Executive Leadership Awards

Nominate your CEO here for the 2025 award:

2025 Innovate@UCLA Executive Leadership Award Nomination Form

Award Categories

Emerging Technology Award

Awarded to the leader of an early-stage company with at least $20M in funding or $200M in revenue. Key criteria are delivering radically new and unique products or services that provide great value to their customers.

Public Sector Award

Awarded to the leader of a public agency a large sphere of influence and contribution to the community. Key criteria are providing tangible benefits to citizens and the community using innovative technology.

Enterprise Award

Awarded to senior executives, typically C-level, but can also include other senior executive titles, leading a company or division of a larger company. Key criteria emphasize the importance of brand, customer experience, and innovative technology in the final award decision.

Community Impact Award

Awarded to senior executives, typically non-profit officers, who have positively impacted their communities in ways that inspire integrity. Key criteria include significant outreach efforts focusing on ethical leadership, honesty, and sustainable impact.

Selection Criteria

The selected senior executive or organization exemplifies leadership in the vision and use of technology to achieve outcomes through their ability to:

Seek new innovative solutions creating a far more stimulating environment for change than during economically stable times.
Develop, communicate, and execute a strategic vision for the business that centers around technology as a critical advantage.
Leverage modernized, cutting edge technologies or proven technologies in an innovative or disruptive manner.
Maintain a track record of recognizing and successfully capitalizing on opportunities to utilize digital solutions/technologies.
Focus on delivering a differentiated, exceptional customer experience throughout the customer’s journey.
In addition, the selected executive should be receptive to receiving the award and able to attend the award dinner on September 26, 2024.

Event Recap: 2024 Executive Leadership Awards

On Thursday, September 26, 2024, the Innovate@UCLA Executive Leadership Awards Dinner brought together over 160 attendees at the UCLA Luskin Ballroom for an evening dedicated to celebrating innovation and leadership. Leaders from industries such as space exploration and entertainment took the stage to discuss the transformative power of artificial intelligence, aligning with the event’s theme, “Innovation and AI: From Stars on the Silver Screen to Stars in the Sky.” In addition to honoring exemplary leadership, the evening provided a platform for leaders to explore AI’s impact and offered valuable networking opportunities to foster connections that will shape the future of technology.

Eddie Drake, Head of Production Technology for The Walt Disney Studios, kicked off our dinner with a creative presentation about the growing potential of AI in the entertainment industry. He explored the pivotal role of technology in story telling from the earliest days of filmmaking to the emerging tools in today’s landscape.

Jay Tucker, Executive Director, UCLA Anderson moderated a panel discussion with Courtney Stockmal, Studio and Remote Director for FOX Sports, Lesley Silverman, Head of New Technology and UTA, and Eric Iverson, Partner and CTO of UTA. Together these distinguished individuals delved into the practical impact of AI on the entertainment industry from backend tools to those directly visible to the audience.

To wrap up our speakers for the night, Laurie Leshin, Director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, delivered an inspirational keynote presentation about the future of space exploration. Notably, Leshin mentioned an exciting space exploration mission launching on October 10th to explore potential life under the surface of Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, often referred to as the Icy moon.

Innovate@UCLA recently established the CEO Advisory Board to catalyze innovation within the UCLA and Southern California tech community. Jim Rinaldi, Former CIO at JPL, Senior Avasant Fellow, and Executive Director of Innovate@UCLA, and Kevin Parikh, Founder and CEO of Avasant and CEO Advisory Board Chairman introduced the rest of the board. Members include Kevin Parikh, Carmen Krueger, CBO of SAP, Fernando Pons, COO at CEPI, Rodrigo Lima, President of Microsoft Asia, Phil Guido, CCO of AMD, Amit Bajaj, President of TCS, and Tony Bernardo, Dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Davida Johnson, Executive Director, UCLA OARC, introduced Innovate@UCLA’s Young Tech Professional program which focuses on enabling the next generation digital workforce. Following that introduction Greg Moore, VP and CIO of KB Home, and one of the judges from this past spring’s bootcamp, announced the Winners of the YTP Award for Social Impact and Innovation. Alex Packer, Lara Papasian, Kat Limqueco, Kali Olmstead, Darin Marlow, and Jiaxin(Jamie) Luo, as team WasteWatchers, were recognized for their inspiring pitch for a food waste reduction app.

The event culminated with a celebration of 5 exceptional leaders in the tech industry. Pedro Pizarro, President and CEO of Edison International, Steven Powell, President and CEO of Southern California Edison, and Todd Inlander, SVP and CIO of Southern California Edison received the community service award. Nandan Kalle, CEO of Greenfield Robotics was honored with the Emerging Technology Award. Lastly, the Public Sector Award was commended to Mark Pestrella, Director of LA County Public Works. These awards applauded the innovative efforts of leaders to push forward in research and community improvement.

Thomas Phelps, CIO of Laserfiche, and Heidi Pease, CEO of LA Blockchain Lab Wave Financial, took on the role of co-hosts for the event for the second consecutive year.

Andy Schlei, retired SVP of Information Technology from Sony Pictures Entertainment and Avasant Fellow, marked his fourth year as Innovate@UCLA’s ELAD chair, building on his many years of dedication to the event.

We are so thankful to everyone who contributed to the success of ELAD 2024 and can’t wait for next year’s Executive Leadership Awards Dinner!