SmartWinnr, a provider of AI-driven sales enablement and learning technology, and HDFC Life, one of India’s leading life insurance companies, have jointly won the coveted Brandon Hall Group Gold award for excellence in the Best Advance in Unique Learning Technology category. The winners are listed at www.excellenceawards.brandonhall.com/winners.
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Brandon Hall Group Gold Award
SmartWinnr and HDFC Life were jointly recognized for their collaborative implementation of an advanced digital learning and performance enablement platform designed to support field-force training and coaching. The solution enables continuous learning, faster skill acquisition, and measurable performance improvements through personalized, data-driven coaching.
“This recognition is very special for us because it reflects the real impact our platform is creating on the ground. Working closely with the HDFC Life team, we focused on building learning experiences for their sales teams in everyday customer conversations. Winning a Gold award reinforces our belief that meaningful learning, when backed by the right technology, can drive strong business outcomes,” said Annie Banik, Co-Founder and CEO at SmartWinnr.
“Life insurance solutions are always personalized and long-term. Our constant endeavor is to use innovative learning methodologies to sharpen the selling skills of our sales force. We deployed an AI-powered learning platform in partnership with SmartWinnr to scale up and provide nuanced, personalized feedback to our sales team. We are delighted to receive this global recognition,“ said Vineet Arora, Executive Director & CBO of HDFC Life.
The recognition reflects the growing importance of purpose-built learning technologies that are closely aligned with real business needs across large, distributed sales teams.
“The Excellence in Technology Awards celebrate the most forward-thinking innovations shaping the future of learning, talent, and human capital management. This year’s winners exemplify how technology can unlock new possibilities—improving performance, enabling smarter decision-making, and transforming how organizations support and develop their people,” said Rachel Cooke, Brandon Hall Group Chief Operating Officer and leader of the Excellence Awards program.
Entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts, and executives based upon these criteria: fit the need, program design, functionality, innovation, and overall measurable benefits.
Excellence Award winners are scheduled to be honored at Brandon Hall Group’s HCM Excellence Conference, February 9–12, 2026, at the Hilton West Palm Beach, Florida. Select winners will also serve as presenters in breakout sessions, sharing their leading practices during the conference.
“Our Technology Awards are built on a rigorous evaluation framework that measures true innovation, functional excellence, and quantifiable business impact. The solution providers and organizations recognized this year reflect the highest standards in the industry, demonstrating how technology can accelerate capability, efficiency, and results,” said Mike Cooke, Brandon Hall Group Chief Executive Officer.
The award further highlights how focused innovation in learning technology is helping large organizations build stronger, more agile sales teams in an evolving market environment.
About HDFC Life
Established in 2000, HDFC Life is a leading, listed, long-term life insurance solutions provider in India, offering a range of individual and group insurance solutions that meet various customer needs such as Protection, Pension, Savings, Investment, Annuity and Health. The Company has over 70 products (individual and group products) including optional riders in its portfolio, catering to a diverse range of customer needs.
HDFC Life continues to benefit from its increased presence across the country, having a wide reach with branches and additional distribution touchpoints through several new tie-ups and partnerships. The count of distribution partnerships is over 500, comprising banks, NBFCs, MFIs, SFBs, brokers, new ecosystem partners amongst others. The Company has a strong base of financial consultants.
For more information, please visit www.hdfclife.com. You may also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.
About SmartWinnr
SmartWinnr provides AI-powered sales enablement solutions that help organizations drive peak performance through continuous learning reinforcement, gamification and role-play simulations. The platform ensures consistent messaging across all organizational levels while giving leadership real-time visibility into field performance.
For more information: www.smartwinnr.com.
About Brandon Hall Group™
Brandon Hall Group™ is the home of the HCM Excellence Awards®, the most prestigious and sought-after awards in Human Capital Management. For over 30 years, these awards have set the gold standard in recognizing organizations for innovative and effective HCM practices across Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Human Resources, Sales Performance, and Technology.
Known as the “Academy Awards of Human Capital Management,” Brandon Hall Group’s awards programs attract entrants from leading corporations worldwide, as well as mid-market and smaller firms. With over 150 categories, the awards shine a spotlight on the most innovative and effective organizational achievements and the solution providers who power them.
For more information: www.brandonhall.com.
