Press Release

YOOBIC Announces Winners of the 2023 Frontline Excellence Awards

Digital workplace leader celebrates companies and individuals transforming frontline work experiences with tech

New York // June 13, 2023 // YOOBIC, the all-in-one frontline employee experience platform, today revealed the winners of its annual Frontline Excellence Awards — a celebration of the industry's most remarkable individuals, teams, and companies embracing technology to empower employees, elevate frontline experiences, and achieve incredible results. The global YOOBIC awards, making a return in 2023 after its successful inauguration in 2022, received over 100 applications from renowned brands and retail enterprises around the world, including Australia, Canada, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

YOOBIC’s 2023 Frontline Excellence Awards were judged by a panel of celebrated industry insiders and thought leaders, including: Sandra Campos, former Diane Von Furstenberg CEO and founder of Fashion Launchpad; Ron Thurston, best-selling author of “Retail Pride”; Daniel Binder, Former Senior Executive at DFS (LVMH group) and Macy's; Emmanuel Aublet, former president of Pizza Hut France and General Manager of Subway France; Cathy Hotka, founder of the NRF CIO Council; Andy Adcock, Commercial executive at NED and Senior Advisor at BCG; and Christel Grizaut, SVP of Marketing at YOOBIC.

The Frontline Excellence Awards recognize the significant achievements made by retail and hospitality professionals who have harnessed the power of the YOOBIC platform to enhance operations, drive productivity, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. This year's winners have all displayed exemplary performance over a sustained period of time, becoming role models in their respective fields and raising the bar of what can be achieved via frontline digitization.

2023 Frontline Excellence Award recipients include nine outstanding individuals and seven stellar teams across 12 categories:

Fitness Park’s Julien Davy, who has been awarded the prestigious title of Chief YOOBIC Officer of the Year for his remarkable leadership in managing the sports brand’s wide-reaching franchise and corporate gym network. Balancing the need to maintain operational standards while fostering entrepreneurial energy is a complex task, and Julien has excelled in this regard. Leveraging YOOBIC efficiently, he and his team have achieved impressive results, including increased franchise revenues and customer satisfaction, as well as significant time, energy, and cost savings.
Claudie Pierlot’s Pauline Depoid, who has been recognized as YOOBIC’s District Leader of the Year. With exceptional energy and focus, area manager Pauline has proven to be a powerful evangelist for her company’s digitization, harnessing the power of YOOBIC to reduce store-visit times by an impressive 90 minutes while sharing best practices for improving store operations.
Bonchon’s Matthew Licht has also been honored as the District Leader of the Year for his exceptional management of multiple locations. Juggling the responsibilities of running several stores, two training restaurants, and two innovation labs requires a highly skilled and organized leader. Matthew has achieved this feat by utilizing YOOBIC to improve employee communication and training, standardize processes, and access performance-boosting operational insights.
Elena Torecillas Sanchez, a shop manager at Sessùn, has been recognized as Frontline Hero of the Year for her outstanding commitment to maximizing the benefits of YOOBIC at the French fashion brand. Elena's determination and unwavering dedication were instrumental in the successful implementation of the digital workplace platform, resulting in significant improvements in operational efficiency, customer experience, and overall performance.
David Jones’s Anna Hesse and Amy Moadim-Lesimha jointly received the YOOBIC Administrator of the Year award for their pivotal part in rolling out the platform at Australia’s leading department store. Anna and Amy’s dedication has helped the retailer achieve outstanding employee engagement results across its 42 stores and 5,000 frontline staff, with marked improvements in communication and operational excellence.
Jena Repichowski of AM Retail Group received the Transformation Leader of the Year award for her exceptional leadership in driving the YOOBIC implementation journey to achieve all-round store performance. A true motivational leader, her dedication to employee engagement resulted in improved KPIs and training completion. The transition to digital training and consistent reporting have also led to surpassed sales goals and notable improvements in DPT and conversion rates.
Eddy Ladaa of RDTS received the Frontline Excellence Advocate of the Year for his outstanding role in leading the national merchandising department and equipping frontline teams with the tools and guidance to achieve operational excellence. He also effectively tackles employee retention challenges by using YOOBIC to facilitate new employee integration and monitor learning progress, all while gaining valuable insights to make informed decisions for project assignments and employee fit.
francesca’s director of communications and training Sarah Brown has been honored as the Frontline Excellence Advocate of the Year for her instrumental role in leading the apparel chain through a transformative brand rebuild and expansion towards robust profitability. Through her strategic utilization of the YOOBIC platform, Sarah has empowered the brand’s nearly 4,000 frontline team members to effectively communicate, manage tasks, and access vital information and on-the-job training tools.
Benetton Group, the renowned global retailer, has been recognized with the Operational Excellence Program of the Year award. This prestigious accolade is a testament to the company’s exceptional achievements over the last 12 months, including the implementation of YOOBIC for more than 3,600 users across three different brands in nearly a thousand locations.
Luxury retailer Zadig & Voltaire has been honored with the Communication Program of the Year award. Leveraging YOOBIC's built-in translation feature, Zadig & Voltaire has risen to the challenge of operating in 40 countries with 20 different languages. Real-time communication between HQ and boutiques has become a breeze since implementing YOOBIC, helping the brand foster a tighter, more connected and engaged employee community.
H&M Indonesia won the Project Launch of the Year award for achieving an impressive 99% user engagement level and 97% compliance rate in operational, visual, and cash office standards from the start of their YOOBIC implementation. Through real-time data sharing and digital task management, H&M Indonesia boosted productivity, launched 25 campaigns in 6 months, and improved decision-making with analytics, all while minimizing paper usage.
PureGym is another team that won the Project Launch of the Year award for their excellent deployment of the YOOBIC-powered “Connect” platform. Their focus on employee engagement, internal communications, and task digitization has boosted efficiency and minimized administrative load. The transition to digital workflows not only maximized sustainability but also fostered a proactive approach to health and safety, thereby achieving high member satisfaction ratings and NPS scores.
Children’s clothing retailer Sergent Major has been awarded the Global Roll-Out of the Year team award by effectively scaling and adapting the YOOBIC app across their 426 European stores, converting weekly launch notes and merchandising advisories into accessible modules. The introduction of quizzes ensured information retention and active regional manager monitoring fostered continuous improvement, culminating in a realization rate surge to 51% and a flawless 100% validation rate.
Fast casual restaurant chain Bolay has been honored with the Frontline Experience Program of the Year award for their masterful utilization of YOOBIC’s all-in-one platform and commitment to continuous employee development. Bolay achieved improved communication, compliance, and engagement across their restaurants in Florida, Georgia, and Virginia, while fostering a strong sense of community within the company.
TERACT has been awarded the Learning Program of the Year prize in recognition of its exceptional digital campus. This impressive platform has facilitated true on-the-floor training, enabling staff to effortlessly access educational materials on a wide variety of topics. TERACT’s dedication to continuous learning and development is commendable and serves as an inspiration to the industry.

“We are incredibly proud to celebrate the winners of the 2023 Frontline Excellence Awards — pioneering individuals, teams, and companies that have shown remarkable vision, agility, and innovation in these challenging times,” said jury member Sandra Campos, Former CEO, Diane Von Furstenberg; public and private board director; Founder, Launchpad. “Each honoree has demonstrated exceptional skill, passion, and drive in harnessing the power of digitization to achieve remarkable results. Their achievements serve as an inspiration to all frontline employers and staff, showcasing the transformative impact that digital tools can have on employee engagement, operations, performance, and profitability.”

About YOOBIC

YOOBIC is an all-in-one frontline employee experience platform. Our mobile app gives business leaders and frontline teams the performance tools they need to communicate, learn, and work—all in one place. With streamlined communications, mobile learning, and digitized task management, YOOBIC drives operational excellence while drastically improving the frontline employee working experience. 350+ companies around the world including Boots, BurgerFi, Lancôme, Lacoste, Lidl, Logitech, Peloton, Puma, and Vans trust YOOBIC to improve operational consistency and agility, get real-time visibility into multi-location business execution, and improve customer experience. To learn more about YOOBIC, visit www.yoobic.com or follow us on LinkedIn.