Most Influential Executives of Cannabis Awards Goes National in 2026

Survival is its own form of leadership in cannabis.

The executives who are still standing after years of regulatory whiplash,
capital scarcity, and public skepticism didn’t get there by accident. They
got there through discipline, adaptability, and a stubborn refusal to quit.
Now, a growing national recognition program is making sure that kind of
grit doesn’t go unacknowledged.
*Key insights:*

- The Most Influential Executives of Cannabis Awards is expanding from a
local recognition program into a national 2026 series.
- The program is designed to honor executives whose leadership,
resilience, and measurable impact are helping move the cannabis industry
forward.
- In a climate shaped by regulatory uncertainty and renewed
anti-cannabis pressure, recognition is being framed as a tool for
legitimacy as much as celebration.
- The series will culminate in a national recognition ceremony during in
Las Vegas in December.

The Most Influential Executives of Cannabis Awards — an honors and
editorial series launched in 2023 by Proven Media — is going national.
Expanding through a new collaboration with RW Navis & Associates and mg
Magazine, the program will span four regional events in 2026 before
culminating in a national recognition ceremony during MJBizCon in December.
For an industry that still has to fight for legitimacy in boardrooms and
statehouses, that kind of platform carries real weight.
*From local celebration to national platform*

The awards started close to home. “We started here in Arizona,” said Proven
Media founder and Chief Executive Officer Kim Prince. “We wanted to
recognize the people and groundbreakers who really built an industry. So,
we started out with groups of individuals like women of cannabis or
minorities in cannabis.”

In those early iterations, honorees participated in professional photo
shoots, received certificates, and — perhaps most importantly — felt seen.
“It was super-fun at that time, and we really started to see how much it
meant to the executives,” Prince said. “They were excited and honored to be
a part of it.”

As Proven Media continued hosting recognitions in Arizona, often
spotlighting leaders who work behind the scenes, the purpose behind the
awards came into sharper focus. The climate around cannabis was getting
harder, not easier, and the program evolved to match that reality.

“The more challenging cannabis becomes, the more important it is that
people who have the grit to stay in the industry are recognized,” Prince
said.
*Strategic collaboration*

To take the program national, Proven Media needed the right partners. mg
Magazine was a natural fit for media reach. For the event infrastructure,
Prince turned to The Canna Pac, an exclusive C-suite networking series
founded by executive recruiter Raymond Navis of RW Navis & Associates.

What appealed to her wasn’t just the geographic footprint but also the
atmosphere. “What we liked about the networking groups is that they were
very intimate — just a nice, relaxing atmosphere,” Prince said. “Executives
could connect and create. There wasn’t blaring music and overstimulation;
you could actually have a conversation. Ray is thoughtful about the way he
executes.”

The 2026 series will feature regional award presentations at Canna Pac
events in:

- West Hollywood, California — March 17.
- Paradise Valley, Arizona — May 28.
- Chicago — June 13.
- Atlantic City, New Jersey — September 16–18.

Each cohort of honorees will be spotlighted in editorial coverage on
mgmagazine.com, with the full national honoree class recognized at MJBizCon,
December 1–4 in Las Vegas.
*Defining influence beyond popularity*

The program welcomes nominations from across the industry, but Prince is
emphatic that recognition will be driven by substance, not social media
reach. The awards aim to spotlight executives whose leadership, innovation,
and influence are driving measurable progress, from business growth and
policy advancement to mentorship and industry credibility.

“One thing that’s really important to me: I don’t want it to become a
popularity contest,” she said. “A lot of executives are busy putting their
heads down and getting the work done. They don’t have time to tell everyone
to go vote for them. So, this is more of a recognition for those who are
actually putting in the work every day. We want this to inspire
well-deserved pride in their accomplishments.”

Honorees are selected by a panel of business experts and regional industry
stakeholders, with selection criteria weighted toward impact and
demonstrated commitment to future-focused leadership.
*Legitimacy in a shifting climate*

The timing of this expansion is not incidental. The cannabis industry has
been navigating a prolonged federal holding pattern: The federal rescheduling
process stalled in January 2025 when a Department of Justice administrative
law judge paused proceedings amid uncertainty over who newly elected
President Donald Trump would appoint to lead the Drug Enforcement
Administration. Things sat dormant for nearly a year until Trump issued an
executive order in December 2025 directing the Justice Department to expedite
rescheduling. As of March 2026, the process still appears unresolved,
leaving the industry to wonder exactly what “expedite” means in federal
terms.

Progress or not, “there’s a huge anti-cannabis movement happening right
now,” Prince said. “We’re seeing it in several states, where they’re trying
to rescind adult use.”

That’s exactly the environment in which executive recognition becomes
strategic, not just ceremonial. “That’s why we want to keep these awards
high executive level, as a way to help normalize cannabis and remind
everyone it’s a legitimate industry with legitimate revenues that
contributes to communities across the nation,” Prince said. “We also want
these executives to be able to go into their meetings with bankers,
lawmakers, or their communities and say, ‘I was named an influential
executive of the cannabis industry.’

“Our goal is to help keep the industry elevated and professional, in line
with other mainstream industries, so we can further legitimize our space,”
she added.
*A long-term investment in industry leadership*

The cannabis industry has never lacked bold ideas. What it sometimes has
lacked is the professional infrastructure to sustain them. By building a
national platform that honors the executives who show up year after year —
building teams, mentoring the next generation, and refusing to be rattled
by the latest headwind — the Most Influential Executives of Cannabis Awards
is doing more than handing out trophies.

It’s making the argument that cannabis leadership belongs on any stage.