The Great Lakes AI Leadership Awards

Recognizing The Region’s FUTURE BUILders

We're spotlighting the innovators and leaders making real impact—in the Great Lakes and beyond. Nominations close October 15th at midnight. Winners announced live at Great Lakes AI Week 2025 and published online after.

This is how legends get recognized.

Nominate A Leader
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the AI Leadership Awards Categories

Recognizing transformative leaders who Are turning potential into power through AI

Five prestigious awards celebrating the individuals and organizations who are defining what successful AI adoption actually looks like. Whether they’re revolutionizing patient care, reimagining supply chains, or preparing the next generation for an AI-powered economy—these awards recognize measurable impact and meaningful innovation that scales beyond single use cases.

✪Nominations✪ close October 15th. Winners announced live at Great Lakes AI Week.

  • Smiling woman with curly hair and glasses, wearing hoop earrings and layered necklaces, indoors.

    The AI Leadership Award

    For an individual who has transformed their organization using AI

    What This Award Recognizes: The leader who turned AI from buzzword into reality. They didn't wait for permission from the top—they built momentum from within, championed adoption across teams, and created an environment where AI experimentation thrives. This person proved that transformation happens when you empower people, redesign workflows, and show tangible results that inspire others to follow. They're building the AI-first culture everyone talks about but few achieve.

  • Future Builder Award

    For an individual building what comes next

    What This Award Recognizes: The founder, leader, or innovator building the future right now. They're not iterating on what exists—they're creating products, platforms, or businesses that will fundamentally reshape their industry. This person sees around corners, takes calculated risks others won't, and is actively constructing the infrastructure, solutions, or models that will define how we work and compete in an AI-driven world.

  • Guardian of Good Award

    For an individual ensuring AI empowers everyone safely and ethically

    What This Award Recognizes: The individual who champions responsible AI development and deployment. They're the voice advocating for transparency, fairness, and human-centric design. This person ensures AI systems are unbiased, inclusive, and designed to augment human potential while protecting privacy, rights, and opportunities for all stakeholders.

  • A man with dark, curly hair, wearing glasses and a nose ring, looks off to the side in a bright, minimalist room with a white wall and a plant in the background.

    The AI Impact Award

    For organizations driving real results through AI

    What This Award Recognizes: The organization that's winning twice—driving their own bottom line while fundamentally transforming how their customers work. They've built AI solutions that deliver documented ROI internally and create measurable value for the clients they serve. This is about products or implementations that change the game: faster outcomes, better experiences, and capabilities that didn't exist before. Real impact that ripples beyond their own walls.

  • A woman with short black hair, smiling in front of green plants.

    AI Product Launch of the Year

    For the organization who launched a product that went from vision to market adoption

    What This Award Recognizes: The AI product that didn't just launch—it landed. This isn't vaporware or a glorified demo. It's a commercially successful solution with paying customers, proven retention, and undeniable product-market fit. The kind of launch that made competitors nervous, solved problems people actually have, and proved AI can scale beyond the hype into real-world adoption across industries.

Nominate An Individual!

Nominate An Organization!