Meet the 2026 Data Leadership Award Winners
For the second consecutive year, CGT set out to celebrate excellence in data-led executions that drive innovation, efficiency and growth in the consumer goods and retail industry.
The Data Leadership Awards recognize leaders who are delivering transformative results with their customers or business partners, or within their organizations. Selecting this year’s honorees was an incredible challenge, given the extraordinary caliber of talent we received through the nomination process.
We are excited to recognize the industry leaders who are setting new benchmarks in consumer goods. Their commitment to data-driven strategies and emerging technologies has fundamentally elevated business operations and customer journeys.
Meet the 2026 Data Leadership Award Winners:
- Franc Borges, Co-Founder & CTO, Birdzi
- Karin Chu, VP, Head of AI, Data Science & Analytics, Ahold Delhaize USA
- Disha Gulati, CEO & Founder, Here Here Market
- Varun Kakaria, CIO, North America, Reckitt
- Sudheesh Kamath, Head, Global Commercial Data & AI Products, Kenvue
- Phillip Lear, Director, Data & Analytics, NA IT (Kellanova), Mars
- Franz Oliveira, Director, Sales Operations & Analytics, ZURU Group
- Daniel Palmer, SVP, Data Science, Engine
- Dr. Neelabh Pant, Director, Global AI for Retail, Cloudera
- Meet Patel, Global Senior Director, Advanced Analytics – Strategy, Capabilities and Culture, Mars
- Carlos Luis Pineda, Head of Data, Analytics & Insights, NA & Global Markets, Diageo
- Shweta Prabhu, VP, Digital, e-Commerce, MarTech, Loyalty, Data Analytics & AI, Enterprise Systems, Giant Eagle
- Sagarika Prusty, Director, Data Analytics, Quince
- Ganesh Sivakumar, Global Chief Data Analytics & AI Officer, Mead Johnson Nutrition
- Nicolai Soendergaard, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Copenhagen Commerce
- Rajesh Sura, Head of Data Engineering & Analytics, Consumer Goods Retail, Amazon
- Lydia Thacher, VP, Digital Commerce, Dollar General
- Ellen Webb, VP, Shopper Analytics & Insights, PepsiCo
- Nathan Williams, VP, Business Solutions, Primo Brands
We’ll be sharing more details about their accomplishments in the months to come, but invite you to help us celebrate their achievements at a dedicated awards ceremony on April 9 at CGT’s Analytics Unite event in Chicago.
