ISM World 2026: Awards Gala Celebrates Talent at All Levels of Experience
Emerging practitioners, mid-level professionals, leaders, executives and students gathered Monday night at the ISM Awards Gala to celebrate the supply management profession.
More than 50 individuals and companies were honored for various achievements during the event, held as part of ISM World 2026, Institute for Supply Management®’s (ISM®) Annual Conference at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado.
The most prestigious award in the profession, the J. Shipman Gold Medal Award, was presented to Farryn Melton, president and CEO of Strategic Edge Advisories, the consulting firm she formed after retirement as senior vice president and CPO at Bristol Myers Squibb in 2023.
“This year’s recipient is someone who has spent decades transforming procurement into a strategic force for innovation, resilience and growth,” said Lisa Martin, CPSM, C.P.M., the 2013 Shipman Award winner who is retiring at the end of April as senior vice president and CPO at GSK.
“Across some of the world’s most complex and highly regulated industries, she has led with clarity, courage and conviction, driving enterprise transformation while never losing sight of purpose.” She added that Melton is a role model, a trusted adviser, and a true architect of modern supply chains.”
Martin co-emceed the event with Sidney Johnson, the 2021 J. Shipman Award winner and managing partner at J-Core Network LLC. Johnson called Melton “a leader who invests deeply in people, developing teams, mentoring future leaders, and creating pathways for others to rise.”
In accepting the award, Melton came to the stage holding her toddler-sized grandson Noah, with her family — her husband, sister, daughter, son and daughter-in-law — at tables nearby. “This award is incredibly meaningful to me,” she said. “Not just because of the award itself, but because of who it comes from the community — this community, our community. We’re the people who truly understand the work. We understand the responsibility and complexity that comes with it.”
She continued, “To be included in this group means more to me than I can even say. When I think about my career, I don’t think about times. I think about moments, and moments that we were pushing for pyramid to be more — more than cost savings, more than the process, more than something that’s brought in after the fact, something that can truly shape the business, drive resilience, create access and deliver real value.”
Melton said that, over time, she has realized how much leadership matters in building capacity and capability — and sustaining it through change. “And if there’s one thing I’m most proud of, it’s the people. The teams I’ve had the privilege to work with, the leaders that I’ve had (and the individuals): They are the ones out there today that are making decisions and driving real impact,” she said.
Awards presentations were interspersed with a pre-event social hour, dinner and conversations along with a surprise retirement celebration for Martin, who was presented with a bouquet.
The Gala also honored:
The 30 Under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars, global emerging leaders across various industries and supply management disciplines. Shane McClure, senior sourcing process manager at GE Aerospace, was honored with the Megawatt Award. A “fan club” of co-workers and peers cheered him on as he received the award.
Other 30 Under 30 award winners represented such companies as Caterpillar, GSK, H.B. Fuller, DHL Supply Chain and Silver MetalX Inc.
The R. Gene Richter Scholars, who make up the program’s 23rd class. Each recipient receives US$15,000 in education funding, the opportunity to work with a junior (a previous Richter Scholar) and senior (company executive) mentors, and complimentary registration to ISM World 2026.
The recipients are Mariana Agadis, Pennsylvania State University; Lucas Bruns and Mason Stone, University of South Carolina; Isabella Chavez, University of Arkansas; and Luke Ritchie and Jack Umsted, University of Tennessee — Knoxville.
ISM Trailblazer Award winners, companies across the profession that have made an impact and set an example for other organizations. Honored companies include Sanofi, GEP, Warp, HP, Sedex and True ValueHub, in such categories as procurement solution provider impact, logistics excellence, and advanced technology digital impact.
(Photo credit: Ember Light Media)