I like the global background. I would stay away from a drop shadow on the "G" I would not use stars or ribbons in the design. Our awards are a professional recognition and we feel this makes it look more liek a pageant.
Also, our workplace almost never wears ties. It does not make sense to us to include ties on the people.
We really like your design. We have a group of 6 that is doing the judging and I've compiled their wish list below for design optimization.
Thanks, Ryan ______________________
Remove the gray shadow below the logo Blend the yellow and orange in the globe - maybe remove the grid lines or make the hues closer together Use a vibrant or deeper blue for the "BELL" ribbon instead of purple - we don't want any blues to match the company "G" in the center Make the blue person purple Add color gradients to the people so they appear more dynamic The font for "Technical Conference & Awards" - we'd like to see something more modern as a font with Helvetica as a fall back.