Center of excellence

Your trusted partner in strategy design

Awardco’s Center of Excellence brings together industry-leading experts, strategic advisors, and hands-on practitioners to elevate recognition programs and drive client success at scale.

meet our team

Leaders in strategy,
partners in success

With decades of global experience, the COE delivers tailored support in program design, strategy, and execution, building and optimizing proven solutions that drive real results.

Cali Hyde
Head of Strategic Accounts
Cali Hyde

With over nine years of experience in SaaS and professional services, Cali Hyde brings strategic depth and business acumen to the Center of Excellence. Currently Awardco’s Head of Strategic Sales, Cali has led enterprise sales, proposal strategy, and global development across markets in both the U.S. and Europe. Her cross-functional leadership and passion for scalable, strategic solutions make her an essential voice in aligning COE initiatives with client needs and business growth.

 
Chantale Callingham
VP of Client Success
Chantale Callingham

Chantale Callingham is Vice President of Client Success and leads Awardco’s Center of Excellence, bringing 15+ years of experience in SaaS and enterprise strategy. A certified PMP and MBA, she’s known for people-first leadership, building inclusive global teams, and driving measurable impact. Chantale’s career includes roles at Fortune 500s and leading tech firms, always focused on transforming customer experiences. Passionate about equity, belonging, and innovation, she challenges the status quo and fosters strategic partnerships to scale meaningful workplace recognition and culture.

 
Christi Gilhoi
Corp. Integration - Emp. Experience
Christi Gilhoi

Christi is an Employee Experience executive with leadership roles at Qualcomm, Okta, and Cisco, bringing deep expertise in building and scaling global recognition programs for organizations of 40,000+ employees. With hands-on experience across the full program lifecycle—from business case development and securing executive buy-in to change management and successful launches—she understands the client perspective inside and out. Now consulting with Team Awardco, Christi serves as a practitioner resource, helping clients drive meaningful employee engagement and operational excellence through strategic recognition initiatives.

 
Katie Bundy
Rewards & Recognition Leader
Katie Bundy

Katie Bundy brings deep strategic expertise to the Center of Excellence after 17 years at J.P. Morgan, where she led initiatives across Sales, Finance, and Employee Experience. She co-led the rollout of Awardco’s platform to 290,000+ global employees, boosting recognition satisfaction by 17%. Katie’s strength lies in aligning program strategy with business needs through thoughtful design, change management, and executive engagement—making her a key player in shaping scalable, effective client programs.

 
Laura Shanley
Employee Experience Advisor
Laura Shanley

A trusted expert in program implementation and optimization, Laura Shanley has led Awardco initiatives from the client side and now consults for multiple organizations navigating complex launches. With hands-on experience from Okta, DocuSign, and Qualcomm, Laura brings unmatched insight into the nuances of R&R vendors and platform design. Her ability to build scalable, efficient programmes on tight timelines makes her an essential partner in delivering client success through the COE.

 
Nick Frazier
Senior Director of CS & Ops
Nick Frazier

Nick Frazier serves as Senior Director of Client Success and Operations for Awardco EMEA, bringing years of operational expertise and global leadership to the Center of Excellence. With a background in human resource management, data analytics, and a tenure of over seven years at Awardco, Nick has played a pivotal role in scaling service operations across regions. His strategic oversight and cross-functional insight into client success operations help the COE deliver scalable, sustainable processes that meet the evolving needs of a global customer base.

 
Sarah Marrs
Center of Excellence Global Lead
Sarah Marrs

Sarah is a global lead on Awardco’s Center of Excellence, advising organizations on reward and recognition strategy while researching its impact on employee behavior. An organizational psychologist with 15+ years’ experience, she is completing a doctorate in Evidence-Based HR at Birkbeck University, London. Sarah spent nine years at Qualtrics, guiding EX solution design for major global clients, and earlier held employee-insight roles at Tesco, Hay Group, and Kenexa. A member of the British Psychological Society, she also holds a master’s in Work and Organizational Behavior from Dublin City University.

 
ShaNae McCleskey
Director, Technical Account Services
ShaNae McCleskey

ShaNae is Director of Technical Account Services at Awardco, where she builds and leads high-performing technical teams that support the company’s largest global clients. A Six Sigma–certified leader with a BS from UVU, she is also a key contributor to Awardco’s Center of Excellence, driving process optimization, innovation, and strategic insights. ShaNae specializes in crafting sustainable technology solutions that elevate employee satisfaction while championing people-first initiatives. Committed to psychological safety, she cultivates workplaces where employees can challenge ideas openly, bring their authentic selves to work, and fuel a culture of continuous innovation.

 

Center of Excellence services

Providing tailored guidance on rewards budgeting, program deployment, implementation, and much more to ensure impactful employee experiences.

Strategic expertise rooted in real-world success
Backed by real-world experience leading global recognition programs, our team pairs deep product expertise with benchmark-driven insights to deliver strategic guidance that drives measurable results.
You receive:
  • Strategic guidance backed by experience leading global recognition programs
  • Deep product knowledge paired with benchmark-driven insights
  • Focused solutions that deliver measurable business impact
Tailored program advisory and business consultation
Every organization is at a different stage in its recognition journey, which is why we offer tailored consultation, including ROI strategies, business case development, governance and budget modeling, communication planning, and global stakeholder alignment.
You receive:
  • Support for every stage of the recognition journey
  • Custom strategies aligned to business goals and scale
  • Guidance across ROI, governance, communication, and adoption
Research-backed strategy
Recognition transforms organizations. Through research, community, and client collaboration, we help build programs that inspire, connect, and grow with the business.
You receive:
  • Insights driven by industry research and client collaboration
  • Program design rooted in connection, growth, and evolution
  • Access to a community of practitioners and proven best practices
MagnaFlow
 
 
Our turnover definitely went down after implementing Awardco, especially compared to the previous year. We've noticed that recognition, along with rewards like Amazon items and prepaid Visa cards, has had a big impact on retention without being a huge cost to the company.
Sonia Magdaleno
Talent and Engagement Specialist
PMG
 
 
Awardco made it easy for every employee, whether in Dallas or the UK, to feel seen, valued, and celebrated.
Pam Buyers
Head of Culture
Ultradent Products
 
 
We're present in pretty much every continent in the world, and there's no limitation to our recognition system. We see recognitions from Brazil to the US, from Japan to China, from South Africa to France, and everyone is engaged.
Favio Paiva
Workday Specialist
BPM
 
 
We really like the redemption options and how Awardco integrates with Amazon — the platform's ease-of-use has empowered us to handle our growing employee population.
Monica Delgado
Senior Manager of Total Rewards
Southwest Gas Corporation
 
 
Awardco has offered customizability that allows us to cater to our employees' needs and recognize what they are doing and change it as the environment changes as well.
Eric Crow
Administrator, Risk Management and Safety
Quick Quack Car Wash
 
 
Awardco has made employees' lives easier. Working outside in the elements with the customers can be tough, but being recognized, seen, heard, and valued makes it easier.
Christina Castro
Training Leader
Ultradent Products
 
 
Modern recognition with Awardco has created an ecosystem of appreciation. What we've found, as employees have recognized each other, is that they're motivated long term. Employees want to enjoy their work and be successful, and if we recognize them for their success, they'll know they're doing a great job and can improve every single day.
David Alsop
CHRO
Children's Nebraska
 
 
[Awardco] was something that was easy to use. I knew that healthcare provider's first priority is their patient, so how do we make it so easy that they can participate and still make sure that they're still taking care of the patient.
Madeline Quinn
Employee Experience Manager
Texas Roadhouse
 
 
Awardco's fast, compassionate service ensured an employee received a much-needed gift card in time for an urgent personal purchase. It wasn't just a reward—it was a meaningful act of support when it mattered most.
Storey O'Barr
Recognition and Communications Specialist
CloudFit Software
 
 
Awardco has provided significant time savings. Our previous program was clunky, manual, and time consuming. Now, with the automation capabilities available through Awardco, my team saves 5-8 hours a week!
Kymberlee Stephens
Director of Employee Experience and Wellness
The Nest Schools
 
 
The best decision we made was switching from our previous platform to Awardco. The customer service is excellent, the features are amazing, and we LOVE that they take our ideas and make them happen. They are always looking at innovating, which is one of our core values. We are extremely satisfied with Awardco and everyone here at The Nest LOVES the program.
Sara Beer
Director of Core Values
The Nest Schools
 
 
Just managing our custom rewards felt like a full-time job with our previous vendor—it took all day every Friday. With Awardco, I don't have to do any of the manual fulfillment work anymore. I'm saving 6-8 hours a week, just managing orders.
Sara Beer
Director of Core Values
Velsera
 
 
What I love most is the reporting aspect. It's something that reinforces the impact of Awardco, and it shows that the work we're doing is paying off.
Marko Zecevic
Employee Experience Manager
Lineage Logistics
 
 
Recognizing your team members...it's a great way to build moral. To to get those team members to do that extra truck. There's a saying, take care of the people and they'll take care of you. And by taking care of you, it's making sure that every truck is turned in on time and every pallet is pushed through the warehouse.
Rafael Becerra
Manager, Automation Operations
Pacific Life
 
 
We do a lot of remote work activities where you can win something. We do a lot of these contests, and I used to go to Amazon and send a $25 gift card to the winners, but now I do it through Awardco. It's in the system, trackable, and much more streamlined.
Amberlee Taylor
Sr. Communications Specialist

Personalized advice from experts in the field

Awardco’s Center of Excellence is designed to provide you with the guidance you need from experts you trust.