Congratulations, 2022 MED Week Winners H.J. Russell & Company and LilliiRNB! 

Pantach Anantapong•September 23, 2022

The Georgia MBDA Business Center is proud to announce our MED Week winners. Two of our clients have been presented with awards at the 2022 MED Week Conference, including the MBE of the Year Award! The MED Week Awards are the highest level of national recognition that a U.S. minority-owned firm can receive from the Department of Commerce. These prestigious awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of minority entrepreneurs, as well as the individuals and organizations that have demonstrated their commitment to advancing minority business enterprises.

From left: Paul Bryant, VP of External Affairs, and Yasmin S. Murray, Esq., COO and General Counsel, of H.J. Russell & Company receive the MBE of The Year Award at MED week 2022
From left: Jenifer Pasley, Senior Program Manager, Georgia MBDA Business Center, and Donna M. Ennis, C.P.F., Director of Diversity Engagement and Program Development at the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, standing with the LilliiRNB Award Banner at MED week 2022

H.J. Russell & Company, one of the largest Black-owned construction services firms in the United States and a trusted name in program management, real estate development, and property management, has been named the Robert J. Brown Minority Business Enterprise of the Year. Since their creation in 1952, H.J. Russell & Company has not only contributed to the construction of significant cultural structures, but they are walking the walk and giving back to the community itself with the help of CEO Michael Russell, taking on projects that benefit Atlanta and beyond. Some of the projects that have left their mark are the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, DC, the NBA’s Dallas Maverick’s American Airlines Center in Dallas, and the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport right here in Atlanta. 

As both industry and community leaders, H.J. Russell & Company is more than deserving of this recognition. Congratulations, H.J. Russell & Company!

LilliiRNB, Inc., an enterprise solutions company specializing in enterprise software, has been named the Minority Emerging Technology and Industries Firm of the Year. Founded in Atlanta, GA, in 2013 as a retail IT and Point of Sales (POS) Integrations company, LilliiRNB has since productized their System Integration efforts into an Enterprise SaaS recurring revenue model. In just 12 months, the company raised over $4 million to build their team and technology platform, launching their proprietary platform Freeing Returns™ in 2020. Founder & CEO Barbara Jones has occupied the Retail Technology sector for nearly 20 years, and has used her wealth of experience to create software that is currently running in over 4000 stores in the US, Canada, and Japan, and is a staunch supporter of women in IT. 

As a leading voice in retail technology, LilliiRNB, Inc., is certainly deserving of this award. Congratulations, LilliiRNB! 

Georgia MBDA Business Center Wins Runner Up
In addition, our very own Georgia MBDA Business Center received the runner up award for the Century Club Top Performing Center. We are so proud of our team here at the Center and the success of all our MBE clients that helped us achieve this esteemed award.