Recognizing the achievements of entire management teams, groups of managers, and individual executives.
Nominations that won in the 2025 International Business Awards® may be resubmitted for consideration in the 2026 awards. If they have been updated with recent achievements, they may be submitted to the same categories in which they won. If they have not been updated, they must be submitted to categories different from those in which they won.

Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories in the 2026 competition include:

1. A written essay of up to 4,900 characters describing the nominee's accomplishments since 1 January 2024, OR a video of up to five (5) minutes in length that answers all of the same questions:
a. Describe the nominee's accomplishments since 1 January 2024 (up to 4,900 characters). Required
b. In bullet-list form (up to 1,150 characters), a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the nominee's chief achievements since 1 January 2024. Required
c. Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 1,500 characters). Optional

2. Optional (but highly recommended), add to your entry up to 10 webpage links and up to 10 document uploads to support your case to the judges. These might be press articles, press releases, videos, work samples, internal or external reviews, or employee feedback, for example.

The IBAs no longer feature "Executive of the Year" categories to recognize the recent achievements of individual executives at the VP level or higher. Instead, we now have the following Achievement in Management categories, in 45 industry groups, in which you can nominate the achievements (since the beginning of 2024) of your organization's entire management team, a specific group of managers within your organization, or an individual executive.

A01. Achievement in Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations

A02. Achievement in Aerospace & Defense

A03. Achievement in Agriculture & Agritech (New for 2026)

A04. Achievement in Apparel, Beauty & Fashion

A05. Achievement in Automotive & Transport Equipment

A06. Achievement in Banking

A07. Achievement in Biotechnology (New for 2026)

A08. Achievement in Business & Professional Services

A09. Achievement in Chemicals

A10. Achievement in Computer Hardware

A11. Achievement in Computer Services

A12. Achievement in Computer Software

A13. Achievement in Conglomerates

A14. Achievement in Consumer Products – Durables

A15. Achievement in Consumer Products – Non-Durables

A16. Achievement in Consumer Services

A17. Achievement in Cybersecurity (New for 2026)

A18. Achievement in Diversified Services

A19. Achievement in E-commerce (New for 2026)

A20. Achievement in Education & EdTech (New for 2026)

A21. Achievement in Electronics

A22. Achievement in Energy

A23. Achievement in Environmental Services/CleanTech (New for 2026)

A24. Achievement in Financial Services

A25. Achievement in Food & Beverage

A26. Achievement in Gaming & Esports (New for 2026)

A27. Achievement in Health Products & Services

A28. Achievement in Health Providers (New for 2026)

A29. Achievement in Hospitality & Leisure

A30. Achievement in Insurance

A31. Achievement in Internet/New Media

A32. Achievement in Legal

A33. Achievement in Logistics & Supply Chain (New for 2026)

A34. Achievement in Manufacturing

A35. Achievement in Materials & Construction

A36. Achievement in Media & Entertainment

A37. Achievement in Metals & Mining

A38. Achievement in Non-Profit or Government Organizations

A39. Achievement in Pharmaceuticals

A40. Achievement in Real Estate

A41. Achievement in Retail

A42. Achievement in Telecommunications

A43. Achievement in Transportation

A44. Achievement in Utilities

A45. Achievement in Venture Capital & Private Equity (New for 2026)

A46. Best Innovation in Management Practices
Celebrates groundbreaking management strategies that improve efficiency, collaboration, or morale.

A47. Chairman of the Year
Recognizes the achievements of board chairmen since the beginning of 2024.

A48. Emerging Leader of the Year
Honors rising management talent who have demonstrated exceptional leadership potential and impact since the beginning of 2024.

A49. Excellence in Crisis Leadership
Recognizes leaders or teams that successfully navigated their organizations through crises or significant disruptions since the beginning of 2024.

A50. Excellence in Diversity Management
Recognizes leaders or teams fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within their organizations since the beginning of 2024.

A51. Global & Cross-Cultural Leader of the Year (New for 2026)
This category recognizes senior executives who have demonstrated outstanding leadership across multiple countries, regions, or cultures since the beginning of 2024.

A52. Innovator of the Year
Recognizes the individual who has contributed most to innovation within their organization and/or industry since the beginning of 2024.

A53. Lifetime Achievement Award
Recognizes the entire careers of professionals who have worked at least 20 years. In these categories you may describe the nominee’s achievements over their entire career, not just since the beginning of 2024.
a. Business Products Industries
b. Business Services Industries
c. Consumer Products Industries
d. Consumer Services Industries

A54. Management Team of the Year
Through this category you can nominate your entire management team with one nomination.

A55. Maverick of the Year
Recognizes the individual who has effected the most positive change on their organization and/or industry since the beginning of 2024.

A56. Woman of the Year
Recognizes the achievements of women in the workplace since the beginning of 2024.