The Future Leader Awards, presented by Digiday, Glossy and Modern Retail, recognize the next generation of leaders making a significant impact in their industry, with 10 years of experience or less.
This year’s finalists demonstrate how growth is driven by leaders who pair sharp cultural awareness with disciplined execution. They identify new opportunities, expand into emerging spaces, collaborate across teams and partners, and translate trends into tangible business outcomes. Each finalist reflects a new standard of leadership defined by adaptability to turn cultural momentum into sustained growth.
Rising Product Leader finalist Morgan Rabin has grown alongside Favorite Daughter since joining as a college intern, playing a central role in shaping one of the brand’s fastest-growing business lines. She launched the accessories category and developed it into a meaningful revenue driver, introducing best-selling belts and a sold-out triangle knit scarf while helping expand into footwear. Deeply involved from concept to final execution, Rabin ensures each product aligns with the vision of co-founders Erin and Sara Foster while remaining commercially viable. Rabin’s impact extends beyond product, reflecting her ability to connect strategy with execution across design, sourcing, merchandising and marketing.
Nominees in the Rising Influencer Marketing Leader category include Alexis Martin of eos Products. As creator marketing manager at eos, Martin operates at the intersection of creators, culture and community, building partnerships that prioritize authenticity and long-term value. She collaborates with talent across all tiers, fostering relationships that extend beyond transactional campaigns and align closely with the brand’s identity. Since joining eos in October 2024, she has quickly established herself as a high-impact contributor, strengthening the operational foundation of creator marketing through revamped campaign templates, improved workflows and more effective briefing processes.
In the Rising PR Leader category, finalists include Bridget Betances, senior manager of global and Americas public relations at Sol de Janeiro. She leads communications across innovation, campaigns and partnerships, aligning global priorities with regional nuance while consistently securing high-impact media and industry attention. In 2025, Betances played a central role in expanding Sol de Janeiro across more than 50 markets, leading PR for campaigns that blended cultural relevance with measurable impact. She drove the Body Badalada launch into a cultural movement and helped secure major moments across Coachella, the Las Vegas Sphere and the Met Gala.
These rising talents are setting new standards for what leadership looks like today. See the complete list of finalists below.
Rising Agency Leader
Raquelle Kleiman – January Digital
Caroline Mandel – FTI Consulting
William Lapointe – Pathlabs
Barbara Rego – Majority
Gretchen Gerlach – Laughlin Constable
Zach Gad – The Unquantifiable
Jessica Huang – Herman-Scheer
Rising AI Leader – NEW
Zuny Fester – JustPaid
Anushka Salinas – Nanit
Elizabeth Opp – Madhive
Johnny Rohrbach – SILVERSIDE
Rising Audio Leader – NEW
Emily Dyer – Macmillan Publishers
Rising Brand Leader
Bailey Leffler – Purdue Brand Studio
Manjunath Venkatram – ThoughtData
Alessandro Fontana – January Digital
Helin Tu – EssilorLuxottica
Rising Content Marketing Leader – NEW
Emily Duncan – tvScientific
Katie Zaro – eos Products
Rising Creator – NEW
Kiana Davis – The Sociable Society
Malachi Mitchell – The Sociable Society
Rising Design/Creative Leader – NEW
Johanna Ketterle – Oak Essentials
Brenna Cunningham – The Unquantifiable
Anna Weddle – Hook
Caleb McMullen & Hussein Rumaithi – McKinney
Song Yoon – MobileFuse
Rising E-commerce Leader – NEW
Jordan Harper – Barefaced
Rising Finance Leader – NEW
Stephanie Porter – Hook
Rachel Villalobos – Spaceback
James Marrero – Playfly Sports
Danielle Lauzon – Fintel Connect
Rising Founder – NEW
Andi Cross – Edges of Earth
Kristie D’Ambrosio-Correll – Dacora Motors
Tejas Manohar – Hightouch
Jordan Banafsheha – icepop
Isan Elba – Beauty Access/Beauty Forward
Aerin Glazer – Tilt Beauty
Rising Influencer Marketing Leader – NEW
Olivia Meitz – Skirt PR
James Reid – Collectively
Ted Raad – Trend Companies
Griffin Haddrill – Mirage Digital
Ellen Hawkins – #paid
Alexis Martin – eos Products
Rising Innovator – NEW
Brian Carpenter – DECIEM
Lauren Vesler – Goddess Maintenance Co.
Dr. Victoria Rose Veytsman – Rose Code, Inc.
Rising Marketing Leader – NEW
Bianca Fernandez – Personal Day
Nicole Julien – Affinity Solutions
Sophie King – LucidLink
Christina Diane Warner
Monica Hunter – Ad Council
Sammi Fischer – Ad Council
Danielle Moss – Barbarian
Rising Media Buying and Planning Leader – NEW
Michelle Lantz – Attention Arc
Saida Mirzalimova – Viral Nation
Rising Media Leader
Travis Misner – Playfly Sports
Justine Sto. Tomas – Hello Sunshine
Yasmin Edrees – TravelDesk, MMGY
Natasha Macri – TIME
Nicholas Friedman – Crunchyroll
Oliver Brantley – Nebo
Rising Merchandising Leader – NEW
Sisana de Kruijf – billups
Brittany Ainslie – SAYN
Rising Operations Leader – NEW
Caitlin Barter – datafuelX
Jo-Jo Jones – Ad Council
Jaclyn Maclean – Viral Nation
Rising People Leader – NEW
Lauren Harris – Oak Essentials
Heather Dugan – billups
Rising PR Leader – NEW
Daniel Kramer – Nextdoor
Nina Trach – The Ad Council
Haley Norton – Nebo Agency
Bridget Betances – Sol de Janeiro
Allie Silvestri – National Geographic
Rising Product Leader – NEW
Benjamin Lacapere – Equativ
Seojoon Oh – Uber Technologies
Brian Davis – MadConnect
Dean Phillips – ClickUp
Brandon Allen – ViewLift
Morgan Rabin – Favorite Daughter
Rising Retail Leader – NEW
Cecilia Snider – Five Below
Rising Sales Leader – NEW
Lara Ramos – Oak Essentials
Lexi Keller – The Sociable Society
May Solomon – The Sociable Society
Natalia Becerra – Macmillan Publishers
Rising Social Leader – NEW
Maria Fernanda Llanes Lemos – billups
Maggie McGrath – Skirt PR
Ameera Masud – Digitas
Brandon Monte – DECIEM
Emily Armstrong – Unisys
Kira Henson – Good Apple
Rising Technology Leader
Louisa Rogers – AdRoll
Kayli Nishime – AllGear Digital
Mateusz Jedrocha – Adlook
Caleb Mansfield – Claritas
Anirudh Shah – MediaMint
Pratyush Mulukutla – MediaMint
Rising Video Leader – NEW
David Mwila – Equativ
August Moon – 1440 Media
