As a woman-led, woman-owned business, we celebrate Women’s History Month with a special appreciation for women in the workforce. President and CEO Kristina Bouweiri has a long history of mentoring and supporting other women in business. She established the monthly networking luncheon Sterling Women in 2008 as a means for professional women around the DC area to get together and network, make new connections and form lasting relationships. She also co-founded the Virginia Women’s Business Conference, an annual daylong event to assist business professionals to advance and grow their personal and business goals while discovering the tools for success and making strategic business connections.
Regional, National and International Impact
On a larger scale, Kristina is a member of the Dean’s Council of the George Mason School of Business, where she helped launch a Women’s in Business Initiative program to support students, alumnae and other businesswomen. She also is a regular participant in the Washington Business Journal’s annual Bizwomen Mentoring Monday.
On the national level, Kristina is an acknowledged leader in the chauffeured transportation industry. Most recently, she served on a panel on how to achieve Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) Certification. The panel was part of a Women in the Industry Networking Breakfast at the 2019 Chauffeur Driven Show in Boston.
She also has been a past speaker at the Global Summit of Women, an annual forum where women in government, business, and nongovernmental organizations reach across borders, disciplines, and cultures to learn from each other and work towards economic equity.
RLS’ Women Managers & Directors
Reston Limousine is not only proud to be a nationally certified woman-owned business, we also take pride that 50% of our senior leadership team is composed of women directors and managers. Here’s what some of her closest managers and staff had to say about Kristina, or KB as she is fondly known:
“KB’s leadership is inspiring to me because she is so involved in helping other women succeed. Her philanthropic projects and organizations, like Sterling Women, are more than just talk, they are concrete actions that speak to her genuine desire to help other women succeed. When I attended one of the Sterling Women events, I was deeply moved by the individual stories shared that day, as all the speakers had overcome significant challenges, and I was proud to be associated with KB and her good works.
As we all know, Actions Speak Louder Than Words.”
Bonnie Custer – IT Manager
“Personally I don’t really view working for a woman or a man any differently. What I enjoy about having Kristina as a leader is the Culture of Caring that she models and fosters in our company. She truly cares not only about our customers but also each employee. I am always impressed by how she listens and retains information about individual employees – she learns about each one’s personal life and cares their quality of life. Kristina truly supports diversity, inclusion and equity of all employees.”
Carolyn Callahan – Director of Sales
Working with Kristina has been quite the fast moving experience! She is driven to succeed and wants to take others with her.
Sharon Ragland – Executive Assistant to Kristina Bouweiri
“I had never worked for a woman-owned company before coming to RLS and had only one female boss since I started working a very long time ago! All of my other bosses were men and I thought I thrived more working for male supervisors. KB showed me that is not true. She is such an inspiration to me to be a better manager. She doesn’t ask you to anything that she hasn’t already done or is wiling to do. She will roll up her sleeves and jump right in with you and get her hands dirty. Her spirit of caring for her employees and clients is something that most companies don’t have. She always has time to listen if you have something to get off your chest, whether it is business related or personal.
I feel it is a honor to work for and with her!”
Margaret Day – Relationship & Event Manager
“I first got to know Kristina as a journalist working for Loudoun publications. She got a lot of press, and I thought, that’s a lot of hype about this woman. Then I started working for her and experienced first-hand what the hype was about. Sharp and savvy as a businesswoman, yet she often wears her heart on her sleeve and makes gut-based decisions that have led to the phenomenal growth of her business. I’ve heard and repeated and promoted her story time and time again – how she built this company in a male-dominated industry from just five vehicles to a fleet of more than 250 today, with no formal business training or education, but by sheer will, strategic thinking and charismatic leadership. That story never gets old because it unfolds and evolves every day.”
Therese Howe – Marketing Consultant