2026 BayAreaCMO ORBIE Awards Recognize Bay Area’s Top Marketing Executives

Leading CMOs honored for leadership, marketing initiatives, and business impact at BayAreaCMO ORBIE Awards on October 16, 2026, at the San Jose Marriott.

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 2026 BayAreaCMO ORBIE Awards honored leading chief marketing officers (CMOs) from Intuit, LinkedIn, Coherent Corp, Snowflake, Chime, Cohesity, and Contentful from Salesforce for their exceptional leadership. Hosted by BayAreaCMO, a chapter of the Inspire Leadership Network, the prestigious awards honor CMOs who drive business transformation and industry impact. View finalists, partners, and more on the Digital ORBIE Feature. 

Held at the San Jose Marriott, the ceremony brought together top executives and industry leaders to honor excellence in marketing leadership across seven award categories.

“Behind every award-winning marketing campaign is a CMO leading the vision, shaping the strategy, and owning the results,” said Jean English, BayAreaCMO Chair. “The ORBIE Awards are the ultimate recognition program for the leaders behind the work.”

Meet the 2026 BayAreaCMO ORBIE Award Winners: 

• Thomas Ranese, CMO, Intuit, received the Leadership ORBIE.
  
  
• Jessica Jensen, CMO, LinkedIn, received the Super Global ORBIE for organizations over $8.5 billion annual revenue and multi-national operations.
  
  
• Dr. Sanjai Parthasarathi, CMO, Coherent Corp, received the Global ORBIE for organizations over $5.5 billion annual revenue and multi-national operations.
  
  
• Denise Persson, CMO, Snowflake, received the Large Enterprise ORBIE for organizations over $4.5 billion annual revenue.
  
  
• Vineet Mehra, Chief Growth & Marketing Officer, Chime, received the Enterprise ORBIE for organizations up to $1.9 billion annual revenue.
  
  
• Carol Wang Carpenter, CMO, Cohesity, received the Large Corporate ORBIE for organizations over $1 billion annual revenue.
  
  
• Elizabeth Maxson, CMO, Contentful from Salesforce, received the Corporate ORBIE for organizations up to $500 million annual revenue.

About the ORBIE:
The ORBIE is the preeminent executive recognition for C-suite leaders. Since 1998, the ORBIE Awards have recognized leadership excellence, building relationships between executives and trusted business partners, and inspiring the next generation of executives. Finalists and winners are selected through an independent peer-adjudicated process led by prior ORBIE recipients based on the following criteria: 

• Leadership and management effectiveness 
• Business value created by marketing initiatives
• Engagement in industry and community endeavors
  

BayAreaCMO ORBIE Keynote & Attendance: 

The keynote address for the BayAreaCMO ORBIE Awards was delivered by Thomas Ranese, CMO, Intuit, who was interviewed by Tamara Thompson, Vice President Brand Marketing, Intuit. Over 100 guests attended, representing leading Bay Area organizations and their marketing partners.

The following partners made the 2026 BayAreaCMO ORBIE Awards possible:

• Underwriter: Slalom
• Gold Partners: Accenture, Hightouch, Monotype, & Spotlight
• Silver Partners: Edelman, Pond 11, and Six Five Media
• Bronze Partners: Between Pixels
• Media Partner: Silicon Valley Business Journal, San Francisco Business Times
• Nonprofit Partner: Year Up United

To learn more about partnership opportunities and how to connect with leading C-suite executives across North America, click here.

About BayAreaCMO:

BayAreaCMO is the preeminent peer leadership network of chief marketing officers (CMOs) in the Bay Area. As one of over 50 chapters of the Inspire Leadership Network, BayAreaCMO belongs to a national membership organization exclusively comprised of C-suite leaders from public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare, and nonprofit institutions.

BayAreaCMO is led by a CMO Advisory Board, with support from an executive director and staff. Underwriter executives support the chapter and ensure the programs remain member-led and exclusive to qualified CMOs and members.

About Inspire Leadership Network:

Inspire Leadership Network is the preeminent peer leadership network of C-suite executives. With nearly 2,000 members across over 50 local chapters, Inspire members serve public and private businesses, government, education, healthcare, and non-profit institutions. Inspire exists to help leaders thrive in today’s most challenging executive roles.

Media Contact
Nicole Lammes
nicole.lammes@inspirecxo.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c6729a68-f199-41c5-ae4e-afb6c43cdd66

2026 BayAreaCMO ORBIE Award Winners

Meet the 2026 BayAreaCMO ORBIE Award Winners