IoT Executive of the Year

About this award

The IoT Executive of the Year Award honors a senior leader whose vision, strategy, and execution materially advanced the Internet of Things during the applicable awards cycle. This recognition celebrates leadership that aligns technology and business outcomes, mobilizes teams and partners, and turns ambitious ideas into measurable progress.

Effective IoT leadership spans more than product direction. It requires cross-functional orchestration, ecosystem building, operational discipline, and a clear understanding of customer needs and market timing. Winners demonstrate how to scale innovation responsibly by shipping high-quality solutions, strengthening security and reliability, and creating momentum across their organizations and communities.

This category highlights executives who set a compelling vision, deliver on it, and elevate the broader IoT industry through thought leadership, partnerships, customer impact, market development, and meaningful contributions to connected technology adoption.

What this award recognizes

• Clear strategic vision translated into shipped products, platforms, deployments, partnerships, or market progress
• Organizational impact through team building, operating discipline, execution, and measurable outcomes
• Industry influence through ecosystem development, standards participation, thought leadership, or strategic partnerships
• Leadership that materially advances customers, partners, teams, or the broader IoT community

Who should enter

Entries are welcome for senior executives and leaders responsible for meaningful IoT strategy, product direction, customer outcomes, technical progress, organizational execution, or market development.

Judging criteria

• Vision and strategy: Clarity of direction, quality of decision-making, and ability to identify meaningful IoT opportunities
• Execution and outcomes: Delivered results such as revenue growth, adoption, deployments, product launches, reliability gains, security improvements, or customer success
• Team and culture: Ability to recruit, align, support, and enable high-performing teams
• Industry leadership: Ecosystem building, standards participation, thought leadership, partnerships, and community contribution
• Customer impact: Documented value created for users, buyers, partners, or industries
• Long-term influence: Evidence that the leader’s work is shaping the future direction of connected technology

Eligibility

• Open worldwide to senior leaders operating in the Internet of Things
• Achievements cited should occur or materially advance within the applicable award year
• Entries may be submitted by the executive’s organization, by a third party with permission, or by the executive directly
• Entries should include evidence such as launches, metrics, case studies, customer outcomes, partnerships, publications, speaking activity, or community contributions
• Confidential materials may be summarized or redacted for judging, with references included where possible

What to submit

• Executive overview summarizing the leader’s vision, initiatives, execution, and outcomes
• Evidence of impact, such as launches, metrics, customer references, partnerships, product progress, market results, or community contributions
• Supporting materials, including publications, speaking engagements, media coverage, case studies, company milestones, or customer examples
• Optional video statement, external reference letter, executive bio, or supporting nomination letter

Best of 2026 schedule

• Entries Open: Tuesday, December 1, 2026
• Early Bird Deadline: Friday, January 15, 2027
• Final Entry Deadline: Friday, February 12, 2027
• Winners Announced: Tuesday, March 9, 2027