October 27, 2026 - Philadelphia, PA - The Business Intelligence Group today announced the winners of the 2026 Herizon Awards, a global recognition program honoring the women transforming individuals, teams, companies, industries, and the globe. This year's class of 58 winners and 7 finalists spans five nominee roles, five levels of transformation, and four countries: the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and Nepal.
"These women aren't waiting for the world to change. They're the ones changing it," said Russ Fordyce, Chief Recognition Officer at the Business Intelligence Group. "What stood out this year is the range. We saw founders, executives, and early-career leaders moving whole industries, not just their own teams. That's what Herizon is about."
Overall Winner: Alison Hill, LifeStraw
Alison Hill of LifeStraw has been named the Overall Winner of the 2026 Herizon Awards, in the category Executive Influencer - Transformed the Globe. Over 18 years, Hill grew LifeStraw from a humanitarian water filtration product into a standalone global consumer company built on one premise: business growth should create measurable human impact.
Her leadership has helped deliver safe water to more than 14 million children. The LifeStraw Give Back program installs filtration systems in schools, trains local teams, handles maintenance and repairs, and returns year after year.
Award-Winning Women
Winners are grouped by nominee role and the level at which they created change.
Executive Influencer
Transformed the Globe
- Alison Hill, LifeStraw (Overall Winner)
- Tani Austin, Starkey (Category Winner)
Transformed an Industry
- Carly Savar, Steno (Category Winner)
- Michelle Cooper, NiCE
- Lisa Giacinti, BetterHelp
- Daniela Herrmann, Dynex
- Pia Brantgärde Linder, Speria
- Pam Reynolds, Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC)
- Larysa Zakirova, INFUSE
Transformed a Company
- Renee Gala, Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Category Winner)
- Rebecca Adams, Cohesity
- Venessa Fraguio, The MRKT
- Niyoka McCoy, K12
- Laura Olsen, Dechra
- Kelly Sia, Curriculum Associates
- Stephanie Trunzo, MERGE
Transformed a Team or Department
- Kathleen Pomento, ProcureAbility (Category Winner)
- Vanessa Hering, Beyond Finance
- Caitlin Kamm, Envoy
- Naomi Wheeless, Nextech
Transformed an Individual
- Melva Wallace, Huston-Tillotson University (Category Winner)
- Margaret Dawson, SUSE
- Sally Lyons Wyatt, Circana
Founder/Visionary
Transformed an Industry
- Kathy Zhu, Streamline AI (Category Winner)
- Lorna Borenstein, Grokker
- Melissa Burdick, Pacvue
- Dr. Gillian Goddard, Board-Certified Endocrinologist
- Sharalyn Green, Everlinx LLC
- Amy Reczek, Sales & Presence
- Laura Remaker, G2 Startup Advisors LLC
- Michelle Risinger, Rising Solutions
- Kelly Waltrich, Intention.ly
- Aimei Wei, Stellar Cyber
Transformed a Company
- Laura Carabello, CPR Strategic Marketing Communications (Category Winner)
- Priyanka Priyadarshini, Mayrake Aura Pvt Ltd.
- Alexi Venneri, DAS Technology
Transformed an Individual
- Tina Murray, MIND DANCE MARKETING (Category Winner)
Established Leader
Transformed an Industry
- Shreya Sridhar, Medtronic Inc (Category Winner)
Transformed a Company
- Noe Ramos, Agiloft (Category Winner)
- Lauren Dorsch, Dechra
- Sonya Soparkar, East West Manufacturing
Transformed a Team or Department
- Katrina Tavanlar, BLN24 (Category Winner)
- Ann Beal, RxLogic
- Sabine Enright, AscellaHealth
- Anne Harrell, Pacvue
- Caroline Ho, Octane
- Linda Englander Mills, Clean Water Technology
Transformed an Individual
- Hayley Dickson, Kantiv (Category Winner)
Emerging Leader
Transformed an Industry
- Dikla Shabtay, Eve Security (Category Winner)
Transformed a Company
- Jordanya Reeves, TD Bank (Category Winner)
- Melina Tabares, Geographic Solutions
Transformed a Team or Department
- Pratikshya Bhandari, BlinkNow Foundation (Category Winner)
- Foteini Giannopoulou, Harvard Business School Foundry
- Hailey Helquist, Nu Skin
- Sarah Magluyan, Agero
- Kay Manning, Pacvue
- Keerthi Santosh Varier, EY
Rising Talent
Transformed an Individual
- Reagan Collins, CC&A Strategic Media (Category Winner)
What the 2026 Winners Reveal
The class is weighted toward impact beyond a single organization: 21 of the 58 winners were recognized for transforming an industry or the globe, led by Hill's Overall Winner recognition for LifeStraw. Another 15 transformed a company, and 16 transformed a team or department. Six were recognized for changing the trajectory of a single person.
Executive Influencers make up the largest group at 23 winners, followed by 14 Founder/Visionaries, 11 Established Leaders, 9 Emerging Leaders, and one Rising Talent. Several organizations earned multiple wins, including Pacvue with three and Dechra with two.
The 2026 Herizon class shows what leadership looks like when it is measured by what changes around it. The winners are already doing the work.
What makes this class special is how it was chosen. Every nomination was read and scored by the Herizon nomination reviewers, experienced business professionals who score against published criteria and give transparent, written feedback. Herizon is real recognition: unique, transparent, authentic and earned.
About the Herizon Awards
The Herizon Awards recognize women who are transforming individuals, teams, companies, industries, and the globe. Every nomination is read and scored by the Herizon nomination reviewers, experienced business professionals who give transparent feedback and detailed scoring. That is what makes Herizon unique: real recognition that is transparent, authentic and earned. Winners are recognized by role and by the level of transformation they led.
About Business Intelligence Group
Business Intelligence Group (BIG) is an independent awards organization that has been recognizing outstanding achievement in business since 2012. Now in its 14th awards season, BIG operates 12 annual programs spanning innovation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, customer service, cloud computing, sustainability, sales and marketing, workplace culture, and women's leadership. Business award programs include the BIG Innovation Awards, AI Excellence Awards, Fortress Cyber Security Awards, Excellence in Customer Service Awards, Stratus Awards for Cloud Computing, Sustainability Awards, SAMMY Awards for Sales and Marketing, Best Places to Work Awards, Herizon Awards, We Love Tech Awards, NAA Top Employers Award, and BIG Awards for Business.
Unlike popularity contests, BIG programs use professional judging panels and objective scoring benchmarks to identify organizations, products, and individuals making real, measurable impact. Winners receive a complete promotional toolkit, including blockchain-verified credentials, press release support, social media assets, and featured placement across BIG's global community of more than one million business professionals.
For more information about BIG award programs, nomination deadlines, and judging criteria, visit bintelligence.com.