LeanDNA Names APEX Award Winners From 26 Finalists Across Six Categories
LeanDNA, a supply chain execution platform provider, has named the winners of its second annual APEX Awards, chosen from 26 finalists across six categories. The winners were revealed live on stage at the 2026 LeanDNA Manufacturing Excellence Summit in Austin.
- LeanDNA named winners of its second annual APEX Awards from 26 finalists across six categories.
- Winners were announced live at the 2026 LeanDNA Manufacturing Excellence Summit in Austin.
- The program added three awards and opened nominations to customers for the first time.
- Daikin Applied won two awards: Trailblazer (Praveen Kanagaraj) and Peak Performance by Company.
- MSA Safety received the one-time First Ascent Award as the first LeanDNA-certified organization.
A larger program with customer nominations
According to LeanDNA, the awards recognize manufacturers and individuals who are driving measurable supply chain transformation through people, process, and technology. They are named after the company's AI-powered expert execution platform, APEX, and honor customers and teams that have moved beyond fragmented, reactive supply chain management toward proactive, AI-driven decision-making.
The program grew this year. It added three awards, APEX Architect, APEX Synergy and The First Ascent, and it opened nominations to LeanDNA's customer community for the first time. Previously, nominations came from the company's own employees.
The 2026 winners
- APEX Architect Award: Max Denton, Purchasing Team Lead, Global Supply Chain, Machines, at Husky Technologies. It honors a leader who uses APEX daily, for example to prevent a line-down situation or uncover hidden inventory.
- APEX Synergy Award: Johnson Controls. It recognizes a company that broke down silos between departments, overcame adoption hurdles and used APEX as its single source of truth.
- Trailblazer Award: Praveen Kanagaraj, Sr. Director, Digital Supply Chain & Quality, at Daikin Applied. Nominated by LeanDNA customer success-focused teams, it honors a person who pushes boundaries and champions new capabilities.
- APEX Impact Award: Astec. Nominated by customer-facing teams and chosen by LeanDNA leadership, it goes to a customer creating measurable business value and moving supply chain from cost center to strategic driver.
- Peak Performance by Site Award: Cirtec Medical, NC1 site. It goes to the site with the most significant measurable improvements across key metrics in LeanDNA over the last 12 months.
- Peak Performance by Company Award: Daikin Applied. It uses the same 12-month improvement measure, applied at company level.
A one-time award for MSA Safety
The First Ascent Award is a one-time recognition that went to Eric Blanton and the MSA Safety team. LeanDNA describes MSA Safety as a customer partner of more than four years whose candid feedback has shaped the platform. The team also became the first LeanDNA-certified organization after committing to the pilot cohort of LeanDNA Academy's certification program.
Jordan Slabaugh, Chief Marketing Officer at LeanDNA, said the winners show "just how much is possible when customers activate all of the capabilities of the LeanDNA APEX platform." He added that MSA Safety helped the company ensure it is "advancing the supply chain profession and professionals moving it forward."
What it means for LeanDNA's customers
The awards give LeanDNA a way to highlight customers that, in its view, use APEX to its fullest. The company says it serves discrete manufacturers in aerospace, HVAC, industrials, automotive and medical, with the aim of improving on-time delivery and working capital levels. Customers it names include Caterpillar, Daikin Applied, Radius Aerospace and Siemens.
Opening nominations to customers gives them a direct role in deciding who is recognized. The source does not give performance figures for any winner, so the results behind each award are described only in general terms.
