CHICAGO, Aug. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Akrete, an award-winning national public relations, content and marketing firm, was named the winner of the Bronze Stevie® Award in the category of Best Innovation in Management Practices for the 23rd Annual International Business Awards.
The recognition reflects a transformation that has taken place behind the scenes at Akrete over the past two years: modernizing the systems, processes and management practices that support the firm’s work while preserving the flexibility and high-touch service that have defined Akrete since its founding in 2011.
The International Business Awards are the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small—are eligible to submit nominations. The 2026 IBAs received 3,400 nominations from organizations in 82 nations and territories. Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 300 executives worldwide who participated in the judging process that took place between May and July.
“Creative success and management success are two very different things,” said Margy Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Akrete. “We’ve built a business that is known equally for the quality of its work and the strong relationships we have with our clients. Over the past two years, we’ve focused that intentionality on the infrastructure behind that work and those relationships. We’ve invested in technology and challenged long-standing processes, giving our team better tools to manage the business and individual work. As a result, we’ve become a better, more sustainable version of Akrete without losing what makes us special.”
For clients, those changes increasingly translate into increased visibility, more efficient workflows and more time focused on strategy and results. Akrete has expanded its use of Monday.com and AI-driven automation to streamline client and financial management, introduced real-time capacity and KPI dashboards, automated media reporting and transformed its approach to tracking budgets and productive hours. These changes have reduced administrative work, improved reporting and helped Akrete manage growth without adding overhead.
Since its founding in 2011, Akrete has transformed from a boutique specialist firm into a structured, growth-oriented business while retaining the urgency and performance mindset of a start-up. This award represents the latest recognition of Akrete’s growth and evolution. Last year, Akrete was named the Gold Stevie® Award winner for U.S. and Canada Public Relations agency of the Year. Akrete has also been named to the PRNEWS Agency Elite Top 120 for 2026 and recognized by PRWeek as a Best Place to Work.
“We made a commitment to evolve alongside AI, but that meant much more than adopting new tools,” said Nicole Stenclik, President of Akrete. “We challenged ourselves to rethink how work gets done, where our people spend their time and how we can use technology to create more capacity for the work clients really value — strong counsel, strategic thinking, creativity and responsiveness to and anticipation of evolving needs in a dynamic business environment. These improvements have made us a stronger business and, ultimately, a better partner to our clients.”
Winners of this year’s awards will be celebrated during a gala banquet at the Pullman Paris Montparnasse in Paris, France on October 28th. Details about The International Business Awards and the lists of Stevie Award winners are available at http://IBA.Stevieawards.com
“The 2026 International Business Awards winners represent the very best in business achievement from organizations of all sizes and across virtually every industry,” said Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller. “This year's winners have demonstrated exceptional innovation, leadership, resilience, and results in a highly competitive global field. We congratulate every Stevie Award winner and look forward to celebrating their achievements together in Paris on October 28.”
Details about The International Business Awards and the lists of Stevie® Award winners are available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA .
About Akrete:
Akrete, founded on the idea of promoting accretion and business growth, is a national, award-winning B2B public relations, content and marketing communications consulting firm. Certified nationally by WBENC as a Woman Owned Business Enterprise (WBE), the firm’s clients include some of the most well-respected companies in North America including JLL, KeyBank, BGO and others. Akrete is highly ranked in the 2026 O'Dwyer's annual top PR firm rankings including a consistent top five national ranking for real estate finance and development. Founded in 2011, Akrete professionals are located in cities coast to coast with primary locations in Chicago (Willis Tower, Evanston), Boston, New York and Los Angeles. For more information, visit https://akrete.com/.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Aimee Val
Aimee.val@akrete.com or 847-942-1458
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/59e51420-877d-4567-973f-b8f3d1827225
