PRESS RELEASE: Women in Agribusiness Expands Leadership Awards Program

NEW ORLEANS, June 30, 2026 – For years, Women in Agribusiness (WIA) has led the industry in recognizing women’s contributions to the sector with the prestigious WIA Demeter Award of Excellence. Today, the company announced an expansion of its award program to include six new leadership awards.

“While the Demeter Award recipients will remain at the pinnacle of the award categories, we are adding additional specific leadership awards to extend the reach of recognition for women across the ag value chain,” said Svitlana Synkovska, WIA portfolio director. “For years, we have recognized three exceptional women annually, but this means we leave out dozens who also have exhibited outstanding achievements worth celebrating. These additional leadership awards allow more high achievers to receive the public accolades among their peers that is duly earned.”

The program will continue to select three women for the traditional WIA Demeter Award of Excellence, which calls for nominations for those who have dedicated more than 10 years of service in the ag sector with significant professional achievements. These recipients are notable for actively dismantling barriers, fostering opportunities, and acting as a valuable resource for other women in the food and ag industry. This year, the Demeter Awards include a fourth award for a Female Farmer in recognition of the International Year of the Woman Farmer. The deadline to submit nominations for these awards has closed.

The six new leadership awards include:

1.     Executive Leadership Award 

Honors women in C-suite or equivalent executive roles with a minimum five years of service who demonstrate measurable impact in agriculture and agribusiness through strategic vision, decision-making, and organizational results.

2.     Rising Leadership Award 

Celebrates women 40 years old and under who are building momentum and driving the next generation of agribusiness leaders. This category is defined by trajectory, not title. Open to candidates in any ag role or sector; candidates must be under the age of 40 as of September 22, 2026.

3.     Investment & Capital Leadership Award 

Honors women deploying capital across agriculture and food systems — spanning venture capital, private equity, institutional investment, agricultural lending, and impact investing — who demonstrate strategic investment acumen and are working to advance agriculture's financial infrastructure and future.

4.     Advisory & Consulting Leadership Award  

Honors women delivering exceptional advisory and consulting value across the agriculture and food sectors. Candidates will be recognized for expert counsel, depth of industry knowledge, and demonstrated ability to help organizations navigate complex challenges and build lasting capability.

5.     Talent & Workforce Leadership Award 

Recognizes women transforming how agriculture and agribusiness organizations attract, develop, and retain talent. Recognizes those who build cultures and systems that drive organizational growth and adaptation in the effort to strengthen the sector's long-term talent pipeline.

6.     Innovation & AI Leadership Award

Honors women leading or advancing the integration of innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital technology across agriculture and food. A defining qualification is a clear track record of bringing new capabilities to the sector and driving meaningful, real-world adoption.

Nominations for these awards will be accepted through August 1, with winners being notified on August 17.

All award recipients will be recognized onstage at the 2026 Women in Agribusiness Summit, which will be held September 22-24 in New Orleans.

For more details about each category, and nomination guidelines, deadlines and Q&As, visit womeninag.com/initiatives.

# # #

About Women in Agribusiness

Women in Agribusiness (www.womeninag.com), an Arc company, is the foremost organization dedicated to leading the growth in global female agribusiness leadership with a platform that encourages collaboration for innovation and development. Its renowned annual Women in Agribusiness Summit serves as a vital platform for women to network with professionals across the agriculture value chain, build business relationships, learn from esteemed thought leaders and stay informed on key commercial topics in agribusiness. Follow us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

About Arc

Arc is a B2B events, data and media platform, backed by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital. Founded to redefine business networking, Arc organizes over 150 events a year and operates critical content platforms in HR, agriculture and food, financial services and investing, and education. Arc has over 350 talented colleagues located in the U.S., U.K., Netherlands and Singapore who focus on seeking out new ways to connect communities, wherever, whenever or however people need to come together to grow their businesses. For more information, visit www.arc-network.com or find Arc on LinkedIn