The Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) has announced the winners of its 2025 ACE Awards, recognising two healthcare companies for their approach to workforce engagement and social impact.
AstraZeneca was honoured for its Young Health Programme (YHP), a 15-year-old global initiative tackling non-communicable diseases among underserved youth by promoting peer education, youth advocacy and local partnerships. Working with more than 60 not-for-profits – including UNICEF and Plan International – the programme has reached over 20 million young people in more than 40 countries, supported by 20,000 AstraZeneca employees who together have contributed nearly 100,000 hours of volunteer service.
Marc Dunoyer, CEO of AstraZeneca’s rare disease unit Alexion, and YHP’s executive sponsor, said: “By focusing on prevention and supporting young people to make informed health choices, YHP is helping to shape healthier futures – a transformative approach that will have a lasting impact for generations to come.”
Viseven, a global digital services provider for pharma and life sciences, received the HBA’s Aspire Award for workforce culture. Its two-pronged programme – launched in 2024 – includes an initiative called Expert Communities, which provides cross-functional learning in areas such as project management and client engagement, and the Unicorns Recognition Program, a gamified internal platform where employees can award “UniCoins” to peers who embody the company’s values of passion, agility, curiosity and empathy.
Nataliya Andreychuck, CEO and Co-Founder, Viseven, said: “At Viseven, we believe that sustainable growth begins with a strong internal culture… putting people at the centre of transformation isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s also how we build the future of healthcare.”
The HBA’s ACE Awards spotlight corporate leadership that “redefines workforce development” in healthcare. In recent years, winners have included companies such as Takeda and Parexel, recognised for initiatives ranging from diversity and inclusion to women’s leadership and cultural transformation. This reflects a broader industry trend towards prioritising people-first approaches, particularly those that link employee engagement to tangible business outcomes.
Mary Stutts, CEO, HBA, said AstraZeneca and Viseven’s programmes demonstrated “strategic, purpose-driven” thinking that empowered talent while driving innovation – a model she suggested could be vital for future industry growth.
