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.
- 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.
