A personal message from Aleisha McCall, UEC Founder and CEO.

I was humbled to be a finalist for both the 2020 B&T Women in Media People’s Choice and Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards that publicly recognise the exceptional women who have achieved success in their professional arena, celebrating their invaluable contribution to the industry through their leadership, innovation and courage.

I want to congratulate the winners of the awards; Ilda Jamison of SpotX and Kylie Merritt of ausbiz respectively. Well done!

I would like to thank B&T Media and all the sponsors and volunteers involved to make this possible, especially this year with all the COVID restrictions in place. Public recognition is more necessary than ever to reinforce the positive, optimistic character traits and ideals we all strive to emulate.

I want to thank my husband Steve and our two beautiful girls Millie and Lexie for all your love and support. You give me the lift I often need to show up as the best version of myself every single day when I get up so you can be as proud of me as I am of you.

To my wise, patient and insightful business mentor, Dr Marc Dussault, thank you for being there from the very beginning when all of this was just a wild and crazy dream and sticking by me for the past 12 years; never losing faith in me as you guided, realigned and adjusted my approach when I needed it most. I am grateful for your emotional strength, resilience and holistic approach that have empowered me to congruently become my ultimate authentic self as an innovative, trailblazing business entrepreneur, loving wife, caring and present mother and compassionate friend.

To my team at UEC, well done! 2020 has been a very challenging year on many fronts. Thank you for trusting me to lead us through this crisis together, as a cohesive team.

To our clients, thank you for backing me when I really needed you this year. Your loyalty and belief in me when it mattered is something I will never forget as we continue to do all the things necessary to achieve the results you’ve come to expect and deserve.

To all the other nominees, I’m sure you will agree with me when I say, 2020 has tested us as in more ways than we thought possible. Thank you for being the beacon of strength, positivity and resilience for your families, teams and clients and being the force for good in this world that is so desperately needed.