She joins leaders in business, government, education, and organizations on the roster, which since 1997 has sought to recognize women who are making a difference in our community.
Candace and the other 49 winners are being honored today for making the list, and for their individual and collective contributions to West Michigan.
But this isn’t the first time Candace has been honored by the magazine. She graced the cover of Black Enterprise in September 2009 as its Corporate Executive of the Year.
You might say this is well-deserved recognition to the second power.
Matthews, Amway’s chief marketing officer since 2008, is the first leader at a privately-held company to receive the magazine’s annual honor.
In presenting the award, Black Enterprise CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr. said of Matthews, “through her business prowess and innovative thinking, she is helping transform Amway into a 21st century global powerhouse.”
Candace Matthews has been commanding attention since becoming our chief marketing officer in 2008.
She created a global marketing council to guide company efforts worldwide. She’s led the revitalization of our Nutrilite and Artistry product lines and breathed new life and energy into the Amway brand. Candace even sang during our employee holiday program last year.
And now, she’s on the cover of a magazine on newsstands from coast-to-coast as Black Enterprise’s 2009 “Corporate Executive of the Year.” (PDF, 7MB)
Candace is the first exec at a privately-held company to receive the magazine’s annual honor. She was selected for her “business prowess and inventiveness” and for forging a marketing approach that “blends innovation, technology and interpersonal relationships.”
And she’s in good company. Executives at corporations like Ford, McDonald’s and CNBC also have received the magazine’s honor.
We knew Candace was enterprising. Now she has the award to prove it.
The Orlando Events Center — the new venue for sports, concerts, and family entertainment — has had a “namelift.” As of today, it’s called the Amway Center.
The 875,000-square-foot facility, slated to open in the fall of 2010, will replace the nearby, two-decade old Amway Arena, a complex half the size. The Center will be the new home of the NBA’s Orlando Magic starting with the 2010-11 season.
Amway chief marketing officer Candace Matthews and Orlando Magic chief operating officer Alex Martins announced the naming today to a host of city dignitaries and the Orlando-area media. Said Matthews:
“We’re excited to continue this partnership with the Magic and Orlando, one of the world’s greatest tourist destinations. The NBA is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. But this is much more than simply securing naming rights and continuing our partnership with the Magic. Rather, this takes us into partnership with the Orlando community, as we have partnered with other communities around the world where we do business, in aligning with our corporate vision of helping people live better lives.”
“Doug has been a real leader, a visionary and a voice of reason for the foundation.”
Also last week, Candace was inducted into the Executive Leadership Council, one of the most prestigious associations of African American corporate officers of Fortune 500 companies. Steve Van Andel, Amway’s chairman. proclaimed:
“Amway is proud to work with Candace, and proud to see others recognize her leadership and track record.”
It’s a good morning in Ada, where we’ve just announced our annual results for 2008. As we enter our 50th anniversary year, we are proud to see some early and encouraging results of our corporate transformation. In this global climate, we’re certainly excited to share an increase of more than 15 percent in sales over last year. This year, two thirds of our markets grew, and more than half of our 58 worldwide affiliates posted increases of more than 10 percent. Truly, this year’s success was a global one.
We’re also proudly unveiling a new Amway Media Blog today. Throughout this year, there will be some visible changes as we unify the global direct selling business. This is one of them. We have now archived both the “old” Amway Media Blog and the Alticor Media Blog, but of course we’ll still answer any questions on topics we previously covered.
Going forward, we will be able to relay the news that matters most at Amway through one voice, here at this site. Here’s the news of the day:
Today the CEO and other execs from 
The Orlando Events Center — the new venue for sports, concerts, and family entertainment — has had a “namelift.” As of today, it’s called the 
