Women in Consumer Electronics has announced the recipients of its 2012 Legacy Awards.
The five Legacy Award winners include Maureen C. Jenson, editor in chief of CustomRetailer magazine; Kristen Cook, executive vice president and managing director of BDSmktg; Denise Gibson, former U.S. president of BrightStar; Jeanette Howe, executive director of Specialty Electronics Nationwide; and Tricia Nystrom, senior merchant for Best Buy. The award recipients will be honored at a reception during the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas at 8:00 p.m. on January 10, preceded by a cocktail hour at 7:00 p.m.
"Once again, we're very excited to be recognizing the contributions these outstanding women have made to consumer electronics. This year's honorees represent a broad cross-section of our industry, underscoring the significant impact that women have made on the growth of consumer electronics," said Carol Campbell, founder of Women in CE.
Maureen C. Jenson, Editor in Chief, CustomRetailer, TELL, and CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles
Maureen C. Jenson is the editor in chief of CustomRetailer magazine. She is also the editor in chief of TELL (formerly E-Gear magazine) and CEDIA's Electronic Lifestyles magazine. During her many years in the CE industry, Jenson has served as editor in chief of Audio Video Interiors, Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, and Home Theater magazines. In addition, she was the co-host for two seasons of HGTV's "That's Home Entertainment" and has done countless TV and radio presentations explaining and promoting CE and its various product categories. In 2011, Jenson was honored as a CEDIA Fellow and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from IPRO.
Kristen Cook, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, BDSmktg
Having risen through the ranks to her current position as executive vice president and managing director, Cook knows BDSmktg inside and out. Cook has been with the agency since 1985 in a variety of positions. She began her tenure with BDS in the field, working as a market manager before moving into operations, account management, business development, marketing, and then corporate strategy. Kristen's current role is to lead corporate strategy, develop knowledge services, identify strategic partnerships, and act as lead on key accounts such as Walmart and Sam's Club. Kristen has shared her extensive expertise at a variety of events, including the BDS Let's Talk Retail thought-leadership seminars, CEA Wireless Webcasts, the PROMO Expo panel, and Experimental Marketing (as both moderator and speaker), and she has moderated multiple panels at CES.
Denise Gibson, Former President, Brightstar U.S. and Former Director, Brightstar Corporation
Denise Gibson is a seasoned board member and senior executive with 30 years' experience in CE design and manufacturing, logistics and supply chain, distribution, and retail services. She has successful board and operating experience in global public and private corporations and non-profit organizations. Gibson served as the former president of Brightstar U.S. and as a director of Brightstar Corp. from 2001 to 2011. Prior to joining Brightstar, she spent 17 years at Motorola. As vice president of North America Customer Technical Solutions, she managed the technical and engineering operations for Motorola's cellular and messaging businesses. As vice president and general manager of U.S. Markets, she had profit and loss responsibility for the $2 billion U.S. cellular subscriber business. As director of product marketing and business operations, she was instrumental in launching Motorola's StarTAC, one of the most successful products in wireless history. Prior to her tenure in the business units, she held management positions in human resources, staffing, and internal communications.
As a long time advocate for victims of domestic violence, Gibson founded a wireless industry-wide effort, CALL to PROTECT, which provides wireless phones to victims of abuse. She was honored with the CTIA Wireless Foundation's Citizenship Award for her work on CALL to PROTECT and her advocacy in helping victims of domestic violence through the use of wireless technologies. She served on the board of Chicago's Connections for Abused Women and Their Children.
Jeannette Howe, Executive Director, Specialty Electronics Nationwide (SEN)
As executive director of Specialty Electronics Nationwide, Jeannette Howe established the CE buying group for specialty home theater and custom installation dealers under the Nationwide Marketing Group umbrella in January 2006. SEN helps dealer members increase profits with group deals, money-saving programs, and better access to merchandise. Prior to SEN, Howe was the director of member services for PARA. There, she helped deliver training, strategic planning, and financial initiatives to PARA members across North America. In the early 1990s, Howe was the audio buyer at Magnolia Hi-Fi, where she managed the $30 million audio category. From 1985-1989 she worked at Tweeter Etc. in a variety of positions including audio buyer and store manager. At times in her Tweeter career, she was the only woman working in sales and/or management.
Tricia Nystrom, Senior Merchant, Audio, Best Buy
Joining Best Buy in 2007, Tricia has taken on many different responsibilities, starting as a demand planning manager for the music category and working her way up to senior merchant for the audio category within Magnolia — Best Buy's premium home entertainment brand. While with Magnolia, Tricia helped grow the brand and the audio category in a time when other retailers struggled. Most recently Tricia has rejoined the Best Buy brand as a senior merchant for audio.
Beyond the busy life of a senior merchant, Tricia is extremely active in WOLF @ Best Buy, a network of thousands of employees who work with individuals, brands, stores, and communities to help Best Buy build strong women leaders and capture a greater share of the female CE market. She is also a member of the Best Buy Alumni Network and the Best Buy Employee Network.
