talent, jobs and opportunity.”

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Awards that had multiple recipients were divided into categories based on the number of employees; recipients are listed sequentially: small, medium and large.

Here are the winners:

Austin CEO/Austin Site Leader: The Executive Leader Award recognizes the local CEO or top site leader for the company or organization.

• Emily Chenevert, Austin Board of Realtors
• Carrie A. Hurt, Better Business Bureau
• Dr. Donald Christian, Concordia University
• Kiwi Camara, Disco

Community Relations: A company or organization that demonstrates a successful approach to corporate social responsibility and can show a positive impact on the community.

• Antonelli’s Cheese Shop
• Circuit of the Americas
• 3M
• Dell Technologies

Company Culture: A company or organization that fosters a creative, collaborative workplace culture to enhance performance and sustain a competitive advantage with opportunities for growth.

• Scribe Media
• Auctane

Consumer Product: A consumer product company that stands out by offering a unique product that creates a niche market.

• Afia

Customer Experience: acknowledges a company or organization dedicated to an outstanding customer experience and satisfaction in all aspects of sales and services. 

• Qualia

Economic Impact: The economic impact award recognizes a company that achieves significant job growth and helps foster a diverse and robust regional workforce.

• Samsung Austin Semiconductor

Education Advancement: The education advancement impact award recognizes a company that embraces the responsibility of preparing our future generations for jobs. 

• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area
• Proximity Learning

Employee Health & Wellness: A company or organization that creates an employee-centered wellness culture and provides access and opportunities for all employees.

• Cirrus Logic

Entrepreneur: Individuals who are nominated should be the founder or current executive responsible for the day-to-day operations of the for-profit business.

• Homeward

Environmental Champion: A company or organization recognized for their best practices. Business sustainability is about creating more goods and services with less resources, waste and pollution that positively impact the environment.

• Intel Corporation

Mobility Champion: The Mobility Champion impact award recognizes a company or organization for their work in helping to solve our region’s mobility challenges.

• Capital Metro
• Downtown Austin Alliance

Nonprofit: Section 501(c) (3) public charity or private foundation that is tirelessly focused on serving the community and the partnerships they have built with for-profit organizations.

• Austin Community Foundation

Small Business Excellence: The company must be in business for three years or more with a maximum of 25 employees, with established reputation and demonstrate excellence in innovation management, marketing, customer services and integrity.

• Bob’s Containers

Technology Innovation: A company or organization that has developed visionary and transformative technology that impacts the business market.

• Digital Turbine

Uniquely Austin: A company that exemplifies what it means to live and do business in Austin.

• Peter Pan Mini Golf