Awards
September 16, 2026
Revenue Room™ CXO Names Finalists and Honorable Mentions for the 2026 Revenue Room™ Vanguard Awards
# Vanguard awards
# Revenue room salon
# Female leadership
# AI
# AI revenue strategy
Senior women leaders recognized for measurable impact across revenue, marketing, product, data and AI
Heather Holst-Knudsen
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Revenue Room™ CXO Names Finalists and Honorable Mentions for the 2026 Revenue Room™ Vanguard Awards
Senior women leaders recognized for measurable impact across revenue, marketing, product, data and AI
SARASOTA, Fla., September 17, 2026 — Revenue Room™ CXO, operated by H2K Labs, today announced the finalists and Honorable Mentions for the 2026 Revenue Room™ Vanguard Awards, recognizing senior women leaders delivering measurable business impact across revenue generation, marketing, product, data, AI and go-to-market transformation.
The 2026 Vanguard Awards feature five competitive categories: Revenue Leadership, Data & AI Leadership, Marketing Leadership, Product Innovation Leadership and Best AI Agent.
The Best AI Agent category recognizes the woman leading the development and deployment of an AI agent that is delivering measurable business impact.
Winners will be revealed live at Revenue Room Salon: Women Who Accelerate & Lead, taking place October 6, 2026, at the Yale Club of New York City. The evening will also include the presentation of the CEO Vanguard Award and Vanguard Lifetime Achievement Award.
“The Vanguard Awards were created to recognize substantive leadership and measurable business impact—not visibility, profile or popularity,” said Heather Holst-Knudsen, Founder and CEO of H2K Labs and Revenue Room™ CXO, and Chair of the Vanguard Awards. “This year’s nominations demonstrate how leaders are transforming their organizations through new revenue models, customer-facing products, AI, data and modern go-to-market strategies. The finalists and Honorable Mentions represent an exceptional cross-section of that work.”
Competitive nominations were evaluated independently based on evidence and measurable outcomes across five criteria: Business Impact, Innovation, Leadership, Evidence and Metrics, and Sustainability and Scalability. Sponsorship and commercial relationships had no role in finalist or winner selection.
Finalist counts vary by category based on the strength and depth of eligible nominations. Revenue Room™ CXO also recognized select Honorable Mentions for nominations demonstrating notable leadership, innovation or business impact.
2026 Vanguard Awards Judging Panel
The 2026 competitive awards were evaluated by a panel of senior executives and industry leaders with experience across revenue, commercial strategy, marketing, product, data and business transformation. Judges evaluated nominations independently against the program’s established criteria, with judges recusing themselves where appropriate to address potential conflicts of interest.
The 2026 judging panel included:
- Sean Griffey, Co-founder, Industry Dive
- Kerry Gumas, CEO, Metacomet LLC
- Liz Irving, CEO, Clarion Events North America
- Rebecca Kitchens, Former President, Informa TechTarget
- Amanda Landsaw, CMO, EndeavorB2B
- Laura Molen, Founder & President, Monarch Advisory Collective
- Kumaran (Ram) Ramanathan, Managing Partner, Edwards and Moss
- Constance Sayers, COO, Inman
- Christine Shaw, CEO, Naylor Association Solutions
- Samantha Skey, Advisor, Penske Media
- Kate Spellman, Chief Commercial Officer, Forge
- Nino Tasca, Vice President, Product Management, Vista Equity Partners
2026 Revenue Room™ Vanguard Awards Finalists and Honorable Mentions
Revenue Leadership
Finalists
- Tara Gotch, EVP Commercial, Comscore
- Indiya Okam, GVP Sales US, RX Global
- Lauren Palmer, VP Sales, Interlink
- Lucy Stratton, CEO, Agency EA
Honorable Mentions
- Barbara Myers, CEO, IMN Solutions
- Jenna Snyder, GM Media, eMarketer
Data & AI Leadership
Finalists
- Amy Gleason, SVP Content & Data Management, 3E
- Whitney Parker Mitchell, CMO, Arizent
- Sharon Roessen, COO, Terrapin
- Aditi Sinha, EVP Technology & Operations, Marketcast
Honorable Mentions
- Dawn Avery, Executive Director & Chief AI Officer, National Cleaners Association
- Stephanie Mazzamaro, Head of Revenue & Data, Paradium.AI
- Adelaide Reilly, CPO, The Channel Company
Marketing Leadership
Finalists
- Melissa Alcruz, CMO, Mr. Short Sale
- Ran Wei Baker, Senior Director, Head of Marketing, Microsoft for Startups, Microsoft
- Heidi Lorenzen, Chief Content Officer, e.Republic
Product Innovation Leadership
Finalists
- Izzie Rivers, CEO & Founder, R-AI Technologies
- Amy Schwandt, CRO, Iron Markets
- Jennifer Woods, VP, Forge
Best AI Agent
Finalists
- Rhiannon James, Group President, Forge
- Adelaide Reilly, CPO, The Channel Company
- Izzie Rivers, CEO & Founder, R-AI Technologies
- Narisa Wild, CDO, Clarion Events North America
Recognizing What Modern Growth Actually Looks Like
The Vanguard Awards were created to surface the leaders, operating models and innovations redefining how modern growth is created.
Together, the five competitive categories reflect the increasingly connected disciplines required to build modern revenue organizations: commercial leadership, marketing, product, data and AI.
Nominees were evaluated within the context of their organizations and initiatives, with emphasis on tangible business outcomes and the individual leader’s role in producing those results.
This year’s nominees span media and publishing, broadcast and cable, events and exhibitions, data and information services, marketplaces, associations and professional communities.
“Some of the most important transformations in our industries are happening behind the scenes,” Holst-Knudsen said. “Leaders are finding new ways to monetize audiences, build products customers value, put data and AI to work, and create more sustainable paths to growth. The Vanguard Awards give that work a stage and create a stronger standard for recognizing exceptional leadership and execution.”
Winners and Special Honors to Be Announced October 6
The October 6 Revenue Room Salon will bring the competitive Vanguard Awards together with two of the program’s highest distinctions: the CEO Vanguard Award and Vanguard Lifetime Achievement Award.
One winner will be selected from each competitive category’s finalist slate and announced live during the Salon.
Previous recipients of the special honors include Jessica Sibley, CEO of TIME, who received the CEO Vanguard Award, and Cindy Leive, Founder and CEO of The Meteor, who received the Vanguard Lifetime Achievement Award.
Revenue Room Salon: Women Who Accelerate & Lead convenes CEOs and revenue-critical C-suite leaders for an evening focused on leadership, transformation and the future of growth.
About the Revenue Room™ Vanguard Awards
The Revenue Room™ Vanguard Awards recognize senior women leaders producing measurable business impact across revenue, marketing, product, data, AI and go-to-market transformation.
The program is designed as an evidence-driven platform for recognizing the people, leadership and innovations shaping the future of growth. It combines rigorous evaluation, executive recognition and industry insight with year-round thought leadership from Revenue Room™ CXO.
About Revenue Room™ CXO
Revenue Room™ CXO is an executive community and platform for CEOs and revenue-critical C-suite leaders across media, events, data and information services, and professional communities.
Through executive Salons, peer networks, research, content and strategic programs, Revenue Room™ CXO helps leaders navigate the changing operating models, technologies and growth strategies shaping the modern revenue organization.
Revenue Room™ CXO is operated by H2K Labs.
About H2K Labs
H2K Labs is the company behind Revenue Room™ CXO and the Revenue Room™ Vanguard Awards. The company develops executive communities, events, research and strategic programs focused on revenue growth, data and AI, profitability and business transformation.
Media Contact
Heather Holst-Knudsen
CEO & Founder
H2K Labs & Revenue Room™ CXO
[email protected]
+1-646-271-5516
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