Sponsorship agency magnate Steve Madincea to be honored at Outstanding Business Leader Awards

Steve Madincea, former commercial director of the Benetton Formula 1 team and the founder and Group Managing Director of sponsorship agency PRISM, will be recognized at the 35th Annual Outstanding Business Leader Awards Gala this Saturday, Feb. 7, at The Breakers, Palm Beach, Fla.

Michigan native Madincea founded PRISM (Public Relations & International Sports Marketing Ltd.) in 1992, and built it into a worldwide powerhouse in the fields of sponsorship activation and automotive communications. PRISM offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Melbourne cover its Asia-Pacific Region and locations in Cologne, Amsterdam and London lead its European business. North American activities are run from Detroit, Mich., and Santa Monica, Calif. These worldwide locations have run sponsorship and public relations programs for global giants including Ford, Puma, Johnson and Johnson, Infiniti, Coca-Cola, Shell, Nissan, Heineken, Samsung, Unilever and Red Bull, to name a few. (Scroll down for a company overview video.)

"Throughout our history we have been blessed with terrific team players who work with great clients," Madincea said. "Interesting business challenges have taken us to far reaching places such as Boston and Bangkok, Melbourne and Montreal, New York and New Delhi, Singapore and Sao Paolo, London and Tokyo. It has been an absolute joy to work with people in different cultures and backgrounds from all over the world who find value in the dedicated PRISM ethos that great work leads to more work. Northwood lit my entrepreneurial flame, and working across the globe for 20-plus years continues to fuels my free-enterprise fire," he said.

Combining a deep appreciation of global business with a unique understanding of what drives successful international sports teams has allowed Madincea to pool two passions into one life-long pursuit. This dedicated drive for client victories has meant that Madincea is one of the few international business leaders readily welcomed into board rooms where trust and results are the key ingredients to success.

"Throughout my career becoming a trusted advisor has meant focusing on our client's needs first and foremost," Madincea elaborated. "While this approach may not deliver the headlines others crave, it has brought mutually beneficial and lasting business relationships to a highly competitive marketplace."

In 1999, PRISM was acquired by Sir Martin Sorrell and his WPP Group, the world's largest communication services conglomerate. PRISM was WPP's first sports marketing acquisition and to this day remains its globally most successful.