Our Team
Denise Gredler
Founder & President
Denise Gredler is the Founder and CEO of BestCompaniesAZ, LLC, an organizational consulting and marketing firm dedicated to identifying, developing and promoting great workplaces in the United States, and in Arizona.
Founded in 2002, BestCompaniesAZ provides services for present and future award winning organizations, including employee opinion surveys, best practice benchmarking, national and local award consultation and submission, culture development, employment branding, human resources, and promotional services. Her clients say that when working with her she brings competence, commitment and integrity to everything that she does.
Prior to starting her own consulting firm, Denise served as vice president with the human resources department of FINOVA Capital Corporation. During her long tenure at FINOVA, she was instrumental in building a centralized human resource department for what was then a small subsidiary with approximately 150 employees, into a decentralized human resources department for a public company with more than 1,500 employees nationwide.
In this demanding role, Denise was responsible for cultivating the company’s dynamic work culture, which received an impressive ranking of #12 and #16 on Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in America list in 1999 and 2000. She created and implemented work/life initiatives, recruitment and retention strategies, HR surveys and employee communications. Denise also led and managed a decentralized team of 12 HR managers and assistants, and had corporate responsibility for staffing and recruitment, culture development, reward and recognition programs, employee relations, salary administration and policy development.
Today Denise is most proud of the fact that she is the founding business partner of the Best Places to Work in the Valley from 2003-2009 (published by The Phoenix Business Journal (2003-2009), founding partner of the Arizona Most Admired Companies Program (2010-2011) (published by Arizona Business Magazine), consulting partner for the Top 25 Workplaces for Women (as published by az Magazine) and founder of the Best Practices Leadership Series and BestCompaniesAZ.com niche website.
Denise has appeared in Business Week Magazine, the Arizona Republic, the Phoenix Business Journal and more.
For more information, contact DGredler@BestCompaniesaz.com.
Lee Vikre
SVP Organizational Development and Consulting
Through her energetic, enthusiastic, and inspiring coaching, Lee has been helping organizations and individuals grow into excellence for more than 20 years.
As the Vice President of Talent and Culture for McMurry, a content marketing firm, Lee played a key role in developing a values-based culture through leadership and employee development, communications, and internal branding. During Lee’s tenure McMurry was named the #1 Best Place to Work in Phoenix, the #1 Best Publishing Company in America, and was in the top 5 on the Entrepreneur.com list of Great Workplaces in America.
A popular speaker, trainer, and coach, Lee has designed and delivered programs and assessments to evaluate and promote hiring excellence, leadership success, career development, team building, values alignment, and a “best place” culture.
Lee’s degrees include a B.A. in Behavioral Science and an M.A. in Human Resources and Counseling. A certified professional coach and a licensed professional counselor, she holds certifications in several organizational development, leadership training, and corporate educational programs. She has taught at the university level, presented at national conventions, and written for business publications and professional journals.
Contact LeeV@BestCompaniesAZ.com
Bev Gant
VP Client Relations and Senior Consultant
Bev Gant is the VP Client Relations and Senior Consultant for BestCompaniesAZ. Bev has over 15 years experience as a human resource (HR) generalist, and has spent the past 11 years working in a management role with DMB Associates, Inc., a Scottsdale based real estate development company and FINOVA Capital Corporation, a commercial finance company (which was ranked a Best Company to Work for ranking #12 and #16 in 1999 and 2000).
While at FINOVA Bev worked in various progressive HR roles as the company moved from a small subsidiary of 150 employees into a publicly traded company of 1,400 employees. Bev was instrumental in implementing staffing processes, training new HR professionals on those processes, recruitment, managing HRIS systems, and providing HR generalist support to the Specialty Finance Group.
Bev is a seasoned professional in all facets of HR with a specialization in process improvement, HR start-ups, employee relations and HR surveys. Her customers commended her on her outstanding customer service and organizational skills, “can do” attitude and professional approach in dealing with all levels of employees.
Bev is passionate about the Human Resources function and believes companies are successful because of the quality of their people. Bev is proud to be a member of the BestCompaniesAZ team and helping companies become the “best”.
Contact Bev@BestCompaniesAZ.com
Kelly Dunn
Webmaster/Project Coordinator
Kelly Dunn is the Webmaster/Project Coordinator for BestCompaniesAZ.
Prior to joining BestCompaniesAZ, Kelly was the Business Development Manager for the Southeast Valley for North American Title Company where she was the liaison between the escrow staff, the Realtors and their clients. She was responsible for all event coordination and marketing activities. Kelly was an active member of the Southeast Valley Association of Realtors and was the Chairperson for the 2007 SEVRAR Golf Play Day. She also co-chaired the 3rd Annual North American Title Safety and Self-Defense Seminar in 2007.
Kelly’s career in Arizona began at the Plant Stand of Arizona when she moved to Arizona in 2003 from Ohio and became the Merchandising Representative for six Home Depot accounts. She was promoted after six months to the In-House Clients Relations Manager where she managed all in-house client accounts.
