Incentive Marketing Association Honors Top Programs, Individuals

The incentive Marketing Association, whose members represent the motivation and recognition industry, honored their own during its annual summit. The event, which was held July 14-16 at the Austin Marriott Downtown in Texas, drew 470 attendees.

IMA’s Summit Awards celebrate excellence in the incentive and recognition industries by honoring people, programs and organizations who go above and beyond to inspire, engage and drive results. Following are the 2025 Summit Award winners, with more details on the programs and individuals available here (full disclosure: I served as a judge for the Excellence Awards category, which honor companies for outstanding incentive, recognition and engagement programs):

Excellence Awards

• Excellence in Innovation & Technology: Digi
• Excellence in Social Responsibility: 360insights
• Excellence in Gift Cards: Merit Incentives
• Excellence in Merchandise: Harco Incentives
• Excellence in Incentive Travel: Merit Incentives
• Excellence in Recognition: Synchro Marketing
• Excellence in Incentives & Engagement: Incremental Marketing
  

Recognition Awards

• Karen Renk Award: Mike Landry, senior director corporate sales, TUMI
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Bill Warshauer, chief revenue officer, Tillo
• President’s Award: Fintan Connolly, founder, Engage Loyalty Consulting
• Incentive Industry Influencer: Cristiano Miano, CEO, Digi 
• Inspirational Place to Work: 360insights 

Spirit Awards

These honor members of IMA's strategic industry groups.

• IESP: Carl MacDonald, vice president growth and customer success, VIBE SMG
• IGCC: Steven Kane, senior vice president, Stored Value Solutions
• IMRA: Ivory Alexander, director of sales, Mas
• ITC: Peter Cannon, president, Ticket Jones
• RPI: David Klein, Universal Destinations & Experiences
• IMA Europe: Gunther Everaert, CEO, Motisha
• IMA MEAPAC: Mark McCowan, managing director, Synchro Marketing

RPI Awards

• Recognition Champion Award: Tom McCauley, chief human resources officer, Aspen Valley Health
• Education Award: Jim Bittner, vice president, business development, Centricity