Pythian's Vanessa Simmons and Solange Jacob have earned three finalist honors in the 2026 CRN Women of the Year Awards.
Now in its fourth year, the CRN Women of the Year Awards spotlight extraordinary leaders, allies, and organizations driving innovation and advancement across the IT industry. Seeing our leaders recognized alongside some of the tech sector's most impactful women is a powerful reminder of the work our team does to modernize data environments, accelerate AI adoption, and foster leadership inside and outside Pythian.
Vanessa and Solange have played key roles in advancing our channel strategy, scaling our AI capabilities, and supporting the tech community.
Vanessa’s recognition reflects her exceptional vision in evolving Pythian’s channel strategy for the AI era. Under her leadership, Business Development has become a true growth engine for our company, strengthening key strategic partnerships across our ecosystem.
Beyond business growth, Vanessa embodies a people-first leadership philosophy. She has continuously championed opportunities for women across tech, designing programs that help team members build the technical expertise, executive confidence, and industry relationships needed to become next-generation channel leaders.
Solange’s recognition highlights her pivotal role in accelerating Pythian’s AI services growth and scaling our enterprise offerings year-over-year.
Solange was instrumental in bringing Pythian’s Gemini Centre of Excellence to market, an initiative that has enabled over 70,000 employees across client organizations to adopt and utilize AI effectively. Her technical vision and leadership continue to guide large-scale enterprise technology and AI transformations worldwide.
What makes these honors particularly meaningful is the breadth of what they represent, spanning strategic business leadership, rapid AI innovation, and a deep commitment to mentoring others.
As organizations navigate rapid technological shifts, Vanessa and Solange play vital roles in connecting Pythian’s data and AI expertise, strategic partnerships, and customer relationships to turn new technologies into tangible, measurable business outcomes.
Winners of the 2026 CRN Women of the Year Awards will be announced on December 8, 2026, at The Pier Sixty Collection in New York City.
Congratulations to Vanessa and Solange for their achievements, leadership, and dedication to shaping the future of IT!