Ritu Narayan, Zūm Founder and CEO, Wins Gold Stevie® Award in 2018 Stevie Awards for Women in Business


REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 28, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ritu Narayan, founder and CEO of Zūm, the leading provider of safe and reliable student transportation for families and school districts, has been named the winner of a Gold Stevie® Award in the consumer services category in the 15th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives, entrepreneurs, employees and the companies they run worldwide. The Stevie Awards have been hailed as the world’s premier business awards.

Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word for “crowned,” the awards were presented to winners last night during a dinner event attended by more than 550 people at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel in New York City. The event was broadcast via Livestream.

More than 1,500 entries were submitted this year for consideration in more than 90 categories, including Executive of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Company of the Year, Startup of the Year, Women Helping Women and Women Run Workplace of the Year. Narayan has won the Gold Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year in Consumer Services category.

Narayan’s Gold Stevie® Award places her at the top of the Female Executive of the Year category. In the past year, Zūm has grown revenue more than 300 percent and helped San Francisco Bay Area schools save more than $15 million in transportation costs, driving millions of dollars back into school district budgets. As Zūm remains a mission-driven company, its accomplishments also include supporting working mothers by providing them with a flexible solution for their children’s transportation and childcare needs. Using services like Zūm can help working moms balance their careers and their kids and alleviate the stress of work and school schedules.

“I am incredibly honored to have received this award and know it was not a standalone achievement. I am grateful to our employees, drivers, school district partners and families using the service and constantly going above and beyond to make the Zūm experience one that everyone can enjoy and benefit from. There were many stand-out women nominated who’ve achieved so much, and I want to personally congratulate them for their incredible accomplishments.”

“A most worthy nominee!  It is refreshing to have someone put this idea in place.  Zūm is such a necessary service,” said a panel judge.  “The most impressive part of the entry, though, is the $10 million dollars schools have saved. Great work and leadership at play here.”

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 200 business professionals around the world, working on six juries.  

“In its 15th year, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business received a record number of nominations. With the new Women|Future Conference preceding the announcement of winners on November 16, it was a day to celebrate the achievements of working women around the world,” said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of the Stevie Awards. “We congratulate all of this year’s Grand, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners for their achievements.”

Details about the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the list of Finalists in all categories are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women.  

About Zūm
Zūm is the leading provider of safe, efficient and reliable child transportation for schools and parents. Zūm is committed to saving schools money and parents time by providing flexible ride options, through highly vetted drivers. Since its inception, Zūm has provided over 3.5 million miles of safe and reliable rides and helped parents save over 200,000 hours—and counting. Founded by Ritu Narayan, Vivek Garg and Abhishek Garg, Zūm is backed by leading venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital. The company is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif.

About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

HCL Technologies sponsored the Red Ladder Women in Technology Awards in the 2018 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Zūm
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