This year’s program grows from four categories to six with the addition of the APEX Architect and APEX Synergy Awards.

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LeanDNA, a leading intelligent supply chain execution platform, today announced the 26 finalists for its second annual APEX Awards, which recognize manufacturers and individuals driving measurable supply chain transformation through people, process, and technology. LeanDNA will announce winners live on stage at the third annual LeanDNA Manufacturing Excellence Summit, taking place from Oct. 28-30, 2026, in downtown Austin.

Named after LeanDNA’s AI-powered expert execution platform, the APEX Awards honor customers and teams who have moved beyond fragmented, reactive supply chain management toward proactive, AI-supported decision-making.

This year’s program expanded on two fronts. LeanDNA introduced two new categories: The APEX Architect Award, honoring an individual power user who has mastered APEX’s newest capabilities, and The APEX Synergy Award, recognizing a team that broke down departmental silos to adopt APEX as a single source of truth. For the first time, LeanDNA also opened nominations beyond its own staff to its customer community, inviting customers to nominate themselves, their peers, and their teams.

“This year’s APEX Awards reflect just how far our customer community has taken supply chain transformation, and how eager they are to celebrate it alongside each other,” said Jordan Slabaugh, Chief Marketing Officer at LeanDNA. “It’s important to recognize the people and teams doing the unglamorous work of changing culture, not just implementing software. These finalists represent what’s possible when people, process, and AI-driven execution come together.”

The 2026 APEX Award finalists are:

Peak Performance Award – Account

Awarded to the top-performing companies over the past year based entirely on measurable data.

DaikinJohnson ControlsSpirit AeroSystemsCurrent Lighting

Peak Performance Award – Site

MSA Safety (USM1)Safran Cabin MarysvilleMercury Systems (Hudson)Modine (Lawrenceburg 2)Cirtec Medical Corp (NC1)

APEX Impact Award

HuskyAstecIngersoll Rand Haskel Europe Ltd. (Sunderland)MSA- The Safety Company

Trailblazer Award

Vatsal Gandhi, FordPraveen Kanagaraj, DaikinPatrick Quade, EnjetMeagan Long, StanadyneTej Savant, Carrier

APEX Synergy Award (new for 2026)

Carrier Montilla SAJohnson ControlsSafran Electronics & DefenseSiemens

APEX Architect Award (new for 2026)

Eduardo Cardoso, CarrierGladys Maziarz, FordMax Denton, HuskyHomero Garza, Daikin

Congratulations to all of this year’s finalists. LeanDNA thanks everyone across its team and customer base who submitted a nomination this year.

About LeanDNA

LeanDNA powers the world’s discrete manufacturing with a single source of truth for factory-first supply planning, materials management, and inventory optimization. APEX, the AI-powered expert execution platform from LeanDNA, transforms data into optimized decisions and action. LeanDNA empowers manufacturers in aerospace, HVAC, industrials, automotive, and medical to improve on-time delivery and working capital levels. Leading manufacturers including Caterpillar, Daikin Applied, Safran, and Siemens use APEX for supply chain orchestration to gain visibility into current and incoming materials, take action based on inventory criticality, collaborate in real time with suppliers, and track progress toward inventory optimization goals. Learn more at LeanDNA.com.

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SOURCE LeanDNA Inc

Top forecaster to accept award and deliver 2027 economic outlook at event on Oct. 13.

TEMPE, Ariz., Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Stephen Stanley has joined an elite group of two-time winners of the Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy, earning this year’s honor for producing the most accurate economic forecast from 2022 through 2025. The award is widely regarded as one of the nation’s best-known and longest-standing recognitions for achievement in economic forecasting.

Stanley will be honored with his second Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the University Club of New York, where he will deliver his 2027 economic outlook. A livestream of the ceremony will also be available to the public at no cost.

Register to watch the livestream of the event Tuesday, Oct. 13, from 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern.

The award is judged and sponsored by the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University in partnership with the W. P. Carey Foundation. The winner is selected based on the accuracy of forecasts published in the Blue Chip Economic Indicators newsletter, which is compiled and edited by Haver Analytics. Analysts whose projections appeared in the January edition of the newsletter during the four prior years are eligible for the award.

“It is a tremendous honor to be representing Santander in receiving this esteemed recognition,” Stanley said. “Our goal is to help our clients navigate a complex, uncertain, and ever-changing landscape. To be recognized for doing so with precision and accuracy over the past four years reinforces the value of our work.”

Ohad Kadan, Charles J. Robel Dean and W. P. Carey Distinguished Chair in Business, will present the award to Stanley.

“In the 50th year of the Blue Chip panel, Stephen Stanley has once again distinguished himself among the nation’s leading business forecasters, earning the top spot for the second time in three years,” said Dennis Hoffman, professor of economics and director of the Office of the University Economist at ASU. “His GDP, inflation, and unemployment forecasts over the past four years were consistently impressive, and his near-perfect projections for 2025 gave him the final edge over the rest of the panel. I congratulate Stephen on this outstanding achievement and look forward to hearing his perspective on the future course of the economy, particularly inflation.”

Stanley is chief U.S. economist at Santander US Capital Markets, LLC (SanCap), the institutional broker-dealer of Santander in the United States operating under Santander Corporate & Investment Banking.

Before joining Pierpont Securities, the predecessor to Santander US Capital Markets, in March 2010, Stanley served as chief U.S. economist at RBS. Throughout his career, he has focused on macroeconomic analysis, Fed watching, and federal budget and Treasury financing issues. He holds a BA in economics from Washington and Lee University and an MA in economics from the University of Chicago.

Media note: Please consider adding this event to your community calendar. Journalists who attend as members of the virtual audience may ask questions during the Q&A portion of the event.

About the Lawrence R. Klein Award
Established in 1981, the Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy, presented by the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University in partnership with the W. P. Carey Foundation, honors the economist whose four-year forecast, published in the Blue Chip Economic Indicators newsletter and compiled by Haver Analytics, shows the greatest accuracy. Over the decades, the award has become one of the most respected accolades in the field. Recent winners include Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sachs in 2025, Michael Cosgrove of The Econoclast, Inc. in 2023, Douglas Duncan of Fannie Mae in 2022, Carl Tannenbaum of Northern Trust in 2021, and Ellen Zentner of Morgan Stanley in 2020.

About the W. P. Carey School of Business
The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is the largest and one of the top-ranked public business schools in the United States. The school is internationally regarded for its academic programs and the research productivity of its distinguished faculty members. Students come from more than 120 countries, and W. P. Carey is represented by over 140,000 alumni worldwide.

About Santander
Banco Santander is a leading commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain and one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization. The group’s activities are consolidated into five global businesses: Retail & Commercial Banking, Openbank, Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), Wealth Management & Insurance and Payments. This operating model allows the bank to better leverage its unique combination of global scale and local leadership. Santander aims to be the best open financial services platform providing services to individuals, SMEs, corporates, financial institutions and governments. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper in a simple, personal and fair way. In the first half of 2026, Banco Santander had €1.5 trillion in total funds, more than 182 million customers, 6,500 branches and 185,000 employees.

About Haver Analytics 
Haver Analytics is a global leader in time-series data and analytical software, offering flexible delivery tools that meet the highest standards of economists, analysts, and data scientists. It is a premier provider of time series data for the global strategy, research, and quant communities, offering primary-sourced databases, a wealth of key survey and forecast data from industry partners, and a robust offering of archive databases that drive machine learning for big data applications. For more information, contact sales@haver.com. 

For more information/media contacts:

Shay Moser
W. P. Carey School of Business
wpc.mediarelations@asu.edu 

Andrew Simonelli
Santander US
mediarelations@santander.us  

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SOURCE W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University

BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In recognition of its strong commitment to economic engagement, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) designated Florida Atlantic University as an Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) University.

The national designation recognizes public research universities that collaborate with public and private sector partners in their states and regions to support economic development through various activities, including innovation and entrepreneurship, technology transfer, as well as talent, workforce and community development.

The APLU has designated just over 90 higher education institutions as IEP universities.

“This designation is proof of what it means for Florida Atlantic to be our region’s ‘Hometown University,'” said FAU President Adam Hasner. “Eighty percent of our graduates stay in South Florida, and the work we do here transforms the industries that drive Florida’s economy. We’re proud to help make this region a leading destination for opportunity and discovery.”

FAU earned this distinguished designation after a rigorous, independent review process, engaging with more than 1,000 internal and external stakeholders, including students, alumni, faculty and staff members, as well as community partners, local employers, entrepreneurs, nonprofits and public agencies.

Among the feedback collected, 92.1% of students agreed that Florida Atlantic supports the development and commercialization of technology and 72% to 80% of residents agreed that the university positively impacts the regional economy. These findings reflect a growing recognition of Florida Atlantic’s role as an engine for innovation and economic impact.

“Earning the IEP designation was a true institutional effort. Our team visited every college in person to share what IEP means for Florida Atlantic, and deans and leaders connected us with faculty, students, alumni, and other stakeholders whose perspectives shaped the self-study. That collaboration is what made this designation possible,” said Sandra D. Marin Ruiz, IEP team lead.

APLU’s Commission on Economic and Community Engagement, a national leader in this field, oversees this process, ensuring that universities effectively plan, assess and communicate their impact on economic development.

This designation is also a testament to FAU’s ongoing commitment to making a tangible difference in the lives of people and the prosperity of its region. It signifies the institution’s proactive approach to economic engagement, ensuring that the university’s vast resources and expertise are directly applied to societal and economic challenges.

For example, Hasner launched the President’s Internship Program for Community Impact in the spring. This initiative creates paid internships that otherwise would not exist, promoting academic connection, civic engagement and workforce readiness in the government and nonprofit sectors. Through philanthropic support and community partnerships, more than 100 paid student internships were created during its inaugural semester.

APLU’s IEP program also helps higher education institutions better understand, measure, articulate and continually enhance their contributions to economic and community development. It provides national recognition to universities that have demonstrated a substantive, sustainable and institution-wide commitment to and strategy for regional economic engagement, growth and opportunity.

The recognition of the effectiveness of Florida Atlantic’s existing initiatives does not mean the work is complete. The IEP self-study helped the university identify additional opportunities for growth and improvement.

One key priority is ensuring alignment between the university’s innovation and economic development efforts and its new five-year strategic plan, “2031FAU: Where Tomorrow Begins.” Centered on student success, innovation and geographic advantages, the plan is designed to deliver lasting value to students and the university’s communities through discovery and collaboration.

The APLU’s IEP designation emphasizes continuous improvement, with designated universities actively sharing best practices and collaborating within a national community of practice to maximize their economic and societal impact.

“Universities are powerful engines for economic growth,” said APLU President Waded Cruzado. “From cultivating talent and research breakthroughs to fostering new businesses and enriching communities, public universities play an indispensable role in economic advancement. We are thrilled to recognize Florida Atlantic for its dedication to collaborating with its community to propel regional economic development.”

Hasner’s blog on the APLU website provides additional details.

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University is one of the nation’s fastest-rising public research universities, serving more than 32,000 students in South Florida. Ranked among the Top 100 Public Universities by U.S. News & World Report, recognized as a Top 25 Best-In-Class College, and cited by Washington Monthly as one of the nation’s most effective engines of upward mobility, Florida Atlantic is also one of only 13 institutions nationwide to hold Carnegie Foundation designations for R1 research, opportunity and community engagement. Guided by its strategic plan, “2031FAU: Where Tomorrow Begins,” the university is focused on delivering career-ready education and experiential learning, driving scholarly inquiry that creates healthier, safer and more prosperous communities, strengthening institutional excellence, and elevating its impact across South Florida and beyond. Florida Atlantic continues to advance its position as Florida’s first quantum university, integrating research, education and industry partnerships around next-generation computing technologies. Through other signature strengths in neuroscience and healthy aging, environmental, ocean and coastal innovation, and national defense and autonomous systems, Florida Atlantic expands knowledge, fuels economic opportunity and fulfills its mission as South Florida’s hometown university.

About the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities:

APLU is a membership organization that fosters a community of university leaders collectively working to advance the mission of public research universities. The association’s membership consists of more than 250 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and affiliated organizations spanning across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, six U.S. territories, Canada, and Mexico. Annually, member campuses enroll 5.4 million undergraduates and 1.5 million graduate students, award 1.5 million degrees, employ 1.4 million faculty and staff, and conduct $73 billion in university-based research.

Media Contacts:
Joshua Glanzer
Associate Vice President, Media Relations
jglanzer@fau.edu
Phone: 561-297-1168

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SOURCE Florida Atlantic University