Tamara Fields, Accenture

Tamara Fields, Accenture's Austin Office Managing Director, is a well-trusted decision-maker who has worked 20+ years side by side with clients to help them develop, scale and deliver innovative solutions. An Austin native, she has been instrumental in advancing Accenture's business in the health and public services practice along with infusing Accenture into the local community.

Tamara's hands-on approach to her work, developing Accenture's employees, and creating inclusive workplaces is rooted in action: advocating, educating, listening, sharing, and mentoring. Tamara is building a team that reflects the diverse, global community needed to address increasingly complex business issues. She has invested hundreds of hours over the past 15 years serving as coach and mentor in and outside of Accenture. She frequently leads trainings and holds special events to educate, develop and inspire future leaders.

Kim Hanks, Whim Hospitality

Kim Hanks is the CEO and Co-Founder of Whim Hospitality. Kim brings a joyful, personal approach to her organization and prioritizes a collaborative and supportive company culture among her employees. One of the biggest ways she has defined Whim culture is through the organization's Core Values that she created. Those values are Passion, Respect, Generosity, Honesty, Dependability, and Creativity. Taken together, these values aim to inspire the cooperative spirit that Kim feels is crucial to success in the Hospitality Industry.

Kim also makes a habit of practicing what she preaches. When a bout of the flu hit the floral design team during the spring wedding season, one of the busiest times of the year, Kim rolled up her sleeves and helped. She helped unloading of new floral deliveries and driving the refrigerated truck that delivered the large-scale floral installations around the greater Austin area. This mentality that no person is too important to help is contagious to everyone that works for Kim and has helped Whim become successful.

Karen Box, Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council

Karen Box, President & CEO of the Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council has led the Council for over 10 years and has a heart devoted to the council. Her “passion” serves as a constant source of inspiration and innovation to the entire SMSDC team, the Board of Directors, our numerous Corporate Members and over 500+ certified Minority Business Owners. She is unwavering in her commitment to educating and developing minority owned businesses while connecting them with corporate America.

Karen’s desire for greatness remains undiminished by this most recent achievement. Both humble and resolute, Karen understands the importance of providing a strong value proposition. Her focus on operations, maintaining the organization’s financial strength, and preserving stakeholder involvement while developing MBEs and staff is crucial. She considers it a “privilege” to call the MBEs and help them with coaching and planning opportunities to elevate them to the next level.