Favorite Daughter, eos and Sol de Janeiro are 2026 Future Leader Awards finalists

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