Denise Bendele, an audit partner for PS&Co., received the Corporate Executive award for 2012.

1. San Antonio Business Journal
Leadership awards
Minority Enterprise
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2. San Antonio Business Journal
Leadership awards BY SUSAN SAPORITO
Celebrating outstanding Women and Minority Owned businesses
Across San Antonio there are amazing stories of women to resubmit next year.
entrepreneurs, business leaders, educators and more who have This publication also recognizes minority business owners and advocates
gone out of their way to help future generations better their lives. who earned awards from the San Antonio Minority Business Development
Some of these stories are tales of courage, of women overcoming Agency Business Center and the local district office of the Small Business
adversity and turning their situations into something good for the Administration. These awards are given as part of Minority Enterprise
community. We present some of these women and their inspiring Development Week, or MED Week, which is organized by the Small
stories in our annual Women’s Leadership Awards & Minority Business Development Center — the MBDA Business Center’s parent
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recipients of a Business Journal Women’s Leadership Award for 2012. The Business Journal offers a special thanks to our supporters of this
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business growth, to public service, to mentoring. 550 KTSA.
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S.A. Business Journal | WLA & Minority Enterprise | September 7, 2012 1

3. Partner, CPA, CVA,
Company Padgett, Stratemann
& Co.
Husband and two
family step-daughters
education
Bachelor of business administration,
University of Texas at San Antonio CORPORATE EXECUTIVE
first job
My first job right out of college was with
Padgett Stratemann. I was so drawn to its
culture, the level of talent it attracted, the
DENISE BENDELE
quality of its clients and its caring spirit
that I have spent the last 25 years here.
BY SUSAN A. MERKNER
career milestone
Spending your entire career with one
D enise Bendele, partner bit of a rarityStratemannever-fluid,certified
public accountants, is a
workplace.
at Padgett,
in today’s
& Co.
mobile
organization truly affords you the opportu-
“I’m proud that I’ve been with the same company since I graduated
nity to grow through the ranks, understand
from college,” she says. “I’ve done every job here.”
the entire organization and delve deep
Bendele leads the company’s construction industry practice, and
into your area of expertise. I currently
works with organizations that specialize in wholesale, retail and
serve as the partner-in-charge of our
manufacturing. A certified public accountant and a certified valu-
firm’s audit practice, construction niche,
ation analyst, she also manages the firm’s audit department and
and Padgett Stratemann University — the
its internal employee development program.
segment of our firm devoted to continued
John E. Wright, CPA, managing partner at Padgett, Strate-
development of our professional team.
mann, says Bendele’s “devoted commitment” to the public ac-
Additionally, I serve on the firm’s executive
counting industry only scratches the surface of all she has
committee. In 2011, I was recognized by
stood for over the decades.
the Associated Builders and Contractors
“When it comes to her career, helping develop fellow
South Texas Chapter as the Industry
team members, passionately serving clients, and offering
Professional of the Year. I am past
the community the benefit of her expertise — whether
president of the Construction Industry
it be locally, regionally or nationally — are simply what
CPAs Consultants Association
drives Denise past the ‘expected’ to offer the world
(CICPAC), a national organization, and
around her the ‘more than expected,’” he says.
currently serve as a business advisory
“As the managing partner of a more than $25 mil-
council member for the University of
lion accounting firm, I understand the importance
Texas at San Antonio.
and value of surrounding myself with top talent in
order to reach beyond the ordinary to the extraor-
career advice for dinary,” Wright says.
other women “I have had the pleasure of watching her create
My father was a business owner. He cohesive teams, influence our industry through
instilled one mindset in me: Face life her in-depth knowledge and expertise, and take
as if everything is possible. In time, that time to help others reach their own potential,”
translated to an understanding that com- he says.
munication is a powerful tool. Don’t wait
for someone to tell you where you are
headed. You decide and then build a plan
Work-life balance
to get there — this applies as much to Bendele says she believes the biggest chal-
your personal life as it does your profes- lenge facing women in the corporate world
sional career. is “figuring out the work-life balance. We’ve
made a lot of strides, but we are constantly
working on it.”
With the long view from within one com-
pany for all of her professional life, and from
her work with the company’s professional
development team for employees, Bendele
says fostering leadership skills and investing
in staff play crucial roles in creating work-
place respect and harmony.
“Mentoring is needed for all young people
in business, not only women. It’s not so
much a gender issue, as it is a generational
issue. There are certainly many more fe-
male leaders available for all of us to look to
for guidance,” she says.
“The workplace itself is more multigenera-
key to your tional than it was for our parents’ generation,
and each generation can learn a lot from the oth-
success ers around them in the workplace,” she adds.
Bendele approaches career challenges with
“I have never shied an attitude of, “We can do this together,” Wright
away from hard work. says.
If anything, I have “I’ve had the opportunity to work on some large, dif-
come to realize I thrive ficult clients with our partners, which helped me realize
on the energy it takes that I really liked public accounting and helping to grow
to assess risk, identify our company to the next level of service,” Bendele says. ■
opportunities and build
strategic plans.”
12 SEPTEMBER 7, 2012 | WLA & Minority Enterprise | S.A. Business Journal