AdvantageClub.ai, a global AI-powered employee rewards, recognition and wellbeing platform, has unveiled the winners of the Most Admired Women Awards (MAW) 2026, honouring 100 outstanding women HR leaders who are driving transformation across the global workplace landscape.
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100 Most Admired Women Awards by AdvantageClub.ai
The annual recognition celebrates women who are redefining the future of work through visionary leadership, innovative HR strategies, and a deep commitment to building inclusive, people-first organizations. These leaders have played a pivotal role in shaping modern workplaces by championing employee engagement, well-being, and progressive talent practices.
In its fourth edition this year, the Most Admired Women Awards (MAW) has emerged as a prominent global platform to spotlight women leaders who are making a lasting impact in the HR ecosystem. The initiative by AdvantageClub.ai continues to celebrate the remarkable achievements of women who are influencing how organizations approach culture, leadership, and workforce transformation.
This year, the jury received over 500 nominations from across the globe, including entries from the United States, India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe regions, reflecting the growing global influence of women in HR leadership roles.
The nominations underwent a rigorous evaluation process by an esteemed all-women jury panel, including industry leaders Liza Haskell – Former Chief Administrative Officer – Tide , Mahira Al Raisi – Chief People Officer – Sohar International, Nerissa (Carbonell) Berba – EVP/Chief People Officer – Security Bank Corporation , Vasumathi Parthasarathy – Global Head of Performance Management and Employee Recognition – Tata Consultancy Services, and Smiti Bhatt Deorah – COO and Co-Founder – AdvantageClub.ai.
Smiti Bhatt Deorah, Co-founder & COO, AdvantageClub.ai, said, “These inspiring women leaders are not just shaping HR strategies but are redefining how organizations build cultures of trust, recognition, and belonging. At AdvantageClub.ai, we believe that recognizing leaders who drive meaningful workplace transformation is critical to inspiring the next generation of HR professionals. The MAW Awards celebrate the resilience, innovation, and leadership that these women bring to the future of work.”
The MAW Awards 2026 recognized winners across four categories: Leaders, Pioneers, Achievers, and Champions, highlighting professionals at different stages of their leadership journeys who have made a significant impact within their organizations and the broader HR community.
Leaders: Anuradha Chaudhary, Arshiya Singh, Belle Cañafranca, Damini Thakur, Emilyn Doria, Iris Czarina G. Era, Jennifer Jude Mattos, Jyotsana Saxena, Loly Vadassery, Maninder Kapoor Puri, Margy Mommertz, Mary Margaret Tan, Meenu Gupta, Neetu Wadhawan, Preeti Kannan, Preeti Toshniwal, Rishu Sharma, Sangeeta Sagar, Sarah Samuel, Sharon B. Villalon, Shefali Tomar, Shweta Shetty, Sonam Solanki, Sumitra Krishnamurthy, Sunny Singh.
Pioneers: Akanksha Singh, Akona Makoboka, Ankita Anushree, Arpita Poojary, Charumathi V, Cheryll Ruth L. Agsaoay, Divya Seth Sharma, Dr. Arushi Grover, Dr. Dina Elwan, Fikile Nyakale, Gunjan Saini, Lipika Verma, Loanette Boshoff, Manvi Singh, Merlin Sunitha Philip, Nidhi Chaudhary, Nisha Roslin Johny, Paridhi Raut, Rukmini Divakar, Shoma Bose Balkrishna Singh, Shreya Swamy, Smita Nagpal, Sneha Agarwal Marodia, Tanushri Nair, Wendi Ellis.
Achievers: Amanpreet Kaur, Anumeha Asthana, Anupama Pillai, Apoorva Agarwal, Ashwini Kanade, Bandaru Venkata Deepthi Yadav, Darlene Anne Bilicario, Dhara Shah, Divya Gupta, Foram Patel, Jayati Mahajan, Jessica Cicily James, Juveriya Khan, Maria Evangeline Veloso, Mariam Hamdan Alrayssi, Mary Jeraldine Kavitha, Mieke Janse van Rensburg, Priscilla Pereira, Ramona Roberts, Ramsy Shika, Resham Thakkar, Shraddha Singh, Sneha Gupta, Varnika Bansal, Yara Mohamed Amr.
Champions: Anagha Gaonkar, Anshu Sharma, Arati Kedia, Deepshikha Rajawat, Diana Marbun, Fernanda Herrera Roman, Geeta Mani, Ginalyn Amparado, Jinia Chanda, Kavita Chaturvedi, Kelly Campbell, Lorraine Bryant, Mais Mustafa Muhammad Qawasmeh, Mamta, Nalini Matavalam, Payal Chatterjee, Prerna S., Sint Sint Aung, Staci Dodson, Taghreed Ali Alotaibi, Tanaya Sen Verma, Tina Mahtani-Hanspal, Urmil Shekhawat, Valerie W. Naidoo, Yauwana Mezhiselvan.
The complete list of winners can be accessed here: maw.advantageclub.ai/maw_winners_2026
Through the Most Admired Women Awards, AdvantageClub.ai continues to recognize the women transforming workplaces through progressive policies, inclusive leadership, and a strong focus on employee experience. Their contributions are shaping how organizations globally approach talent management, employee well-being, and workplace culture.
About AdvantageClub.ai
AdvantageClub.ai is a global AI-powered employee engagement, rewards, and wellness platform with offerings like rewards & recognition, wellness solutions including OPD plans, Annual health checkup, wellness challenges, sales incentive automation, flexible benefits, surveys, moments that matter, and communities on a single platform. It provides end-to-end solutions to facilitate employee engagement by digitizing the company’s R&R policies, allowing them to drive better employee retention and happiness. AdvantageClub.ai has over 15 million users, with presence in over 100+ countries, 1200+ clients, and 10,000+ brand options. Established in 2016, AdvantageClub.ai is the brainchild of UCLA postgraduates, Sourabh Deorah and Smiti Bhatt Deorah, who identified employee engagement as a space to create disruption using AI, data mining, and analytics. Headquartered in San Francisco, AdvantageClub.ai has an impressive client portfolio featuring Air India, Biocon, Concentrix, HCL, Hexaware, L&T, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Teleperformance, and many more.
