Reward Excellence Within Your Corporation

Each year, U.S. businesses are recognized by the Secretary of State for their role as good corporate citizens.

Established in 1999, the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) helps define America as a positive force in the world. It highlights our increasing outreach to the business community, our public-private partnerships, and our public diplomacy efforts to further corporate social responsibility, innovation, exemplary practices and democratic values worldwide.

The ACE recognizes the contributions business makes to improving lives at home and abroad. U.S. companies are nominated by Chiefs of Mission worldwide and the winners are chosen by the Principals’ Award Selection Committee. Chaired by the Under Secretary for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs, the Committee includes a representative of the Secretary, the Under Secretary for Global Affairs, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and various Assistant Secretaries. It also includes senior officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, MCC, and Department of Commerce.

Winners are recognized with a handsome, copyrighted award statue unveiled in a formal ceremony hosted by the Secretary of State. Former Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright and Hillary Rodham Clinton and current Secretary of State Antony Blinken have presented the ACE awards during their tenures. The ceremony, attended by Congressional staff, the Diplomatic Corps, and leaders from the business, NGO, and academic communities, includes participation via satellite of Chiefs of Mission whose candidates have won, in-country company executives, and invited guests at post.

2020 ACE Winners

Winners of the 2020 ACE were announced at the 22nd annual Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence Ceremony: Abbott, AES Panama, and Coca-Cola Azerbaijan. Watch Secretary of State Blinken’s remarks:

Past winners include:

2018 – Sustainable Operations: PVH Corp. in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Women’s Economic Empowerment: Alaffia in Lome, Togo

2016 - General Electric, McDonald’s Deutschland, Andela, Bureo Inc., Interface Inc., Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde S.A.A.

2015 - Weyerhaeuser Productos S.A., Cargill Vietnam Ltd., East Bali Cashews

2014 – EcoPlanet Bamboo Group, Nicaragua; Wagner Asia Equipment, LLC, Mongolia; Coca-Cola Company, Philippines.

2013 – Taylor Guitars, Cameroon; Fruit of the Loom, Honduras; Plantronics, Mexico.

2012 – Sorwathe, Rwanda; Intel Corporation, Vietnam.

2011 – Sahlman Seafoods, Incorporated, Nicaragua; Procter & Gamble, Nigeria; Procter & Gamble, Pakistan.

2010 – Cisco Systems, Israel; Mars, Inc., Ghana; Denimatrix, Guatemala.

2009 – Trilogy International Partners, Haiti; TOMS Shoes, Argentina.

2008 – Cargill, China; SURevolution, Colombia.

2007 – GE, Indonesia; Transnational Automotive Group, Cameroon.

2006 – General Motors, Colombia; Goldman Sachs, Chile; Sambazon, Brazil.

2005 – Cisco Systems, Jordan; Lapa Rios Ecolodge, Costa Rica.

2004 – Motorola, Brazil; FIJI Water, Fiji.

2003 – Chevron/Texaco, Nigeria; U.S. Steel Corporation, the Slovak Republic.

2002 – Coca-Cola, Egypt; Chindex International, China.

2001 – Ford Motor Company, South Africa; SELCO, Vietnam.

2000 – Motorola, Malaysia; Rayonier New Zealand; Land O’Frost, Uruguay.

1999 – Xerox, Brazil; F.C. Schaffer & Associates, Ethiopia.

Custom Crystal Award Plaques

Our crystal award plaques are the stately choice for rewarding excellence, honoring lifetime achievement, celebrating landmark anniversaries or grand openings. The crystal is frosted with a personal message and corporate logo or photo, then mounted to either a rosewood or black piano-finish board with metal spacers, creating a “floating” effect for the custom crystal above the rich, beautiful wood. Truly excellent!