Allen Named Top N.M. CEO; Vox Optima A Top PR Firm

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Aug. 29, 2013 - PRLog -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Merritt Allen, owner and executive director of the N.M.-based public relations company, Vox Optima, LLC, has been named the top media and marketing CEO in Albuquerque Business First’s “Top CEOs of 2013” in an announcement Aug. 22. (http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2013/08/22/albuquerque-business-first-reveals-top.html)

The business and entrepreneurial newspaper will be honoring Allen and 21 other selected CEOs from regional industry areas at an awards luncheon Oct. 17 at Albuquerque’s Crowne Plaza Hotel.

“A great CEO must recognize and foster the strengths of his or her employees, coach them to accomplish more than they ever thought possible, and keep the organization moving forward constantly on all fronts,” said Albuquerque Business First Publisher Ian Anderson, in the award announcement on the organization’s website. “Without that leadership to guide it, an organization can only go so far.”

“This is a tremendous honor for me,” said Allen, “ although I tend to shy away from a ‘CEO’ title in a 20-person firm where I am doing 1/20^th of the work. Starting Vox Optima is the most fulfilling and satisfying thing I have done professionally and I am so proud to be recognized for it.”

In addition to being named a top CEO, Allen’s company was recognized by Albuquerque Business First as one of the top public relations firms in New Mexico, ranking number two on the list.  The magazine said its judging criteria included its total New Mexico staff, the public relations billings for 2012, the total of active accounts, what notable clients were using the company, and what type of services and specialties the company offered.

A service-disabled Navy Veteran, Allen was medically retired from the Navy in 1999 with a 60 percent disability rating, having served on active duty as a public affairs officer for eight years.  In the private sector, Allen was able to add hard business skills to her military experience, and formed Vox Optima in 2005. A primary goal for Vox Optima is to not only be a successful veteran-owned consulting firm, but one that provides employment opportunities for veterans.

“Right now, almost every employee at Vox Optima is a Veteran,” Allen said. “There’s a reason for that: I know what I am getting when I hire a Veteran. I am getting a highly trained employee who will do the job right the first time, even in a stressful environment with scarce resources. That’s pretty much the ideal employee.”

Allen and her original team founded Vox Optima in October 2005 and expanded it into a national public relations firm with offices in Washington, D.C., the Greater Hampton Roads area, San Diego, Lincoln, Neb., Athens, Ga., and Portsmouth, N.H.  Her very first business assignment was the Navy’s largest public relations and corporate communications contract.

News and information about Allen and her company can be found on the company website at www.voxoptima.com.