Announcing the shortlist for the GTIA ANZ Spotlight Awards

They will be held in partnership with CRN Australia on September 17.

The Global Technology Industry Association (GTIA) has revealed its shortlist for the upcoming GTIA ANZ Spotlight Awards 2026.

These awards honour member individuals and organisations for their commitment, dedication and leadership in advancing the IT channel.

The GTIA Spotlight Awards 2026 will be held in partnership with the CRN Channel Awards Australia on September 17 in the Sydney CBD.

The awards comprise of nine distinct categories, which include:

The Future Leader Award

Advancing Women in Technology Leadership Award

Community Leadership Award

Cybersecurity Leadership Award

Advancing Diversity in Technology Leadership Award

Associate Member Award

Innovative Distributor Award

Innovative Vendor Award

IT Service Provider Award

According to the GTIA, all nominees were evaluated by a judging panel for having a positive impact on the tech industry; contributions that support GTIA's mission to empower IT channel professionals and organisations; and actions and initiatives that demonstrated leadership in their respective award category.

Executive council members from Benelux, North America, and UK & Ireland Regions, along with members of GTIA Advisory Councils served as judges for the ANZ Spotlight Awards to help ensure the integrity and objectivity of the selection process.

In a statement, MJ Shoer, chief community officer at the GTIA said, “We're proud to honour our finalists for their contributions to GTIA and the IT channel this year, chosen by a selection committee of fellow members from around the world.”

Bec Paior, regional community manager ANZ at GTIA said the finalist list this year is “incredible”.

“It reflects the calibre of work happening across the IT channel in Australia and New Zealand,” she said.

“It's been a real pleasure getting to know the people and teams behind each nomination. I can't wait for everyone else to see what they've been doing.”

See the full shortlist below!

Individual Shortlist

Stu Applegate, ConnectWise

Gerardo Barranquero, Avocado Consulting

Nathan Chau, Crayon, a SoftwareOne Company

Naina Dasgupta, Sophos

Diana Drury, Dijital Team

James Eling, Extreme Networks

Luke Fong, Lateral Plains Pty Ltd

Jason Garland, Secure Access IT

Demetrios (Deme) Georgiou, Coro

Warwick Grey, Fabric Brand Partners

Lynda Irving, CJI Systems

Kristal Jamieson, One Little Seed

Chris Jeffery, CyberGuru

Nicole Peatey, Secure Access IT

Oscar Settle, ConnectWise

Melissa Spencer, ConnectWise

Ksenia Turner, Crayon, a SoftwareOne Company

Devi van Aalst, Williams Technology Pty Ltd

Organisation Shortlist

Acronis

Avocado Consulting

Bluechip Infotech

CJI Systems

ConnectWise

Coro

Crayon, a SoftwareOne Company

Dijital Team

eNerds

Fabric Brand Partners

Hosted Network

Ingram Micro

IT Events Australia

One Little Seed

ONGC Systems

Pit Stop Technologies

Sophos

Tech Data, a TD Synnex Company

Uptake Digital

Congratulations to all the nominees.

The CRN Channel Awards Australia 2026 together with the GTIA ANZ Spotlight Awards will be held on September 17 at the Hyatt Regency Sydney.