We’re excited to announce the finalists for our 2021 Impact Awards, which celebrate teams, initiatives, and individuals making a difference inside large companies — and for their customers.
These are the 18 finalists in our two major categories: the Impact Award, which focuses on projects that have already delivered quantifiable results, and Best New Intiative, honoring newer projects with promise. InnoLead’s staff reviews all entries for completeness and adherence to each category’s criteria, and then entries are evaluated by at least two outside judges. While some entries may have been submitted by InnoLead sponsors or other professional services firms, those sponsors have no input into the review process.
We’ll announce the winners in these two categories, along with our Most Valuable Player honorees, in early November as part of our Impact event series.
Finalists
| Organization | Initiative | Supporting Firm(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan Virtual | Whole School Online Learning | — |
| Olam International | The Digital Transformation of Food Distribution in West Africa
|
— |
| OTP Bank | Robotic Process Automation to Tackle COVID-19 Measures | — |
| Reliant, an NRG Company | Make it Solar | — |
| Staples | WorkLife Brands Own Brand Transformation | Sprout, Essential Design, Catapult, Jackman Reinvents, JM&A, Eleven |
| United Way Worldwide | Ride United Last Mile Delivery | DoorDash |
| Organization | Initiative | Supporting Firm(s) |
|---|---|---|
| AARP | AARP Community Connections | — |
| The Atlanta Opera | Re-Imagining Live Performances and Investing in Digital Engagement | Change Logic |
| Biogen | Healthy Climate, Healthy Lives | Carol Cone On Purpose |
| Canon USA | Activate My Line of Sight | ID8 Innovation and Microsoft |
| Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport | DFW Everyday Innovator Initiative | GIANT Innovation |
| Hallmark Care Homes and Savista Developments | Care Accelerator | Barclays Eagle Labs |
| Jacobs | Project Management Information System | — |
| Merchants Fleet | ReadyShare | Agile Fleet and Fleet Commander |
| PwC Germany | PwC Horizon | — |
| Salvation Army, USA Eastern Territory | From Crisis to Opportunity, Turning Innovation into Transformation | edison365 |
| Unilever | COVID-19 Awareness and Situational Intelligence: Predicting the Spread of COVID-19 to Safeguard Unilever’s Global Ecosystem | PA Consulting |
| USAA and State Farm | Blockchain-Based Transactions to Replace a Paper-Heavy Payment Process | — |
2021 Judges
Our judges for this year included past Impact Award winners; members of our Editorial Advisory Board; and past conference speakers and hosts of InnoLead events. We’re grateful to them for their involvement!
- Chad Brady, Director, Oracle Utilities (former Director, Duke Energy)
- Algernon Callier, Head of Business Development, Jiffy.ai
- Michelle Cohen, Director of the Innovation & Acceleration Lab, CME Group
- Jeff George, Senior VP of R&D, The Hain Celestial Group
- Jay Gerhart, VP, Innovation Engine, Atrium Health
- Colleen Hau, Director of Global Product Innovation, Carhartt
- Fuat Koro, former Head of Corporate Strategy & Innovation, Bose Corp.
- Navin Kunde, Department Manager of Open Innovation, Clorox
- Tony Parham, Senior VP and Head of Sales Innovation, Fidelity Investments
- Rick Paster, VP of M&A Integration, Peloton
- Jeanette Uddoh, Head of Innovation, Access Bank
- Dan Wheeler, Chief Marketing Officer, Uncle Julios Corp.
