CEO Claudia Mirza, who grew up surrounded by violence in Medellin, Colombia, was recognized Thursday by EY for her Dallas-based company Akorbi, the fastest-growing language services provider in the world.
Mirza was named one of 12 “EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women” at the EY Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs, California. The program helps female entrepreneurs secure resources, expand their professional relationships, and scale their businesses to their full potential.
The chief executive and her husband Azam Mirza, who serves as Akorbi’s president, bootstrapped the 12-year-old enterprise with their own savings. The 600-employee company offers “multilingual business solutions” in more than 170 languages to global companies including MoneyGram, Google, and Aetna.
“I’m very grateful,” Claudia Mirza said of the EY recognition. “This is validation that we’re going in the right direction. Being recognized by this prestigious organization and all these entrepreneurs empowers you to be successful.”
Mirza came to the United States in 1997 from Medellin, where violence from the drug cartels was a constant threat. “Coming to this country and seeing all this support in the United States celebrating business—this doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world,” she said.
Mirza was only the second North Texas entrepreneur to be part of the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program, which was started in 2008. Stephanie Point of Addison-based Point 2 Point Global Security was named to the program in 2011.
