Winning in 2021: Meet Some of the Customers, Partners, and Employees Who are Delivering a Performance Edge and Changing How Business is Done.
A win for any of our customers, partners or employees is a win for all of Zebra Nation. This year, we’ve had to think outside the box, jump hurdles and tap into our creative minds more than ever before to survive and thrive coming out of 2020. We’ve spent every day for the past 18 months innovating with – and for – our customers so they could fully support their customers in one of the most demanding periods of our lifetime. Our team’s resilience and brilliance have been put to the test, and we’ve had to re-design our problem-solving strategies to ensure we consistently deliver solutions that enable businesses around the globe to emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever.
Perseverance, dedication and passion is what united Zebra Nation and inspired those businesses we serve. It’s what gave us the wherewithal to find new ways to innovate amid so many different, continuously life-altering challenges.
As we begin to see and experience the progress around us, we must celebrate our victories. What I find most profound about our triumphs thus far this year is the great amount of recognition and number of awards earned by our resilient customers. We are so proud of their successes and thrilled to watch their businesses recover and prosper:
- Mary Lawley of Tractor Supply was announced as an honoree for Chain Store Age’s Top Women in Retail Tech.
- Adam Fox of Vera Bradley was awarded CIO of the Year by RIS News.
- Convenience Store News’ 2021 Top Women in Convenience Awards named Jocelyn Miller, Manager of Operations – Workforce Management for Love's Travel Stops to its list of Rising Stars in the c-store industry.
We are also grateful to our customers, partners, suppliers, and others connected with Zebra Nation for making our successes possible. Our teamwork fuels us to do our best as we strive to change people’s lives for the better. However, it is because of your support and collaboration that…
- Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100 Top Supply Chain Projects recognized ArcBest and Zebra for our combined advancements in supply chain technology.
- Zebra’s MotionWorks Proximity was awarded the “IoT Innovation Award for Enterprise Solution of the Year” by IoT Breakthrough and recognized by Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas 2021 as an honorable mention in the Pandemic Response category. This is a prestigious accomplishment, as Fast Company values organizations and concepts that harness innovation for the betterment of society and the planet. MotionWorks Proximity helps workers of various environments navigate their workspaces safely, and in light of distancing regulations, the actionable solution has made a great impact on the state of workflows by addressing public health concerns.
- Zebra received two accolades in the China-based IoT Star Awards, “Innovative Product for RFID Fixed Reader” for the Zebra ATR7000 RTLS Reader and “Innovative Product for RFID Printer” for the Zebra ZT411 RFID On-Metal Tagging Solution.
- MedTech Breakthrough Awards named the Zebra TC52-HC healthcare mobile computer the “Best Overall mHealth Solution.”
- The Zebra CS60-HC series healthcare companion scanner and TC21-HC & TC26-HC mobile computers were awarded Bronze Stevie® Awards.
- Zebra’s SmartPack Trailer™ solution was awarded the Innovation Leadership Award in Transportation & Logistics in 2021 by Compass Intelligence.
- CRN®, a brand of the Channel Company, named the EC50/EC55 enterprise mobile computers to its 2021 Mobile 100 list. The EC50/EC55 were recognized among the 20 Coolest Phones, Accessories and Mobile Computers of 2021.
Of course, I would be remiss to not recognize the remarkable achievements of Zebras around the world who are contributing to the betterment of business, technology, and society on an extraordinary scale. Here are some highlights of those efforts which have earned special acknowledgement:
- Cristen Kogl, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, was named to the Crain’s Chicago list of Notable General Counsels in 2021.
- Nathan Winters, Chief Financial Officer, received the University of Kentucky’s Gatton School of Business and Economics’ Distinguished Young Alumni Award – the college’s highest honor bestowed upon alumni under the age of 45.
- Jeff Barteld, Senior Director of Global Channel Strategy and Program, was named to the prestigious CRN® Channel Chiefs list in 2021. (You can hear more about Jeff’s secret to being a good channel partner in this Your Edge podcast.)
- Caryn Scherer, Director of Global Channel Strategy and Programs, was named to the CRN® 2021 Women of the Channel list.
- John Wirthlin, Industry Strategist for Manufacturing and T&L, and Deanna Self, Supply Chain Strategist, were named to the Supply & Demand Chain Executive 2021 Pros To Know list. (Find out more about why Deanna is focused on bringing her authentic self to work every day and helping others do the same in this interview.)
- Crain’s Chicago named Natalie Bodus, Senior Director of Inclusion and Diversity and Employer Brand, to the 2021 list of Notable Executives in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. (Check out her latest Inclusion and Diversity Action Reports here.)
- Andy McBain, Head of Regional Product Management in EMEA, was named to the Logistics Middle East Awards 2021 Power List.
- Coby Segall, Director of Advanced Development and Disruptive Innovation, was honored as a Co-op Ambassador of the Year through the University of Toronto Personal Experience Year 2019-2020 Co-op Awards.
- The learning and development team at Zebra was recognized in the Innovation category for sales collaboration at the Sales Enablement PRO Awards.
It is because of our employees we are able to sustain a culture of innovation, belonging and unity…
- Zebra ranked #158 among top 500 midsize employers in Forbes’ 2021 list of America’s Best Midsize Employers.
- Zebra ranked #1,423 on Forbes’ Global 2000 World’s Largest Public Companies list in 2021.
- Zebra was named one of BuiltIn.com’s 100 Best Large Companies to Work For in 2021.
- The 2021 APSE Employer Award honored Zebra for our efforts hiring individuals with disabilities at our Buffalo Grove, Illinois, repair facility.
And help elevate our channel partners and global suppliers as they pursue their passions and seek to grow their businesses…
- Zebra’s PartnerConnect program was awarded a 5-Star rating in the 2021 Partner Program Guide by CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company.
- Zebra received a Supplier Legacy Award via the Premier Inc. Breakthrough Awards for supporting Premier members through exceptional customer service and engagement, value creation and a commitment to lowering costs.
A Final Thought
At Zebra, we take pride in leveraging our diverse employee base to find the next innovation that will transform the front line of business. We also appreciate the role our customers and partners play in driving our mission to ensure every asset and worker on the edge is visible, connected to the data they need, and receiving clear and accurate insights for the best next action. Collaborating with a team of individuals who each bring a unique perspective to the table is what makes it possible to optimize workflows, operations, and decisions in real time for efficient, impactful results. And I am humbled to be a part of it.
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Editor’s Note:
We are grateful for each milestone we have crossed alongside our partners and customers. Here are some of the other ways Zebra Nation has united to give back and help industries press forward:
Anders Gustafsson
Anders Gustafsson became chief executive officer and a director of Zebra Technologies on September 4, 2007. Prior to joining Zebra, Mr. Gustafsson served as CEO of Spirent Communications plc, a publicly traded telecommunications company. At Spirent, Mr. Gustafsson redirected that company's growth strategy, divested non-core operations, integrated historic acquisitions and streamlined the organization to realize significant cost savings. Prior to Spirent, he was senior executive vice president, global business operations, of Tellabs, Inc. While at Tellabs, Mr. Gustafsson also served as president, Tellabs International, as well as president, global sales, and vice president and general manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Earlier in his career, he held executive positions with Motorola and Network Equipment Technologies. Mr. Gustafsson holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Business and a master of science degree in electrical engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was a Fulbright Scholar and received numerous fellowships and scholarships for academic excellence.
