The Transformation Leader of the Year Award recognizes leaders who drive change within their organizations by aligning teams around better ways of working, engaging stakeholders, and supporting adoption over time, so those changes stick.

This year's finalists show what that kind of leadership looks like in practice.

Here's who made the shortlist.

Tom Allen, Managing Director, Quality Systems at Alaska Airlines

At Alaska Airlines, critical maintenance and engineering work was managed across spreadsheets, emails, paper processes, and disconnected tools -- limiting visibility and slowing decisions in a safety-critical environment.

Tom Allen approached this as a fundamental change in how the organization operates, not a system upgrade. He positioned Quickbase as a single source of truth that enabled teams to build solutions themselves and move from static reporting to real-time decision-making. As the approach took hold, development cycles dropped from weeks to hours, allowing teams to iterate and improve workflows as part of their daily operations.

To sustain that change, Tom aligned stakeholders around outcomes central to the business: aircraft readiness, safety, compliance, and efficiency. He built trust through early wins and created shared visibility across Maintenance, Engineering, and Quality teams, bringing them into a more connected way of working.

He fostered a builder culture where teams take an active role in developing and improving solutions. Instead of relying on IT, he empowered teams to solve problems directly and become part of how systems evolve.

Tom combines vision, technology, and culture to drive lasting change. His leadership established a model where innovation is continuous and driven from within.

Corey Huckabey, Director, Customer Experience at Cardinal Health

Corey Huckabey brings a thoughtful, people‑focused approach to leadership, helping teams align around shared priorities and move forward with clarity and purpose. He leads transformation with intention, balancing business priorities with the needs of teams working to deliver the products and solutions that improve the lives of people each day.

Through its Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment, Cardinal Health operates a national distribution network, moving more than 70,000 deliveries each day and playing a critical role in the ongoing delivery of care. To support his team, Corey listens closely to real‑time challenges and focuses on practical solutions that drive more efficient, sustainable ways of working.

Known for combining structure and flexibility, Corey emphasizes open communication, collaboration, and continuous learning. Across functions, he helps simplify processes and establish consistent, scalable ways of working.

Corey has a knack for turning potential risks into opportunities. He introduced a triage‑based operating model that brought clarity to complex operational challenges, enabling teams to work more efficiently and make decisions with confidence. By listening to employee experiences firsthand, Corey builds trust and openness, helping teams streamline operations and adapt as needs change.

His leadership reflects a sustained commitment to trust, transparency and collaboration.

Andrew Patricio, Chief Data & AI Officer at UnidosUS

Before Andrew Patricio's leadership, UnidosUS relied heavily on spreadsheets and lacked a structured data foundation. That limited visibility and made it harder to scale or use data effectively in decision-making.

Andrew led the shift away from manual workflows, introducing a centralized, application-based approach. He championed Quickbase as a core platform for how work gets done at UnidosUS, focusing on building a structured data foundation and a more scalable way for teams to operate.

He aligned stakeholders across the organization and its 300-affiliate network by standardized processes and integrated systems. Rather than limiting adoption to a few teams, he expanded it across partners -- bringing more users into a shared way of working.

Andrew also emphasized accessibility. He encouraged non-technical users to build their own solutions and supported early adoption of AI capabilities by participating in beta programs, helping teams experiment and extend what the platform could do.

His leadership built a foundation that makes data easier to use and gives more people a role in shaping the systems they depend on.

Where Leadership Is Recognized: Empower 2026

Tom Allen, Corey Huckabey, and Andrew Patricio each led a different kind of transformation -- from simplifying operations and execution to building a scalable data foundation.

They are this year's Transformation Leader Award finalists. The winner will be announced live during the Day 2 keynote on May 20 at Empower 2026 in Houston, TX.

Haven't registered yet? Visit the Empower 2026 website for all the details.

Can't make it to Houston? Sign up for free access to the keynote livestreams here.