CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards

51 www.ceotodaymagazine.com CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards 2018 USA KRISTEN GIOVANIS CEO of United Language Group FIRM PROFILE Based in Minneapolis, United Language Group (ULG) is one of the world’s largest language solutions providers, offering translation, localization and interpretation services. With offices in 7 countries and 3 continents, ULG is the trusted translation partner for hundreds of life sciences, IT, manufacturing, healthcare, insurance, financial, legal, government and consumer product organizations. ULG prides itself on translating language into a competitive advantage for its clients in both regulated and non-regulated sectors. Central to this is understanding client challenges and offering them the ultimate combination of experience, precision, technology, quality, flexibility, security and regulatory expertise. Rather than merely reacting to industry trends and regulations, ULG anticipates them and creates tailored language solutions to address organizational risks while ensuring accurate, secure translations. Key to ULG’s success is its skillful merging of technology and people- based solutions. Its industry-leading OctaveTM technology suite offers a complete Language Mastery Platform that delivers a robust mix of translation benefits. Octave offers advanced project management features, flexible machine and human translation functionality, and cutting-edge API capabilities that save clients millions of dollars, speed time to market and minimize risk of data breach. Perhaps most impressively, Octave also works seamlessly with clients’ internal systems to meet quality, turnaround, pricing, project management and security needs. ULG’s ultimate vision is simple: a world in which language is no longer a barrier. ABOUT KRISTEN GIOVANIS Kristen Giovanis has been CEO of United Language Group (ULG) since 2016. During that time, she has rapidly elevated the company to one of the world’s largest and most innovative language solutions providers by focusing on strategic acquisitions, organic growth and smart technology investments. In less than two years, she has expanded ULG’s vision to combine innovative technology with people-based solutions, while profitably growing the business and pushing the language-services industry to the next level. With more than 20 years of language industry experience, Kristen’s leadership philosophy is characterized by vision, teamwork and building a positive organizational culture. Her unique ability to spot industry trends and envision the future while combining strategic direction with the right people, processes and technologies, has created a culture of innovation and flexibility that is more typically found in technology companies. Kristen co-founded KJ International, a niche language service company, in 1994. Recognizing an evolution in global trade and language requirements due to standardization in safety and compliance regulations, she identified a shift in the market – translation was maturing from a “nice to have” to a “must have” particularly in high risk markets. Her instincts were right – today, translation, localization and interpretation represent a $37 billion industry with tremendous growth potential. Kristen’s leadership style, business acumen and disciplined focus on strategic acquisitions continue to position ULG on an upward trajectory. “ULG’s ultimate vision is simple: a world in which language is no longer a barrier.”