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Finalists and guests with a trophy at the WLDA Awards backdrop
The 2026 WLDA Awards Gala

Unveiling the Drivers of Progress

The finalists are chosen. On October 30, in a black-tie room on Wall Street, the masks come off.

Reserve your seat
Friday, October 30, 2026 ยท 6 PM
48 Wall Street, New York City

Progress is rarely loud. On October 30, we name the people driving it.

Meet the 2026 WLDA Awards Finalists

01
Enterprise AI Innovator of the Year
Organization
  • Grupo Cinemex (Cinemex)
  • National Football League (NFL)
  • Pacific Gas and Electric Company
  • TIAA
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration
02
Excellence in AI Governance & Trust Award
Individual
  • Sebastian Goodwin, Chief Trust Officer, Autodesk
  • Mir Kashifuddin, Principal, Data Risk & Privacy Practice Leader, PwC
  • Dave Rich, VP of Technology Strategy, Architecture and Governance, CSX
  • Arpit Shah, Executive Director, Head of AI, Data and Technology Solutions, Internal Audit, DTCC
  • Sandra Victorin-Jecrois, VP โ€“ Technology & Operations Risk Management, Fannie Mae
03
Data & AI Transformation Leadership Award
Individual
  • Ekta Chopra, CTAO, e.l.f. Beauty
  • Dr. Lalitha Krishnamoorthy, SVP, AI and Digital Transformation, Qualus
  • Babu Kuttala, CDAO, ABB
  • Arun Nandi, Chief Data & AI Officer, Carrier Global Corp
  • Roopesh Varier, CDAIO, SmartAsset
04
Enterprise CIO of the Year
Individual
  • Valerie Ashbaugh, SVP & Chief Information Officer, McDonald's USA
  • Daniela Dimitrova, VP IT & Chief Information Officer, Mercedes-Benz North America
  • Mike Giresi, Chief Information Officer, Vertiv
  • Lucilla Rastelli, Chief Information Officer, Corporate Technology, Liberty Mutual Insurance
  • Martina Schoultz, Chief Information Officer, Osmose
05
CIO Transformation Leader Award
Individual
  • Susannah Greenberg, Chief Information Officer, Americas, L'Orรฉal
  • Rashmi Kumar, SVP and Global Chief Information Officer, Medtronic
  • Bruce Schinelli, VP, IT and Chief Information Officer, TTX
06
CIO Innovation Leader Award
Individual
  • Gary Brantley, SVP, Chief Information Officer, National Football League (NFL)
  • Padmaja Dasari, Head of Enterprise Platform and Technology, OpenAI
  • Chiric Emanuels, Chief Information Officer, DHL eCommerce Americas
07
Enterprise CDO of the Year
Individual
  • Nekhil Agrawal, SVP, Communications, Media and Entertainment, EXL
  • Brian Carlson, Chief Tech, Data, Digital & Innovation Officer โ€“ North America, Sodexo
  • Kartik Kartikeya, SVP, Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Catalyst Brands
  • Pavan Pidugu, Chief Digital & Information Officer, U.S. Department of Transportation
08
Enterprise CISO of the Year
Individual
  • John Israel, Global Chief Information Security Officer (Global CISO), KPMG
  • Joseph Nocera, Network Information Security (NIS) Managing Partner and US CISO, PwC US
  • Bradley Schaufenbuel, VP and Chief Information Security Officer, Paychex
09
Enterprise Leadership in AI Enablement Award
Individual
  • Darcie Henry,SEVP & CHRO, AT&T
  • Ana Maria Irazabal, SVP, Human Resources, Combe Incorporated
  • Neha Singh, EVP, Head of AI Enablement, PGIM
10
Rising Executive in AI Award
Individual
  • Ganesh Balachandran, Director, Product Data Science, Commercialization, Waymo
  • Ipshita Chakraborty, Director, Data Science & Applied AI, HelloFresh
  • Greg Perez, Senior Director, IT Unified Communications and Operations, National Football League (NFL)
  • Dr. Vinesh Sukumar, VP, Product Management (AI/Gen AI), Qualcomm
  • Rachel Wagner-Kaiser, Director and NLP Data Scientist, KPMG
11
Enterprise AI Technology Leadership
Individual
  • Swaminathan (Swami) Chandrasekaran, Global Head of AI and Data Labs, KPMG US
  • Matt Hobbs, US and Global Head of Cloud, Engineering, Data, and AI, PwC US
  • Rachel Laycock, Chief Technology Officer, Thoughtworks
  • Scott Lichtenthal, SVP, Advanced Analytics Products, Mastercard
  • John Simmons, Principal, PwC US
12
Woman Leader of the Year in AI
Individual
  • Marianne McPeak-Johnson, EVP & Chief Product Officer, Cox Automotive
  • Joey Molitor, Director, Informatics Environment / Data Strategy, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
  • Gรผlnaz ร–neลŸ, Group Chief Information Officer, RWE
  • Kim Padeletti, Global Head, Generative AI Energy Business Development, Amazon Web Services
  • Rima Safari, Principal, Data Engineering & Analytics Practice Leader, PwC US
  • Mary Thoms, Director, Naval Industrial Base Operations, U.S. Navy
13
CEO Leadership in AI
Individual
  • Dr. Athina Kanioura, CEO, Latin America, and Global Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, PepsiCo
  • Yujiro Taki, President, Nomura Research Institute America, Inc.
A speaker at the podium during a past WLDA Awards Gala
The Evening

Six acts, one reveal

  1. IRegistration & Networking
  2. IIWelcome Remarks
  3. IIIKeynote Speaker
  4. IVDinner Served
  5. VAwards Presentation: The Unmasking
  6. VIClosing Remarks
Dress code ยท Black tie with masquerade mask
The ballroom set for the WLDA Awards Gala

The night of the unmasking

Celebrate the 2026 WLDA Award Winners

Friday, October 30, 2026 ยท 48 Wall Street, New York City

The 2026 WLDA Awards finalists take their place at the WLDA Awards Gala, where the winners in all thirteen categories stay behind the mask until the moment they are revealed on stage.

Join us on Wall Street for an evening of black tie, masquerade and the leaders moving Data & AI forward. Raise a glass to the finalists, celebrate your peers, and be in the room when the masks come off.

Reserve your seat

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