PENTA named Best Woman-owned Business

WESTBOROUGH, MA _ PENTA Communications, Inc., a strategic integrated marketing firm located west of Boston, has been named the Best Woman-owned Business in the 2019 Best of Business Awards from the Worcester Business Journal. This is the first time the Worcester Business Journal is recognizing the Best Woman-owned business.

Its founder and CEO, Deborah Penta, is a top nationwide expert in marketing, advertising, public relations, and strategic communications.

A frequent speaker on leadership, marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, strategic growth, and women’s leadership, she has spoken at national conferences, and has been a guest on both radio and television. Penta hosts a television show, Top Growth, which features interviews with leaders and innovators in various industries with compelling stories. She has authored numerous published articles and columns on marketing and leadership.

Penta serves in leadership positions on the Executive Committee of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, where she is the Vice President of its Board of Directors. She is also the Secretary of the Board of the Worcester Club, the former Chairman of the Westborough Economic Development Committee, served as Chairman of the Board for the Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce, and as Chairman of the Board for the Worcester Community Action Council. She was appointed by Governor Charlie Baker to serve on his Transition Team for Jobs and the Economy in 2015 and serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the  Workforce Investment Board and the Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce. She previously served on the Board of the Worcester Business Development Corporation, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Western Massachusetts, Junior Achievement, and others.

A 2013 recipient of the prestigious Katharine Forbes Erskine Award in Business & Law, Penta has also served as the Chairman of the YWCA Tribute to Women Committee for four consecutive years. Penta is the recipient of the 2005 Eli Whitney Award for her perseverance in transforming challenge into innovation, and received an Inaugural Outstanding Women in Business Award from the Worcester Business Journal. In 2014, she received the Silver Hammer Award for the restoration and renovation of the PENTA Building, formerly the 1790 House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Penta was also honored by the Boy Scouts of America Mayflower Council with the 2017 Good Scout Award.

Over the years, the firm has contributed over $2.5 million to organizations within the Commonwealth to strengthen education, economic development, women’s empowerment, and children’s health and education.