On 8th December 2022, the Institute of Influencer and Analyst Relations (IIAR>) announced the winners of its annual community awards. In a year of many challenging dynamics, this year’s awards focused on recognising those professionals who drove value for their team and their clients, and on analyst delivering insights that helped drive competitive advantage. Analysts were evaluated on their knowledge, insights delivered, commitment to clients and other stand-out qualities. Analyst Relations professionals were evaluated on their ability to deliver on the “Three Rs”: responsiveness, results and relationships.
Here are your winners for 2022!
The voting categories in 2022 for AR pros included: Analyst of the Year, Analyst Firm of the Year, New Analyst of the Year and Analyst Client Partner of the Year. Analysts voted for AR Professional of the Year, AR Team of the Year and AR Agency of the Year.
We asked the AR Pros for their feedback: Did you find an analyst particularly insightful and make a meaningful difference to your business this year? Did an analyst firm deliver a project that made your executives take note? Did a client partner bring delight and flexibility for your firm? We asked analysts for their feedback: Did they find an AR professionals or AR agency helpful and professional in their approach? Did an AR pro run a project that made analysts take note of their offering?
Voting by AR pros spanned 18 countries and this year was the largest voting turnout in history of the awards, which began in 2008, by the AR Pros. Analysts from 80 firms contributed their opinions about AR professionals, teams and agencies. The voting analysts came from 27 countries and their efforts resulted in a record turnout. The majority of analysts cover B2B oriented technologies, but there was good representation of B2C analysts. And a final methodology note before unveiling the winners, the top three and the finalists: one area that was important in the scoring was AR/analyst community involvement. We are all in this together and those nominees that help others in the community are highly valued.
IIAR> Analyst of the Year 2022
The IIAR> Analyst of the Year 2022 is Archana Venkatraman / Research Director CloudOps, IDC (LinkedIn, @archanatweets), the runner-ups are Paul McKay (LinkedIn, @PMcKayAnalyst) and Mike Gualtieri (LinkedIn, @mgualtieri) both from Forrester.
“It is very humbling and motivating to receive this award. It shows how far team effort and a strong collaboration with AR professionals can take you. AR professionals help align the analyst research and customer needs so aptly that it naturally leads to value-driven conversations on both sides. It is a recognition for all the ARs and IDC colleagues I work with!”
Archana Venkatraman, IIAR> Analyst of the Year 2022.
According to the AR Pros voters, Archana is great when it comes to dealing with clients; she anticipates their needs and provides deep insights on the market she covers. Her videos are captivating and deliver value. She has an excellent rapport with clients and even carries a deep understanding of areas outside of core research coverage. She consistently punches above her weight; smart, insightful and personable.
The seven other finalists, alphabetically, included Matt Aslett (LinkedIn, @maslett) Ventana Research; Phil Fersht (LinkedIn, @pfersht) HFS Research; Melissa Hilbert (LinkedIn, @MelissaAHilbert) Gartner; Julie Kunstler (LinkedIn) Omdia; David Menninger, Ventana Research; Nitish Mittal, Everest Group and Mark Thompson, IDC.
IIAR> Analyst Firm Of The Year 2022
For the third consecutive year, IDC has won the IIAR> Analyst Firm of the Year award based on the votes of the AR community, followed by Gartner and Omdia. Everest Group and Forrester rounded out the top five.
“We are honored to receive the Analyst Firm of the Year 2022 award in recognition of IDC’s efforts to help our clients navigate a tumultuous year marked by geopolitical conflict, ongoing supply chain disruptions and high inflation. We realize that the need for high-quality insight and perspective has only accelerated since the start of the pandemic, and the global challenges that have emerged this year have only underscored the need for timely, fact-based research to support critical decision-making. Thank you to our clients and the AR professionals who recognized our efforts with this award for the third year in a row. Your support is greatly appreciated, and we look forward to partnering with you in 2023 and beyond.”
Crawford Del Prete / President, IDC
IIAR> New Analyst Of The Year 2022
The IIAR> New Analyst Of The Year 2022 is Nikhil Lai / Senior Analyst, Forrester (LinkedIn, @LaiNikhil) followed by Siân Morgan / Research Director, Dell’Oro Group (LinkedIn, @sianmor), Kim Herrington / Senior Analyst, Forrester (LinkedIn, @Fun_Hun) and Quincy Valencia (LinkedIn) VP & Research Director at Ventana Research.
Survey says that AR pros appreciate Nikhil’s fresh perspective and genuine interest in having an open and sometimes difficult conversation – all to make his clients’ business better. He shares unique market insights and actionable research. AR pros found him smart and surprisingly knowledgeable for a first-time analyst; easy to work with and humble. Congratulations, Nikhil on winning ‘New Analyst of the Year’.
IIAR> Analyst Client Partner Of The Year 2022
The IIAR> Analyst Client Partner Of The Year 2022 is Nathalie Feeney / Senior Account Director, IDC (LinkedIn) followed by runner-ups Arpan Maheshwari at Forrester (LinkedIn) and Tony Carrini at Ventana (LinkedIn, @TonyCarrini).
AR Pros highlighted Nathalie’s consultative approach and the fact that she is ever on top of things – she checks in frequently and asks for updates on the business so she stays on top of what’s happening. She then uses that to recommend research and analysts that will be useful. Those who voted for Nathalie noted that she’s great at developing relationships with her clients and isn’t a hard sell. She has a real desire to deliver value for clients and will push the analysts to prove their value as needed. Natalie works hard to understand the vendor priorities and comes up with actionable ways to use analysts to meet them. She has a strategic mindset and helps clients to succeed on their journey and goals. Thanks to her brilliant customer service she received this award.
The others rounding out the top 10 Client Partner’s of the year, alphabetically, were Alla Anisimova (LinkedIn Forrester; Charlie Curran (LinkedIn, @CharlieCurran16) Forrester, Michael DeVagno (LinkedIn, @mdevagno) Omdia; Jeremy Green (LinkedIn, @JeremyG86006699) IDC; Mansi Kumar (LinkedIn) Gartner; Matt Vinson (LinkedIn) IDC; Christopher Yates (LinkedIn Forrester.
IIAR> Analyst Relations Professional Of The Year 2022
The IIAR> Analyst Relations Professional of The Year 2022 is Sarita Kincaid / VP Communications, SugarCRM (LinkedIn, @saritakAR) followed by Ricarda Rodatus / ex-Oracle (@rodatusr, LinkedIn) and Henry Chalian / T-Mobile (LinkedIn, @chalian).
“It is a great honor to be recognized by the industry analyst community for this award! Analyst Relations has really come into its own over the past few years, as more companies understand the important role that AR plays connecting a vendor’s vision and technology with the market. Receiving this award is especially meaningful in an industry full of stellar AR professionals.”
Sarita Kincaid / VP Corporate Communications, SugarCRM and Analyst Relations Professional of the Year 2022
Analysts said that Sarita stood out because of her data-driven approach to influencer relations, that she focuses on business outcomes and leverage analyst insights to drive a great program. This is not Sarita’s first AR Pro award and she is one of the most active IIAR> members.
The other finalists that rounded out the top ten, in alphabetical order, included: Susan Backhaus (LinkedIn, @susan_backhaus), TriLite Technologies; Sandra Lo (LinkedIn, @sandraklo) Zoho; Avinash Murthy (LinkedIn, @aviredevil) AWS; Alexia O’Sullivan (LinkedIn, @AlexiaOSullivan) EY, Noelle Shipley (LinkedIn, @noeyshipley) Emplifi; Joely Urton (LinkedIn, @JoelyUrton) Splunk; Gerry Van Zandt (LinkedIn, @gerryvz) Alteryx.
IIAR> Analyst Relations Team Of The Year 2022
The IIAR> Analyst Relations Team Of The Year 2022 is Amazon, followed by IBM and Oracle.
On behalf of the AWS Analyst Relations team, I would like to thank the global analyst community, and the IIAR>, for this recognition. We have the pleasure of working with some of the most talented analysts, employees and colleagues in the industry. This award is a testament of our shared customer obsession and focus on mutually helping customers achieve their business transformation goals.”
Steven Armstrong / Vice President World Wide Analyst Relations, AWS.
Amazon has seen a steady rise in its AR team rankings. In 2019 it was ranked #9 and since then Amazon has consistently improved its position. Analysts called out multiple AR pros positively from the AWS team across the US, UK, Germany, Brazil, Singapore and Japan. Many analysts stated that while “AWS is a big company with many disciplines,” the analysts appreciate that AWS AR pros focus on specialty areas making it easier to navigate through and connect with the right experts.” Analyst also appreciate their proactive approach and willingness to support analyst requests. Steven Armstrong (LinkedIn), VP of Analyst Relations at Amazon, accepted the award for the team.
The other finalists, alphabetically, included Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft and NTT Data.
IIAR> Analyst Relations Agency Of The Year 2022
The IIAR> Analyst Relations Agency Of The Year 2022 is SpotlightAR followed by Starsight Communications and Schaffer AR.
“We are thrilled to be voted as IIAR’s Agency of the Year for a third consecutive year! It is an honor to be recognized for excellence amongst a vibrant community of AR agencies, and it is a privilege to work with our industry partners and valued clients to continue raising the bar for analyst relations. We’re chuffed to be winning this award! The Spotlight team boasts a number of certified AR professionals and actively contribute towards promoting the AR profession.”
Andrew Hsu / Managing Partner, Spotlight
Analysts found Spotlight pros confident, focused, calm and able to connect analysts with the right people. Spotlight brings a strong focus on delivering value for their clients.
To round out the top 10, the other finalists, alphabetically, included Dennington AR, Destrier, holsher.one, Kea Analyst Relations, Loenberg AR, Magnolia Analyst Relations and Metia.
What is next?
On 10 January 2023 at 1600 GMT, Aniruddho Mukherjee, who led the IIAR> Awards effort this year, will host a deep dive of the findings from the IIAR> Awards Survey for IIAR> Members.
Happy holidays and wishing you all an excellent 2023!
The IIAR> would like to thank ARInsights for sponsoring the 2022 IIAR> Awards.
The IIAR> Awards Committee
IIAR> Board Members
IIAR> Members
- Christine Keck (@cmkeck, LinkedIn)
- Cassandra Allen (LinkedIn)
- Jennifer Yousef (@JenniferGYousef, LinkedIn)
- Evan Quinn (@evanquinn, LinkedIn)
- Deepak George (@deepacgeorge, LinkedIn )
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