Localogy today announced the first-ever honorees of the Localogy Leaders Award, an awards program developed to recognize the executive leaders in local that have revealed their character and risen above adversity to support their employees, local businesses and the community overall. This year’s recipients were Howard Lerman, CEO of Yext; Joe Walsh, CEO of Thryv; and Eric Mayhew; President and CPO of Fluency. Entries were received before the closing of Localogy 20/20, a virtual event focused on the Accelerated Transformation of Local.
Nominated by colleagues, partners and even customers, these submissions highlighted extraordinary leadership as demonstrated through accelerated product updates, employee support, non-profit initiatives, stellar customer service, billing flexibility, and much more.
“The economic nuances around COVID-19 have been inherently local,” said Bill Dinan, CEO of Localogy. “Each country, region and state has its own guidelines based on local leadership, culture and illness metrics. While the impact has been widespread, communities are coming together locally to support each other during these challenging times – our Localogy Leaders Award winners not only understood that but climbed down into the trenches to help.”
Lerman was honored for his leadership during uncertainty by jumping into action alongside teams at every level to help Yext customers and partners address clients’ urgent need for information. Lerman and team offered Yext Answers, a site search product, as well as a CDC-powered plug-in, free for 90 days so businesses could communicate important COVID-19 updates with their audiences. In addition, Yext launched a COVID Resource Hub, which includes on-demand office hours on key topics, whitepapers and more. Lerman also personally conducted partner outreach alongside his team to ensure clients could update their listing information and feel fully supported.
Walsh demonstrated immeasurable support for small businesses impacted by COVID-19 with the launch of the Thryv Foundation’s COVID-19 Grant Program. Thousands of businesses submitted and three rounds of wire transfers have already been sent out to numerous chosen recipients since early April, as the foundation continues to fundraise to support even more local businesses.
Mayhew is being honored for leading his SaaS company’s extraordinary client partnership efforts in tough times. Delivering personalized support, adjusted contracts, and billing flexibility, one customer submission raved that Fluency’s team had done “everything in their power to support our team and our business during this difficult time.”
The Localogy Leaders Award program was born from the personalities and conversations had as part of the Localogy Leaders series. These monthly conversations are available on Localogy LIVE and featured Leaders in Local including NinthDecimal President David Staas, Web.com CEO Sharon Rowlands, and SOCi CEO Afif Khoury. To learn more about Localogy Leaders and stay current on future episodes and the Localogy Leaders Award program, please visit live.localogy.com.
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