WLDA Announces 2026 Awards Nominees, Celebrating Excellence and Impact in Data & AI

Winners revealed October 30, 2026, at 48th Wall Street Events, New York City

New York, NY — 17 August 2026 — World Leaders in Data & AI (WLDA) has announced the nominees for the 2026 WLDA Awards, recognising leadership, innovation, and impact across the global data and AI community. Winners will be named at the WLDA Awards Gala on October 30, 2026, at 48th Wall Street Events.

“This year’s nominees are advancing the frontier of data and AI while raising the bar for responsible, inclusive innovation,” said Asha Saxena, Founder and CEO, WLDA. “Their work is transforming organisations, industries, and communities, and we’re honoured to celebrate their achievements on October 30.”

The 2026 WLDA Awards Gala celebrates the individuals and organisations shaping the future of data and AI, with categories spanning innovation, rising talent, and leadership across the industry. The event also recognises senior leaders and corporations championing gender diversity in the field.

Join us on October 30 in New York City to honour this year’s visionaries and changemakers. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit the 2026 Gala Registration page.

This list is updated regularly. Nominees are added as results come in from our committee members over the coming days, so please check back for the latest names.

 

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2026 WLDA Award Categories & Nominees 

Enterprise Awards Tier- Recognizing organizations for delivering meaningful, AI-led transformation through a specific initiative or program.

AI Innovation of the Year Award

• TIAA
• NFL
• FDA
• PG&E
• Grupo Cinemex (Cinemex)

Enterprise AI Adoption & Transformation Award

• Catalyst Brands
• Sodexo
• Fanatics
• KPMG US
• Zelle
  
  

C- Suite Leadership Awards Tier-Recognizing specific senior leaders for their exceptional contribution to driving the AI agenda from their functional role.

Technology Leadership in AI Award

• Neha Singh
  Executive Director
  PGIM

 

• Kartik Kumar
  CDTO
  Catalyst Brands

 

• Padmaja Dasari
  Head of Enterprise Platform and Technology
  OpenAI

 

• Rachel Laycock
  Global Chief Technology Officer,
  Thoughtworks

 

• Scott Lichtenthal
  Senior Vice President Product Analytics
  Mastercard

 

• Swaminathan (Swami) Chandrasekaran
  AI & Data Labs Global Lead Partner
  KPMG

 

• Matt Hobbs
  US and Global Head of Cloud, Engineering, Data, and AI
  PWC US

 

• John Simmons
  Principal
  PWC US

 

• James Kim
  VP
  PG&E

 

• Rafiq Jalal
  Principal — Ignition Tax; Global Tax Cloud,
  Data & AI Strategy Lead,
  KPMG

 

• Alex Williams
  Acting CIO and current CTO
  New York City Department of Education

 

• Zeeshan Anwar
  Deputy Commissioner / Chief Information Officer
  NYC Department of Design and Construction

 

• Jason Sankey
  Chief Information Officer
  City of Atlanta

 

• Amar Sondhi
  Associate Commissioner | Interim Chief Information Officer
  NYC Administration for Chldrens Services

 
Chief Data Officer AI Leadership Award

• Abhijit Nikhade
  AI & Data Leader, Global Data Insights & Analytics
  Ford Motor Company

 

• Arun Nandi
  Chief Data & AI Officer
  Carrier Global Corp

 

• Babu Kuttala
  CDAO
  ABB

 

• Dr. Lalitha Krishnamoorthy
  AI and Digital Transformation Lead
  Qualus

 

• Ekta Chopra
  CTAO
  ELF Beauty

 

• Gopichand Mannava
  Chief Data Architect
  State of Connecticut

 

• Roopesh Varier
  CDAIO
  SmartAsset

Chief Digital Officer Award- This category will be updated with more nominees as we receive updates from the selection committee

• Brian Carlson
  Chief Tech, Data, Digital & Innovation Officer – North America, Sodexo
  Sodexo

 

• Pavan Pidugu
  Chief Digital & Information Officer, U.S.
  Department of Transportation

 

Chief Information Officer Award

• Bruce Schinelli
  VP, IT and CIO
  TTX

 

• Chiric Emanuels
  CIO
  DHL eCommerce Americas

 

• Martina Schoultz
  CIO
  Osmose

 

• Rashmi Kumar
  SVP and Global CIO
  Medtronic

 

• Stephen McIsaac
  CIO – MA Treasuary
  Massachusetts Office of the Treasurer and Receiver General

 

• Valerie Ashbaugh
  Vice President & Chief Information Officer, McDonald’s USA
  McDonald’s USA

 

• Gary Brantlety
  SVP, Chief Information Officer
  NFL

 

• Lucilla Rastelli
  CIO, Corporate Technology
  Liberty Mutual Insurance

 

• Mike Giresi
  CIO
  Vertiv

 

CIO Innovation Leadership Award — awarded for measurable, outcomes-driven innovation in enterprise technology leadership.

• Gary Brantlety
  SVP, Chief Information Officer
  NFL

 

Award for Excellence in AI Governance & Trust

• Dave Rich
  Vice President of Technology Strategy,Architecture and Governance
  CSX

 

• Mir Kashfuddin
  Principal
  PWC US 

 

• Sandra Victorin-Jecrois
  VP – Technology & Operations Risk
  Management
  Fannie Mae

 

• Sebastian Goodwin
  Chief Trust Officer
  Autodesk

 

CHRO AI Leadership Award –This category will be updated with more nominees as we receive updates from the selection committee

• Ana Maria Irazabal
  Senior Vice President, Human Resources
  Combe International

 

• Andrea Gibbons
  CHRO
  DTCC

 

• Darcie Henry
  SEVP & CHRO
  AT&T
  

 

CISO / CSO Leadership in AI Award –This category will be updated with more nominees as we receive updates from the selection committee

• 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
  Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer
  Paychex

 

• Steven Frank
  Chief Information Security Officer, KPMG US & Americas
  KPMG
  

 

Rising Executive in AI Award

• Ganesh Balachandran
  Director, Data Science
  Waymo

 

• Greg Perez
  Senior Director, IT Unified Communications and Operations
  NFL

 

• Ipshita Chakraborty
  Director Data Science & Applied AI
  HelloFresh

 

• Nekhil Agrawal
  Senior Vice President
  EXL

 

• Vinesh Sukumar
  VP
  Qualcomm

 

• Arpit Shah
  Head of Audit AI, Data and Technology Solutions
  DTCC

Premier Awards Tier-The pinnacle of recognition, celebrating transformative, enterprise-wide leadership and impact.

Woman Leader in AI Award

• Gülnaz Öneş
  Group CIO
  RWE

 

• Kim Padeletti
  Global Head, Generative AI Energy Business Development
  Amazon Web Services

 

• Marianne McPeak-Johnson
  Chief Product Officer 
  Cox Automotive Inc.

 

• Mary Thoms
  Director, Naval Industrial Base Operations
  US Navy

 

• Susanne Greenberg
  CIO
  L’Oreal

 

• Rima Safari
  Principal, Data Engineering & Analytics Practice Leader
  PwC US. 

 

• Joey Molitor
  Lead of Informatics, Data Strategy & Design
  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
  

 

CEO Leadership in AI Award-This category will be updated with more nominees as we receive updates from the selection committee

• Dr. Athina Kanioura
  CEO, Latin America,
  PepsiCo

 

• Yujiro Taki
  President
  Nomura Research Institute America, Inc.

 

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Judging & Selection

An independent selection committee reviews nominees against five core criteria: Impact & Outcomes, Innovation, Leadership, Responsibility & Inclusion, and Evidence Quality. The committee reserves the right to move a nominee to a different category.

Event Details

What: WLDA Awards Gala 2026 When: October 30, 2026 Where: 48th Wall Street Events Attire: Business / Cocktail

About WLDA

World Leaders in Data & AI (WLDA) is a global community dedicated to accelerating equitable leadership, ethical innovation, and sustainable impact across data and AI. WLDA convenes executives, builders, and allies to share best practice, develop talent, and advance responsible AI in business and society.

Press & Media Contact

PR, WLDA events@wlda.tech

https://wlda.tech