Top Female Executives, Professionals & Entrepreneurs

Title: Partner

Company: Grant Thornton LLP

Location: Pheonix, Az.

With more than 17 years of public and corporate accounting experience, Stella Shanovich continues as audit partner with Grant Thornton LLP in Pheonix, Az. As an audit, tax, and advisory service provider, she provides an area of expertise that include building strong client relationships, developing dynamic and diverse teams, and overseeing audit and accounting projects. Ms. Shanovich has served both publicly-held (SEC) and privately-owned companies in the manufacturing, technology, nonprofit, retail and distribution, health care, and student loan industries. Continue reading →

Title: Owner

Company: DentalPro Temps LLC

Location: Jamestown, N.C.

Beginning in 1991, Mary Smith her career as a dental hygienist with HP Dental, while also working with Dr. Tommy Upchurch. For 20 years, she built upon expertise in research, customer services, public speaking, negotiations, accounting, budgeting, coaching, and most importantly, dental hygiene. Now, Ms. Smith serves as chief executive officer for DentalProTemps LLC. Continue reading →

Title: Project Manager

Company: Cisco

Location: Raleigh, N.C.

Mary Paige Forrester began in the call center operations arena in 1992 with The Shubert Organization: Tele-Charge in New York. There, she managed 80 direct and 175 indirect associates, including four supervisors and a team of customer service representatives. In 1997, she moved to Wilmington, N.C. where she worked as the Customer Service Manager for the Bedford Fair Apparel, Inc. contact center. Ms. Forrester managed more than 80 service and sales associates at any-given time, lowering the employee turnover rate from 80-percent to seven-percent, while leading a 300% personal buildup. While at Bedford Fair, Mary Paige developed her first employee incentive program. This program has since been modified for implementation in various industries, mentioned in other incentive guides, and published on several occasions. Following her time at Bedford Fair, she spent 7 years with the State of North Carolina, serving initially on the project start-up team for the Child Support Enforcement Contact Center, and later as the Technical Manager, System Administrator and Operations Consultant for the facility, and led the effort to expand the center by adding another contact center in the facility to support contacts for EBT/Food Stamps.

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Title: Manager of Accounting

Company: AguaFina Gardens & Imports

Location: Troy, Mich.

Manager of accounting for the nursery, Agua Fina Gardens and Imports, Barbara Hart Esler continues to oversee all the financial and budgetary measures the company makes throughout the year. As she is also familiar with landscape design, she wields a heave power of suggestion when planning for future expenditures on various projects. Since beginning in her career more than five years ago, Ms. Hart Esler has become an expert in loan negotiation, commercial lending, risk management, financial analysis, foreclosures, restructuring, and account strategy. Continue reading →