Our Privacy Policy has been updated! The Conference Board uses cookies to improve our website, enhance your experience, and deliver relevant messages and offers about our products. Detailed information on the use of cookies on this site is provided in our cookie policy. For more information on how The Conference Board collects and uses personal data, please visit our privacy policy. By continuing to use this Site or by clicking "ACCEPT", you acknowledge our privacy policy and consent to the use of cookies. 

CED Distinguished Leadership Awards Celebration

Commitment To Responsible Business Stewardship

OCTOBER 08, 2025

NEW YORK, NY

Learn more about becoming a sponsor  

Commitment To Responsible Business Stewardship

For more than a quarter century, the CED Distinguished Leadership Awards have been honoring business leaders and their companies who exemplify CED’s mission by answering the call for corporate responsibility and demonstrating a strong commitment to public policy in the nation’s interests.

The CED Annual Distinguished Leadership Awards Celebration pays special tribute to business leaders and their companies who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in very challenging times and have helped our nation and the communities where they operate navigate the many challenges before us, including: advancing equal opportunity during a time of national economic uncertainty, building a more civil and just society, and upholding a rules-based international order.

The Awards Celebration commemorates the legacy of CED’s founders, America’s leading CEOs who, during WWII, heeded the call to public service to guide the transition from a wartime economy to a prosperous peacetime economy. Today, CED is fulfilling its mission by working to help ensure the nation meets the current challenges and seizes the historic opportunities with an economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans.

View previous award Honorees


 
 
 

2025 Distinguished Leadership Honorees 

 

Honoree:

Jay Chaudhry


CEO, Chairman, and Founder
Zscaler

 

Introduced By:

Julie Sweet


Chair and CEO
Accenture


 

Honoree:

Joaquin Duato


Chairman and CEO
Johnson & Johnson

 

Introduced By:

Anne Mulcahy


Former Chairman and CEO
Xerox Corporation


 

Honoree:

Stephanie Ferris


CEO and President
FIS

 

Introduced By:

Jeffrey Goldstein


Senior Advisor
Canapi Ventures


 

Honoree:

Jeff Harmening


Chairman and CEO
General Mills

 

Introduced By:

Richard Olson


Chairman and CEO
The Toro Company


 

Honoree:

Reshma Kewalramani, M.D., FASN


CEO and President
Vertex Pharmaceuticals

 

Introduced By:

Julie Jones


Chair
Ropes & Gray


 

Honoree:

Linda Rendle


Chair and CEO
The Clorox Company

 

Introduced By:

Tarang Amin


Chairman and CEO
e.l.f. Beauty


 
 

2025 Awards Co-Chairs 

 

Kirsty Graham


CEO
Edelman US

 
 

Jenny Johnson


President and CEO
Franklin Templeton

 
 

Arvind Krishna


Chairman and CEO
IBM

 

 

Thank you to our 2025 Awards Sponsors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact BTeagle@TCB.org

2025 CED Awards Committee

Co-Chairs

  • Kirsty Graham
    Edelman
  • Jenny Johnson
    Franklin Templeton
  • Arvind Krishna
    IBM

Members

  • Peter Altabef
    Unisys (Ret.)
  • Tarang Amin
    e.l.f. Beauty
  • George Barrett
    The Overtone Group
  • Connie Book
    Elon University
  • Ed Cox
    Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP (Ret.)
  • AnnaMaria DeSalva
    Burson
  • Michael Dowling
    Northwell Health
  • Janice Ellig
    The Ellig Group
  • Roger Ferguson, Jr.
    TIAA (Ret.)
  • Karl Fessenden
    BrandSafway (Ret.)
  • Howard Fluhr
    Segal
  • Holly Gagnon
    HGC Hospitality Gaming Consulting
  • Antoinette Gawin
    Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies
  • José-Marie Griffiths
    Dakota State University
  • Marissa Geist
    Cielo
  • Jeffrey P. Gold
    University of Nebraska
  • Tony Harrington
    Albright Stonebridge Group
  • Hollis Hart
    Citi (Ret.)
  • Mike Hopkins
    Plus Power
  • Pres Kabacoff
    HRI Properties
  • Laura Karet
    Who Brew LLC
  • Reece Kurtenbach
    Daktronics
  • Mark Leiter
    Leiter + Company
  • Bruce Lowthers
    PaySafe
  • Philly Mantella
    Grand Valley State University
  • Barry McCarthy
    Deluxe
  • Thayne McCulloh
    Gonzaga University
  • Stan Middleman
    Freedom Mortgage
  • Paul Minton
    California Eastern Laboratories
  • Joel Myers
    AccuWeather
  • Justina Nixon-Saintil
    IBM
  • Camille Olson
    Seyfarth Olson LLP
  • Amy Parsons
    Colorado State University
  • Debra Perry
    Korn Ferry, Assurant, and the Berstein Funds
  • Daniel Rose
    Rose Associates
  • Nathan Rosenberg
    Insigniam, An Elixirr Company
  • Ed Rust
    State Farm Insurance Companies (Ret.)
  • Tim Sands
    Virginia Polytechnic Institute
  • Paula Stern
    The Stern Group
  • Patrick Swindle
    CoreCivic
  • Stellar Tucker
    Truist Securities
  • Pamela Whitten
    Indiana University
  • Maggie Wilderotter
    Wilderotter Vineyard
  • Ron Williams
    RW2 Enterprises, LLC

Frequently Asked Questions

CED Distinguished Leadership Awards Celebration

Commitment To Responsible Business Stewardship