The community has spoken. Now the judges take over.

Voting for the 2026 Excellence in Action Awards closed on September 9 — and the response from the enablement community made it clear: the stories this year are worth fighting for. Thank you to everyone who voted, commented and supported this year’s awards! 🏆

Here's what happens next.

The top three vote recipients in each of the 11 categories advance to a panel of Showpad leaders, including CEO Apratim Purakayastha, CPO Potoula Chresomales, and CMO Bernd Leger.

From September 14–18, the panel evaluates each finalist against a formal rubric covering strategy, execution, innovation, and impact. [Read more here.]

Community voting mattered — it's what got finalists to this stage. But the final decision belongs to the judges, which means a standout application from a smaller organization has just as much of a shot as one with a large network behind it.

Winners will be announced live at [Excellence in the Field: New York] on October 8. From there, all 11 winners will be spotlighted across Showpad.com, LinkedIn, and live events in Europe and the U.S. through January 2027.

Stay close — the best is yet to come.