Future Leader Awards

Year-after-year, industry lists honor executives in prominent roles who are already in the headlines. What about the leaders you haven’t heard about yet? The Future Leader Awards, presented by Digiday, Glossy, Modern Retail, and WorkLife recognize the next generation of leaders who are making a big impact in their industry.

Planning to submit this year? To access everything you’ll need to join the ranks of our past winners including our entry kit, expert tips for crafting a winning entry and past coverage of this program, click here.

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Key Dates

  • Early Deadline: Feb 02, 2024
    $379 per entry
  • Regular Deadline: Mar 15, 2024
    $479 per entry
  • Last Chance Deadline: Apr 26, 2024
    $599 per entry

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Categories

Digiday Categories

Worklife Categories

  • HR

    Awarding an individual at a company who is emerging as a leader focused on retaining talent through improving company culture, HR policies, employee wellness and/or spaces in their workplace.

  • Recruiting

    Awarding an individual at a company who is emerging as a leader focused on attracting talent through recruitment, hiring and onboarding processes, and other recruiting initiatives in their workplace.

  • DE&I

    Awarding an individual at a company who is emerging as a leader focused on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in their workplace.

Glossy Categories

Modern Retail Categories

Judges

  • Hannah Kreiswirth
    PARTNER, COO
    AREA 17
  • Lauren Sweeney
    FOUNDER & CEO
    DOTTED LINE
  • Sumit Ajwani
    FOUNDER
    MAKERS
  • Morris Dávila
    EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
    REMEZCLA
  • Jaima Clavette
    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND PMO
    PERISCOPE
  • Diana Bojaj
    CHIEF MEDIA OFFICER
    CARAT US
  • Ruth Bernstein
    CO-FOUNDER & CEO
    YARD NYC
  • Josh Golden
    CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
    QUAD
  • Matthew Kaness
    CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & BOARD ADVISOR
    GOODWILLFINDS.COM
  • Malika Begin
    OWNER AND CEO
    BEGIN DEVELOPMENT
  • Qianna Smith Bruneteau
    FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    AMERICAN INFLUENCER COUNCIL – AIC
  • Matt Teri
    CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
    HURON
  • Lisa Bull
    VP, MARKETING PARAMOUNT BRAND STUDIO
    PARAMOUNT
  • Michelle Horowitz
    CMO
    JANIE AND JACK
  • Edward Arrandale
    VP, REVENUE
    WEATHERBUG
  • Jess Burns
    SVP, BRAND MARKETING
    RENT THE RUNWAY
  • Mykella Gannon
    MARKETING DIRECTOR
    PURA VIDA
  • Kate Auletta
    EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
    SCARY MOMMY
  • Olivia Landau
    CEO
    THE CLEAR CUT
  • Ari Fox
    SENIOR DIRECTOR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
    AUDIBLE, GLOBAL CENTER FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT
  • Ketan Desai
    CHIEF TEA EDUCATOR AND CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
    VAHDAM INDIA
  • Mike Feldman
    SVP, HEAD OF COMMERCE & RETAIL MEDIA
    DENTSU
  • Sarah Ailabouni
    SENIOR MANAGER, TECH TRANSFORMATION - TECH TALENT AND CULTURE - DIGITAL, ANALYTICS AND TECHNOLOGY
    BEST BUY
  • Meghan Hurley
    VP, MARKETING
    CLAIRE'S
  • Wade Tonkin
    DIRECTOR, GLOBAL AFFILIATE MARKETING
    FANATICS, INC.

Judging Criteria

Judges will be looking for companies or campaigns that can clearly demonstrate success over the past 12 months. Judges are seeking companies or campaigns that have seized challenges and created opportunities and will evaluate entries based on the following criteria: Innovation, Creativity, Consumer Value, Results and Overall.

Judges will require evidence to substantiate all entries. This can include details of financial performance, specific KPIs, creative evidence in the form of a sizzle reel, campaign images, or links to the final project or related sites. The judges will also consider the structure, presentation and clarity of each entry.

Judging Process

Judges will score each entry prompt and consider any supporting materials submitted. After each judge submits their score for the above criteria, the scores of each criteria will then be averaged and then combined to determine an overall score for each entry. The highest scoring entries will appear on the shortlist and winner lists.

Confidentiality

All material will remain confidential to the judges. Only the 'Credits' section of an entry will be made public via the shortlist/winners announcement. If you win a particular category, our team may summarize the entry for shortlist/winner announcements and winners guides.